Introduction: Growing awareness of mental health and the impact of working conditions on psychological well-being has made research on employment stability and worker protection increasingly relevant. The liberalized labor market of the United States, based on the "employment at will" principle, offers minimal legal protection for employees, while most European Union countries maintain statutory safeguards through codified employment contracts. These differences may significantly influence workers' sense of security, satisfaction, and perceived stress levels.


Purpose: The study aims to compare legal foundations of employment and levels of employee protection in the USA and EU, and to assess their relationship with psychological well-being, job satisfaction, and stress perception among workers.


Method: The research combines a comparative legal analysis of labor law systems (statutes, case law, and doctrine) with quantitative methods. Standardized tools such as the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12/28), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and Sense of Job Security Scale will be used to measure subjective experiences among employees from both systems.


Results: The project is expected to reveal correlations between the degree of legal protection and reported well-being indicators, highlighting the role of state involvement in shaping labor conditions. Differences in contractual forms of employment are hypothesized to affect perceived job security and stress differently across legal regimes.


Conclusions: The study seeks to provide empirical insight into how employment law frameworks contribute to psychological well-being and labor efficiency. Findings may inform future public policies and labor law reforms aimed at balancing flexibility and security in modern employment relations.