This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).
Brazilian companies must now treat risks to workers’ mental health the same way they treat physical risks. The new wording of the chapter on occupational risk management in Regulatory Standard No. 1 (NR-1) took effect on May 26, 2026, and now explicitly names psychosocial risk factors, according to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Pernambuco.
The change comes at a time when mental health-related sick leave is rising. Data from the Ministry of Social Security show that 546,254 temporary disability benefits linked to mental disorders were granted in 2025, a 15.66% increase from 2024.
In Pernambuco, 16,493 such benefits were granted in the same year, representing about 3% of the national total.
In practice, the standard sets out prevention in three steps: identifying hazards present in the workplace, assessing the risks they pose, and adopting measures to control them. With the new wording, this process is no longer limited to threats such as noise, chemicals or machinery and extends to factors such as stress, harassment and work overload.
For companies, this means including the psychosocial dimension in the risk management they are already required to maintain. For workers, the explicit inclusion of these factors in the standard gives them grounds to demand that employers recognize and address conditions affecting mental health within routine prevention efforts.
The change may also affect how sick leave is handled, since problems that previously fell outside the official risk map now become part of it.
Details on enforcement and on how companies should document the assessment of these risks are still to be spelled out by the responsible agencies.
Reporting from Folha de Pernambuco (Jornal, p. 35 (Nacional)).
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