Work organization of technical-administrative employees in a federal educational institution: an approach on career, tasks, and interpersonal relationships

Abstract

This article explores the experiences and perceptions of technical-administrative public servants in relation to the organization of their work, analyzed here in terms of three interrelated perspectives: career, tasks, and interpersonal relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants, employees of a federal educational institution located in the state of São Paulo. The main results indicated that: i) in relation to career; the stability of public office coexists with the instability of working conditions resulting from the precariousness of public service and public education; ii) in relation to the tasks, evidence of underutilization of labor, work overload, lack of employees, and absence of performance evaluation were identified; and iii) in the context of interpersonal relationships, conflicts and the perception of inferiority stand out due to the daily organizational life that, at times, has privileged the teaching activity to the detriment of the technical-administrative activities. It is concluded that concomitantly with the positive aspects, the work organization of the employees is strongly delineated by conflicts between professional expectations and the frustrations of these workers, revealing contentious, symbolic disputes and challenges present in their daily work.