Sofrer ou não sofrer, eis a questão: estratégias defensivas ao sofrimento no trabalho em comércio exterior

Abstract

Throughout history, the relationship of the human being with work has always had a painful meaning. The word work originated from the Latin “tripalium”, which was initially the name of an agricultural tool and in the period of the Roman Empire, became the name of an instrument of torture. Another perspective on work is that of labor, which means pain, suffering, effort. Thus, the relationship of the human being with work can be understood negatively, bringing a sense of punishment or punishment in relation to professional activity. In the contemporary world, interpersonal relations, new technologies and the socioeconomic situation of the country have transformed the work environment, in relation to the constant demands of updating and developing the skills and competencies of the worker to increase their productivity. Given this demanding environment, the physical and mental health of the professional can be compromised, causing suffering and illness, since companies can be a source of pleasure and suffering to human beings. With the illness of employees, companies are susceptible to increased absenteeism, leaves, low productivity, poor performance, disciplinary dysfunctions and evasion of the work environment. Within this scenario, there are professionals and foreign trade companies, which by the nature of the work is stressful and demanding, becomes an environment prone to illness. The study aims to: understand the defensive strategies to cope with suffering at work, used by professionals and foreign trade companies in Curitiba – PR. Given the foregoing on the problems that suffering at work cause to workers’ health and the individual and collective resources to cope with this suffering, the following research problem was proposed: What are the defensive strategies to cope with suffering at work, used by professionals and companies of Foreign Trade of Curitiba-PR? And to assist in the answer to this problem, Christophe Dejours’ Psychodynamics of Work was used as a basic theoretical element. For the construction of the theoretical framework, an Integrative Review was performed and the multicase study methodology was used in two companies. From the analysis of the research findings, it was found that these professionals studied seek individual defensive strategies, such as sports, physical exercises, breathing breaks, coffee, among others. And it was noted, even if the company provides physical structures and actions to contribute to reducing stress in the workplace, this is not a determining factor in reducing or excluding suffering for employees, but the defensive strategies that they use individually are most effective. Another analysis was that in most of the acquired results, it was noted that even with different physical structures and styles, professionals from both companies gave similar answers to the research questions.