Sob o véu do teletrabalho dos Técnicos Administrativos de Educação da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia

Abstract

This study aimed to characterize telework among Technical-Administrative Education staff (TAEs) at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), seeking to outline their socio-professional profile as well as their perceptions of their experiences with telework. We sought to establish a dialogue at the intersection of health, work, and subjectivity, based on data collected through socioprofessional questionnaires and semi-structured individual interviews with employees of a Federal University in Minas Gerais. Analytical devices were employed to explore the relationship between subject and society in the field of work-related mental health, drawing on the principles of thematic content analysis developed by Laurence Bardin and Maria Cecília de Souza Minayo. The material was interpreted in light of concepts from Christophe Dejours’ work psychodynamics, as well as from the sociology of work. The analysis of telework organization revealed that TAEs are subjected to the neoliberal model of digital management by targets (imposed by the Programa de Gestão e Desempenho—PGD), to precarious working conditions, and to biomechanical and mental health risks that result in psychological suffering and mental strain. Most TAEs perceive telework as advantageous, particularly due to the flexibility of performing their tasks at any time and place, allowing reconciliation with domestic, personal, and leisure activities. However, under the logic and discourse of flexibility, they fail to perceive that the production and the mode of producing do not belong to them, but rather to the University (as an enterprise). This study contributes to the debate on transformations in the world of work, particularly within the federal public service, and highlights the urgency of institutional policies that take into account workers’ health in times of flexibilization and productive reconfiguration.