AMBIENTE E TRABALHO: CONDIÇÕES DE ESTRESSE EM PROFISSIONAIS DE UM CENTRO DE ATENÇAO PSICOSSOCIAL I NO INTERIOR DO MATO GROSSO

Abstract

Labor is a source of material resources, but also a source of self-realization and of social life. As such, it should promote well-being. However, it can also menace the worker s health. The present study approached the professional environment as a mixed set of favorable elements and risk factors for the worker s well-being. Its goal was to investigate how professionals in a Center for Psychosocial Attention (CAPS) type 1, in the state of Mato Grosso (Brazil) experience their work environment and work conditions. Both objective and subjective aspects were considered, going from architectural features, gardens (the presence of nature in the work environment); to the workers appreciation of these elements as to functionality (pragmatic qualities) and as to the effect on their well-being. Action-research was conducted, using multiple methods, including content analysis of interviews, collection of field data through fieldnotes and photography, document research and literature research. The participants were ten professionals at the CAPS 1. The data were analyzed according to the principles of Grounded Theory. Categories were constructed through an inductive-analytic process and organized in an explicative model that described problems and changes in the studied environment. The results indicate as major sources of stress: inadequacy of the indoor environment (principally lack of space in the offices, inadequate ventilation, thermal discomfort; bad smell and visual discomfort) and of the outdoor environment (thermal discomfort, absence of shadow and scarcity of grass); lack of employment stability; bad pay; work overload; uncertainty as to the efficiency of the work with the patients. Besides this, there was a feeling of being both unreasonably pressured and undervalued by local politicians. The participants reported considerable stress, but also a broad variety of coping strategies and sources of resilience (including religious coping, personal commitment to team work, awareness of improvement in patients etc.) The conclusion of the study is that both the physical environment in itself and the socio-political context that is responsible for it deserve attention as moderators of occupational stress of professionals in mental health centers.