"We are survivors": experiences of being a public servant at INSS considering the new management modes and precarious work conditions in public service management reform

Abstract

This research aimed to understand the reality of a Brazilian public corporation in the context of current management reform, the workers' experiences and working conditions, as well as its impacts on their mental health. The methodology used was PDT (in Portuguese) - Psychodynamics of Work, which proposes collective listening workers' experiences. It was possible to verify precariousness in the work context, revealed in particular from suffering in achieving goals and lacking of recognition to the importance of being public servants in what regards the social outcomes of their work, associated to the collapse of common ethics that maintain working sense. Besides, there was (in)stability demonstrated from discontinuity of salary, lack of growth opportunities and also from intense workload. The pride, in this profession, the pleasure in ensuring people's rights and the recognition and appreciation of its important social role, as well as the resumption of work collectives by means of discussion spaces, as proposed by PDT, may create facing strategies to promote healthier working relationships and emancipatory actions.