Worker´s health in the university: a successful partnership at UFC

Abstract

The changes on the labor world, that bring features like threats to the labor context and greater labor flexibility, have generated, as a consequence, an increase in psychological distress and illness in several organizational levels. Given the demand from UFC’s workers and managers, the Pro-Rectory of Personnel Management (PROGEP-UFC) and the Núcleo de Psicologia do Trabalho (NUTRA-UFC) develop, since 2009, practices whose main objective is to promote health and improve life quality in the work context. Among these practices, we highlight the ELABORar project and the “Saúde do Trabalhador em Debate” project. The first project is concerned about collective interventions with the federal workers, based in the theoretical and methodological framework of the Clinic of Activity, discussed by Yves Clot. The second project has, as its purpose, popularize discussions about workers’ health by posts in the blog “Vida no Trabalho” and also through participation on monthly programs on the UFC’s college radio for 2 years. The results of these projects have been positively assessed by the participants of the interventions, as the projects have eased a greater role of workers to develop changes in their work’s conditions and organization, encouraging interpersonal relationships in the workplace and thus contributing to improve health in the labor space.