Companies in Brazil are increasingly adopting workplace reading clubs as a tool to strengthen social bonds among employees and address rising mental health concerns, according to a report by CNN Brasil.
Work absences linked to mental disorders have shown alarming figures in Brazil. In 2025, the National Social Security Institute, known as INSS, granted 546,254 temporary disability benefits related to mental disorders, a 15.6% increase over the previous year and the second consecutive record in the historical series.
Amid these cases, companies have adopted collective measures aimed at workplace health. The movement runs alongside an update to NR-1, a regulation that now mandates the inclusion of psychosocial risks, requiring organizations to identify, assess and manage them.
Collective Reading as Treatment
As a result, companies have broadened their focus beyond individual wellness programs to include collective initiatives. Among these, practices associated with the concept of social health, understood as the dimension of well-being tied to the quality of human connections, are gaining ground.
The World Health Organization estimates that around 871,000 deaths per year are associated with social isolation. Behavioral scientist Gaya Machado said the distinction between mental health and social health is still not fully grasped by organizations. Machado said most companies concentrate their efforts on responding to illness, while prevention depends on the quality of relationships in the workplace, adding that reading clubs are among the initiatives aimed at strengthening those bonds.
Research indicates improvements in mental health indicators among participants of reading groups with a depression diagnosis over a 12-month period, according to the report. Additional reviews point to an association between shared reading and a reduction in depressive symptoms, as well as gains in well-being and quality of life.
Beyond strengthening social bonds, reading clubs are also associated with the development of cognitive and socioemotional skills relevant to the workplace.
Studies by the American Psychological Association indicate that reading fiction can help develop empathy and understanding of different perspectives. Machado said reading helps people interpret information more deeply, formulate better questions and exercise critical thinking, adding that in reading groups this process is further enhanced by the exchange of perceptions and experiences among participants.
Impact on the Workplace
In the organizational field, data from Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report show global engagement falling to 20%, the lowest level since 2020, with an estimated impact of $10 trillion on productivity. The survey also points to rising feelings of loneliness, sadness and anger among leaders compared with other professionals.
Against this backdrop, structured interaction initiatives can help strengthen bonds and a sense of belonging within organizations. The Edelman Trust Barometer 2026, an annual global report measuring trust levels in institutions and expectations of companies, found that 75% of respondents said employers are responsible for fostering connections between groups, while 82% consider building a shared identity in the workplace to be effective.
With the inclusion of psychosocial risks in NR-1, actions focused on interpersonal relationships now also fall within the scope of regulatory compliance. The requirement to manage these risks tends to expand the adoption of evidence-based collective interventions, according to the report. In this context, corporate reading clubs are being considered by some companies as one possible strategy for strengthening social health.
The assessment is that initiatives of this kind can help prevent psychosocial risks and improve the organizational environment. Machado said the effectiveness of these practices depends on proper design, noting that voluntary participation, diversity in curation and the absence of a focus on performance are determining factors for the initiative to fulfill its role in the corporate environment.
