Moral Harassment at Work—The Portuguese Conceptual Case: Persecution vs Intentionality

Abstract

Equality and access to work are structuring principles of our constitutional system that aim to guarantee an equal condition in terms of rights and duties, fulfilling the basis of the social dignity of the human person. Within the scope of the protection of equality and non-discrimination, we find harassment, as unwanted behavior, with the aim of affecting that very dignity of the human person, whose article 1 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic calls for its protection, always based on personality rights, and it is in this sense that I propose to analyze the other concepts, causes, subjects, effects and ways to fight and prevent. This investigation intends to analyze, through a cognitive framework, in a precise and direct way, the relationship between persecution (determining factor) and intentionality (conditioning factor), based on the aforementioned concepts and their relationship with Portuguese jurisprudence, seeking to locate trends and characterize them, discussing the limits and potential of their effects.