Trabalho docente e saúde mental : um estudo com professores e professoras da rede pública estadual.

Abstract

The present research aimed to understand the impacts of precariousness and intensification of work on the mental health of teachers who work in the city of Pelotas, RS. The study used the qualitative methodology and as main technique the semi-structured interviews with a total of seven workers, which had their audio recorded and later were analyzed by the content analysis method. In addition to that, a documentary analysis of CEPERS-Syndicate newspapers was used. The results show that teachers have been overwhelmed with numerous tasks, ranging from preparation of classes and assessments to new demands related to bureaucratic work. They show, furthermore, that teachers have performed their activities with relative autonomy, away from political decisions; that they generally consider that the changes that have taken place worsen their working conditions and that in their understanding the absence of major transformations in the education system is condemning schools to obsolescence. Regarding the dynamics of pleasure and suffering at work, the results point to the predominance of feelings such as lack of recognition and devaluation among teachers, especially by governments. The teachers' statements reveal signs of health problems, such as the appearance of signs and symptoms related to work, reports of absences from work, constant lack of motivation and the sources of this suffering. They show, however, that, taken in a dynamic sense, work gives them the experience of pleasure. Finally, they point out different strategies developed to preserve mental health in the face of harmful effects of work, such as "routinization", change of function, strategies for organizing time and the collective strategy of "contentment".