Revue - Droit et société n°118-2024 - 117

Working Time and Work Intensity in Portuguese Courts
concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (Directive 2003/88/
EC), " Specific working conditions may have detrimental effects on the safety and
health of workers. The organization of work according to a certain pattern must
take account of the general principle of adapting work to the worker. " 16 Given
the potential impact on the quality of justice provided to citizens by the judicial
professionals not only the health and safety of workers was at risk, but also the
right of citizens to have fair and swift justice.
In the 2003 World Health Organization report on work organization and stress,17
work-related stress, also called occupational stress, is defined as a " response
people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not
matched to their knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope. "
Such occupational stress can have health consequences for the individual, affect
family roles and productivity, and decrease job quality and satisfaction. It can also
have significant negative impacts on the company or organization with which the
individual is employed and on the recipients of the services offered.18 According
to Marques-Pinto, Lima, and Silva,19 burnout is a severe reaction to occupational
stress, with impact on physical and psychological health and behavioral-motivation.
It is a psychological syndrome that may occur when workers chronically face a
stressful working environment and lack the resources to meet high job demands.20
With the adoption of Directive 2003/88/EC, the European Union promoted
changes in public policies on working conditions with an impact on national
legislation and specifically regarding these two elements. This Directive focuses
on several important aspects of work intensity and working time, such as limits
to weekly working hours, minimum daily rest periods, paid annual leave, and
extra protection in case of night work.21 These concerns are in line with the
European Pillar of Social Rights (Principle 10: Healthy, safe and well-adapted work
16. European Commission, Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC), November 4, 2003, .
17.
Stavroula Leka, Amanda Griffiths and Tom Cox, Work Organisation and Stress: Systematic Problem
Approaches for Employers, Managers and Trade Union Representatives, Geneva: World Health
Organization, 2003, p. 3, .
18. Alberto Hespanhol, " Burnout e stress ocupacional, " Revista Portuguesa de Psicossomática, 7 (12),
2005, p. 153-162, ; Mayra Grava De Moraes,
Vinicius Barrosos Hitora and Carlos Lopes Verardi, " The Relationship between Burnout and Quality
of Life, " Cadernos de Pós-Graduação em Distúrbios do Desenvolvimento, 19(1), 2019, p. 51-64, .
19. Alexandra Marques-Pinto, Maria Luísa Lima, and Adelina L. Da Silva, " Stress profissional em professores
portugueses: Incidência, preditores e reacção de burnout, " Psychologica, 33, 2003, p. 181-194.
20. Arnold B. Bakker and Evangelia Demerouti, " The Job Demands-Resources Model: State of the
Art, " Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22 (3), 2007, p. 309-328. DOI: 10.1108/02683940710733115;
Christina Maslach, " Burnout, Psychology of, " in James D. Wright (ed.), International Encyclopedia of the
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015, p. 929-932; Jorge Sinval, Cristina Queirós,
Sonia Pasian, and and João Marôco, " Transcultural Adaptation of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory
(OLBI) for Brazil and Portugal, " Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2019, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00338.
21. European Commission, Working Time Directive (2003/88/EC), cited.
Droit et Société 118/2024 ■
553

https://eur http://lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32003L0088&from=EN https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42625 https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/287/28770212.pdf http://http:// http://editorarevistas.mackenzie.br/index.php/cpgdd/article/view/11831/7648

Revue - Droit et société n°118-2024

Table des matières de la publication Revue - Droit et société n°118-2024