Assédio moral no trabalho, sofrimento e impactos na família: estudo com trabalhadores atendidos no CEST (Centro de Especializado em Saúde do Trabalhador), da Prefeitura do Recife/PE, 2007

Abstract

This study aims at understanding the suffering of employees who have been victims of moral harássment, their working context and the repercussions in their families. Its main aims are to objectively describe the working context of victimized employees; characterize situations of moral harassment e relate them to the suffering at work; and check the repercussion of such form of violence in the harassee's family. Work Psychodynamics and General Systems Theory are the main epistemological basis underlying this study. The methodology applied is qualitative. Six victimized employees attended at CEST -Worker's Health Specialized Center which is part of Recife City Hall, located in Pemambuco, Brazil. A semi-directive or semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The method is that of the Contents Analysis under the perspective of Minayo. The answers obtained were categorized according to themes aligned with the objectives proposed having the Thematic Analysis as a basis. The results obtained indicate that the work organization encourages moral harassment practices which bring suffering to the victimized employee. They also indicate that the signification of work, considering its subjectivity and ideology, suffers a negative alteration due to the violence inflicted as well as causes dissatisfaction and decrease of motivation at work. The evidence of moral harassment found in the interviews denote negative consequences to the employee's health and their families. Either because the harassee finds no support among bis or her peers or because he or she reproduces, in bis family, the violence suffered. Although it extrapolates the objectives proposed, it is made evident, in this study, the impact of moral harassment to professional performance. Data collected also reveal that the organizations themselves are also victims of the violence practiced inside their premises. Informants speech indicate that moral harassment hinders socio-professional relationships, increases absenteeism and dismissals, decreases productivity as well as causes economic and financial damages once some companies have been penalized by law. Lastly, this study intends to contribute to the implement of further research which indicate preventive and corrective strategies to situations of moral harassment at the workplace and study more profoundly the repercussion of work organization to the worker's family dynamics.