A dor e a delícia de ser professor sob o olhar da clínica psicodinâmica do trabalho

Abstract

This research had the objective of analyzing the meanings of teaching work in viewphe appeal and disenchantment with the profession, for elementary schoolteachers, of a school of the municipal network of education in the city of São Luís, Maranhão. Many changes have occurred in the labor scenario throughout history and have put in place new demands in the area of education, establishing new demands on the teaching profession and, consequently, an overload of work that has repercussions on the physical and mental health of teachers. Faced with so many adverse conditions of work, we sought to understand the meanings that teachers attribute to their work, and in function of it. For that, we chose to use the theoretical-methodological reference of the Psychodynamics of Work in articulation with Historical-Dialectical Materialism. The Work Clinic was applied and the action recommended by Christophe Dejours, which focused on the construction of a public space for discussion, with the participation of 11 teachers who were able to share their subjective and intersubjective experiences related to work organization. The Clinic of Work carried out the following steps: pre-research, aiming the survey of the demand, through conducting interviews with the 11 teachers; the research itself, which occurred with the holding of 7 collective sessions; listening; clinical observation; discussion and interpretation of the contents; and validation and refutation of results. It was found that the organization of work is marked by distances between the prescribed work and the real work, contributing to the suffering and sickness of the teacher. Faced with suffering, teachers make use of defense strategies, in more isolated ways: denial, adaptation, exploitation and attendance. In spite of the difficulties, the teachers are able to elaborate strategies of subjective mobilization, making use of practical intelligence, seeking to preserve health and experience pleasure, having their work recognized by the students and their peers, and having a certain degree of autonomy in the activity. The experience of the Work Clinic with elementary school teachers has shown that listening to what is experienced at work can bring significant changes to the workers’ lives.