ABSTRACT
The growth of invisible pathologies resulting from the psychological exhaustion of nursing professionals raises an alert to the lack of labor policies in institutions with a focus on prevention. This study aims to assess the perception of nursing professionals about mental illness in their work environment, enhanced by the current pandemic moment. It also aims to identify the actions that contracting health institutions adopt, as a preventive measure. This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study, in which the snowball technique was used, using the Google Forms® tool. The research complied with the ethical precepts of Resolution CNS 466/2012, being held in July and August 2020. 45 nurses and 56 nursing technicians answered the questions, with a prevalence of 85.14% being women. The high workload, the pressure in the work routine, the low pay and the precarious conditions for the exercise of the activity were the factors listed that most contribute to mental illness. Although 73 of the respondents did not leave work for prolonged periods, 30 were absent due to mental illness. It should be noted that 61 nursing professionals, who responded, are not aware of preventive initiatives for mental illness in their companies. This study reveals that the work environment, poor conditions for performing activities, work overload and fear of the unknown, such as the disease caused by the coronavirus, are considered the main factors that contribute to the mental illness of nursing professionals. Thus, it is essential that protective measures for self-care in mental health are offered by health institutions. © 2021 Slovak Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.