INVESTIGAÇÃO DE FATORES QUE GERAM EFEITOS PSÍQUICOS NEGATIVOS EM PROFISSIONAIS DA GASTRONOMIA.

Abstract

This study investigates the factors that negatively affect the mental health of gastronomy professionals, a group often subjected to long working hours, constant pressure, harassment, and low wages. The research adopts a quantitative approach, through a structured questionnaire applied to 155 participants from different positions in the sector, enabling a multifactorial analysis of working conditions. The results reveal alarming rates of moral and sexual harassment, professional dissatisfaction, financial insecurity, and a high incidence of psychological distress symptoms such as stress, anxiety, and exhaustion, combined with physical suffering resulting from musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, excessive heat, and inadequate ergonomics. The findings also highlight inequalities related to gender, hierarchy, and educational background in the perception of how work impacts physical and mental well-being. The analysis shows that the structural precariousness of professional kitchens, where suffering is naturalized as a rite of passage, reinforces the urgency of institutional and public policies aimed at valuing the profession, regulating working conditions, and strengthening mental health care strategies, which are essential to ensure dignity and sustainability in the practice of gastronomy.