2025 Volume 4 Issue 2 Article ID: oa.25-005
Belgium is increasingly affected by the issue of mental health problems in the workplace, commonly referred to as work-related psychosocial risks (PSR). These risks have become a major concern for both employers and workers, as they directly impact well-being, productivity and social cohesion at work. Belgium stands out in the European context for having developed a detailed and evolving legal framework, in which PSR and their causes are explicitly defined—a relatively rare feature across European legal systems. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of how PSR are addressed in Belgium. First, it outlines the national context and the rising awareness of these issues. It then identifies the main stakeholders involved in prevention and intervention, before presenting the legal framework that governs the management of PSR. The fourth section examines how this framework is implemented in practice at the company level. Finally, the conclusion reflects on the persistent gap between the formal elaboration of norms and their concrete enforcement, arguing that legal innovation must be supported by robust mechanisms to ensure real-world effectiveness.
