Radna prava i mentalno zdravlje u eri digitalizacije : izazovi, mogućnosti i perspektive bezbednosti i zaštite na radu
Labour rights and mental health in the digitalization era: challenges, opportunities, and perspectives for occupational safety and health

Author(s): Sanja Zlatanović
Subject(s): Economy, National Economy, Sociology, Health and medicine and law, Human Resources in Economy, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Labour and Social Security Law
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: Digitalization; Mental health; Psychosocial risks; Occupational safety and health; Labour rights; Artificial intelligence
Summary/Abstract: In the contemporary legal and organizational landscape, digitalization, automation, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into work processes have profoundly transformed the conceptualization of occupational safety and health (OSH) and, more broadly, labour law. Traditional legal frameworks, historically oriented toward physical hazards such as machinery-related injuries, falls, or exposure to toxic substances, have proven insufficient to address the multidimensional and complex nature of psychosocial risks emerging in modern work environments. These risks – including workload intensity, role ambiguity, limited autonomy, job insecurity, and algorithmically mediated digital surveillance – exert measurable effects on employees’ mental health and well-being, with implications for productivity, organizational stability, and the broader socio-economic ecosystem. Doctrinally, the peripheral treatment of psychosocial risks highlights the anthropocentric and mechanistic bias embedded in traditional OSH law, which prioritizes physical harm over intangible, yet legally significant, psychological and cognitive stressors. The conceptual framework of due diligence, originating in Anglo-Saxon legal traditions and codified within European law, including Directive 89/391/EEC, provides a normative foundation for reorienting labour law toward a proactive and preventive model. Due diligence obliges employers to anticipate, evaluate, and mitigate all reasonably foreseeable risks, extending beyond immediate physical harm to encompass psychosocial hazards and organizational dysfunctions. This standard marks a paradigmatic shift from reactive, liability-based approaches to anticipatory governance, where the law functions not merely as a corrective instrument but as a structural enabler of organizational resilience and human well-being. The principle aligns with broader theories of regulatory foresight and preventive governance, emphasizing the interdependence between legal norms, organizational culture, and human psychological capacities. Psychosocial risks occupy an inherently interdisciplinary domain, arising at the intersection of labour law, health law, organizational psychology, and management science. Organizational structures, managerial practices, and systems of social support function both as potential sources of harm and as levers for preventive intervention. Neglecting these dimensions generates stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and other mental health impairments, producing ethical and legal obligations that challenge traditional understandings of employer responsibility. Digital transformation amplifies these concerns: algorithmic task allocation, AI-mediated performance monitoring, and automated processes enhance operational efficiency while potentially diminishing employee autonomy, perceived fairness, and control, thereby intensifying psychosocial strain and increasing organizational legal exposure. This context underscores the necessity of reconceptualizing occupational safety as a socio-legal construct integrating mental health and organizational ethics. Operationalizing these theoretical insights requires the development of organizational procedures and governance mechanisms capable of translating abstract legal obligations into actionable strategies. Participatory decision-making, managerial education on psychosocial risk recognition, and the integration of safety, health and organizational development policies are essential for implementation. Holistic management, rather than exclusive attention to physical injury, enhances organizational legitimacy, productivity, and sustainability while mitigating legal and ethical risk. Continuous monitoring, evaluation, and transparent reporting of psychosocial interventions – particularly within digitalized and AI-mediated workplaces – constitute both a normative and empirical imperative, embedding mental health protection within organizational governance. From a policy-theoretical perspective, the explicit integration of psychosocial risks and mental health protection into labour legislation and OSH standards constitutes a normative imperative for contemporary legal systems. Policy instruments should establish preventive risk assessment standards adapted to digitalized and automated work environments, promote participatory governance, and provide guidance and resources for small and medium-sized enterprises. Conceptually, such measures reflect a holistic and proactive approach, bridging the traditional dichotomy between legal compliance and organizational ethics. Protecting mental health is not merely instrumental for productivity; it constitutes a normative commitment to human dignity, personal autonomy, and the ethical organization of work, grounded in a human-rights-based approach and responsive to technologically mediated work environments. Legal innovations such as the right to disconnect and psychological leave – exemplified by China’s employer-led practice of so-called “right to unhappy leave” – illustrate the practical operationalization of this framework. The right to disconnect allows workers to delineate boundaries between professional and private life, mitigating stress associated with constant digital availability. Psychological leave enables preventive engagement with stressors before they escalate into clinically significant disorders, reflecting recognition of the interdependence between worker well-being, organizational stability, and societal sustainability. These instruments conceptualize work as a relational, psychosocially mediated activity rather than solely an economic function, affirming mental health as a legal and organizational value essential for sustainable employment and systemic resilience. In the Serbian context, the 2023 Occupational Safety and Health Act represents a formal reform of legislation nearly two decades old, aligning nominally with EU Directive 89/391/EEC. However, theoretical and normative analyses reveal significant gaps in addressing psychosocial risks and digital-era challenges. Domestic legislation predominantly emphasizes traditional physical hazards, while psychosocial risk assessment and mental health protection remain peripheral. The absence of explicit norms regarding mental health leave or the right to disconnect illustrates fragmented regulatory protection and the limitations of formal compliance models, underscoring the need for systemic reconceptualization of labour law that integrates psychosocial risk management, digital work realities, and participatory governance.

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