Pleasure, suffering and the process of health-illness on the job

Experiences of pleasure and suffering and health-illness are to be discussed, using the Psychodynamic of work approach. The health-illness process is understood as a result of the search for physical, psychic and social integrity. It is experienced when workers are efficiently using individual and collective strategies of copping with suffering. They are succeeded well when the suffering become an experience responsible for the mobilization of the workers due to actions at their own organization of the work. When they fail, illness occurs. Research was undertaken with twenty workers from different public service activities such as attendants, health professionals, teachers, banks and subway motormen. Individual and collective interviews were applied and were submitted for content analysis. The research concluded that: suffering in males originates in bodily harm from work and in social relations; it's caused by organization, conditions and relationships of work; it is expressed by anxiety, dissatisfaction, indignity, uselessness, depreciation and stress at work; It can be mediated through defensive strategies or through the recognition process; pleasure is expressed through fulfillment, accomplishment, freedom, valuation and satisfaction with the work; it is an indicator of health in order to it contributes for the structure psychic and identity. The illness-process is linked with a failure of defensive strategies. These strategies become pathological when suffering is completely denied. Occupational diseases such as depression and panic syndrome are a result of this dynamic. Finally, questions for future research are presented.