Significados do trabalho para servidores técnico-administrativos de uma universidade pública federal

Abstract

Universities are multidisciplinary institutions that train higher-level professionals, which perform their functions through teaching, research and extension activities. In this work space, multiple interests from different categories coexist, which represent Brazilian society itself in its contradictions. Among the employees that make up this institution, technical-administrative workers perform their work in so-called middle activities, providing technical, bureaucratic and logistical support. This study aimed to understand the meanings of work for technical-administrative employees at the Federal University of Bahia. This is a descriptive research, which was carried out through a collective case study, with six administrative technicians from the Professor Milton Santos Institute of Humanities, Arts and Sciences (IHAC) at UFBA, who worked in the support secretariat for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. To produce data, two instruments were used: sociodemographic questionnaire and in-depth interview. It was possible to observe that, through lived experiences and interaction with the university environment, a range of meanings were attributed to the work by administrative technicians. The university was described as a space of opportunities, with which they created strong emotional bonds. Flexible working hours and remote work were identified as promoting benefits for workers. On the other hand, inadequate working conditions and conflicts between administrative and academic roles contributed to physical and emotional exhaustion. In view of the results presented, it is necessary for the university to commit to implementing improvements in the working conditions of administrative technicians, as the reports presented situations that harmed both the well-being of workers and the performance of their duties.