Recognition of “professional burnout” as an occupational disease. Legal assessment, goals and objectives of the French system

Abstract

Burnout syndrome is a reality of working conditions. The expressed suffering is a consequence of working conditions, excessive load on the worker, the wrong organization of work. Proving the causal relationship between working conditions and the psychological health of workers is extremely difficult, since these conditions are multifactorial and their perception is subjective. The law needs objectivity to ensure proper legal regulation. However, psychological disorders of workers, such as burnout, are not necessarily visible at first glance, as in the case of physical injuries or diseases, but are no less dangerous to health. This article examines the experience of France in the field of compensation of harm to workers affected by professional burnout. Despite the absence of an indication of professional burnout in the list of occupational diseases, the author analyses whether it is possible or not to recognize it as such, and also considers normative acts regulating the procedure for recognizing the disease as professional and relevant judicial practice. As part of the comparative analysis, the author provides data on the approach to this issue of other countries: Sweden and Denmark, as well as the experience of the International labour organization. As part of the answer to the question about the possibility of qualification of professional burnout as an accident at work, the author studied the practice of the court of Cassation of France and concluded that professional burnout can be in some cases recognized by the court as an accident at work.

Keywords:

burnout, workplace, occupational diseases, industrial accident, mental health, labor law, social security law, health at work