Multiform invasion of life by work among basic education teachers and repercussions on health

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have pointed to a scenario of precariousness and illness among teachers. However, the way the profession resonates with the personal life of teachers has not received significant attention, even if it is common for them to take work home. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the repercussion of work on the everyday life of teachers and its implication on the health-disease process. METHODS: This is a qualitative study based on individual semi-structured interviews, complemented by a form of sociodemographic characterization. Data were analyzed by thematic coding with the aid of the MAXQDA 12 software. This study included 29 teachers from four public schools of the municipal and state networks of regular and full day education of São Paulo, in addition to the principal of each school. RESULTS: The results indicated that the illnesses arising from work have been projected on the personal life of teachers. We identified four main forms of manifestation of this type of invasion: continuous link with work by successive frustrations; moral harassment; uninterrupted pending matters; and interference over the private course of life. CONCLUSION: The social and pathogenic suffering caused by the invasion of life by work pointed to this phenomenon as one of the elements that can help explain the recurrent clinical pictures of illness among teachers.