O TRABALHO QUE FLORESCE OU ADOECE: DESAFIOS EM TEMPOS DE PRECARIZAÇÃO

Abstract

Work is the main source of income and survival for workers worldwide, contributing to psychological development, strengthening identity, and social inclusion. Work is never neutral in relation to the worker's health: it can sustain health or generate or trigger occupational diseases. The deterioration of mental health at work results from the precariousness of work organization. Among the approaches that research mental health and work, the Psychodynamics of Work (PdT) stands out, a clinical approach that presupposes: the centrality of work in psychic constitution; the non-neutrality of work in relation to mental health; and the possibility of adapting work situations in an emancipatory way. This collection results from a research project entitled ‘Mental health and work: from precariousness to decent work’, which aims to analyze how precariousness affects the organization of work and how it impacts the health of workers.

The chapters in this collection result from the aforementioned project and present partial findings from doctoral theses and master's dissertations from the PdT program, which gives the work unity in terms of thematic and methodological coherence. The PdT method is based on dialogue between researchers and workers and aims to reframe suffering; emancipate; develop collective strategies and changes in the organization of work. It is composed of six chapters, distributed in two parts. The first part, entitled The Organization of Work, discusses topics such as sustainability, social responsibility, telework and entrepreneurship, as well as the global impacts on the internal organization of companies.

This study is composed of three chapters that analyze how the global context impacts work in organizations. Data reveals that inadequate organizational practices, such as poorly structured teleworking and lack of support in startups, result in the precariousness of work. In the second part, entitled "The Subjective Mobilization of the Worker," individual and collective experiences take center stage, revealing the repercussions of these changes on the mental health of workers. The data indicates the need for support and the development of collective strategies to confront and transform the suffering arising from work. The groups of workers surveyed in this study were: occupational safety engineers; public servants from a Education Institution; startup entrepreneurs; psychologists working via platforms; hospital workers; and workers from a Social Assistance Reference Center (CREAS), which serves the needy population. Interdisciplinarity is also reflected in the background of the authors of this collection, with training in psychology, administration, physiotherapy, engineering, psychoanalysis, among others. The collection explores how new practices and concepts can pave the way for healthier and more productive conditions, inviting the reader to reflect on the challenges and possibilities for transformation in the world of work. It offers valuable contributions to understanding and addressing current challenges in the world of work.