Vivências de Prazer e Sofrimento no Trabalho de Trabalhadores da Superintendência de Vigilância em Saúde de Palmas

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the factors that impact the experiences of pleasure and suffering at work among 82 professionals from the Health Surveillance Superintendence of the Municipal Health Secretariat of Palmas, Tocantins, through an open-ended questionnaire. This is a qualitative, descriptive study, whose data were analyzed using Content Analysis, according to Bardin’s proposal. The results indicate that pleasure and suffering at work arise from the articulation between material conditions, work organization, interpersonal relationships, management practices, and the meaning attributed to work. Pleasure is expressed through cooperation among colleagues, recognition, the social usefulness of work, and the existence of minimum conditions for its qualified performance. Suffering, in turn, is associated with structural precariousness, work overload, lack of resources, absence of dialogue, and the impossibility of carrying out what is considered “good work.” It was observed that these experiences vary according to length of service, type of employment contract, position, and level of education, demonstrating that they do not reflect individual fragilities, but rather effects of the organization of work. The study reaffirms Health Surveillance as a space that simultaneously produces health and illness, pointing to the ethical need for participatory management, recognition, and care for workers. 

Keywords: Work. Mental Health. Health Professionals. Management.