THE
IMPACT OF ABSENTEEISM AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH EMOTIONAL ABSENCE BASED ON
INDIVIDUAL STORIES
Leandro
Marcucci
UNIVALI, Brazil
E-mail: lemarcucci@gmail.com
Ruan
Carlos dos Santos
Centro
Universitário UNIAVAN, UNIVALI, Brazil
E-mail: ruan_santos1984@hotmail.com
Submission: 5/25/2020 5:51:40 PM
Revision: 7/3/2020 3:57:22 PM
Accept: 7/14/2020 10:13:29 AM
ABSTRACT
The relationship between the concepts of stress,
mental illness and burnout syndrome seems to be indistinguishable when it comes
to work leave by individuals who present specific and common symptoms. Recent
research has shown an increase in absenteeism as a pandemic in society, one of
the main problems faced by organizations, the consequences of illness generated
by lack of emotional health, and the emergence of such symptoms arising from
these relationships. This study analyzes the discourse of individuals diagnosed
with burnout syndrome, seeking to identify the multiple relationships between
the underlying symptoms and emotional health problems, a new concept discussed
by theorists in recent years. For research purposes, elements of qualitative
methodology were used. The narratives were analyzed considering psychoanalysis,
and supported by the social interpretation of the reports. The results showed a
significant trend towards a relationship between the concepts, the subject
studied and the stories told in the interviews, leading us to reflect on the
emotional impact of these relationships on work environments, individuals and
society.
Keywords: Contemporary management; Absence of emotional health; impact of the Burnout syndrome
1.
INTRODUCTION
The reflections on the
theme of this paper seek to outline a historical path of studies on
absenteeism, by bringing the relationship between this theme and the concepts
of stress - illness - burnout syndrome and lack of emotional health. Approaches
have been studied in this context over the last 70 years (Robbins, 2004) of
pressures for productivity and goals that are often impossible to achieve, from
stressful environments to profiles of bosses and managers with repressive and
controlling characteristics, increasingly increasing the difficulties of the
well-being of individuals in organizations.
With absenteeism as one
of the main organizational problems, the consequences of illness generated by
the absence of physical and mental health arising from these relationships have
become undeniable. (Alvesson, 2012). In addition, there would be in the
contemporary world an incessant search for productivity, which would generate a
competitiveness based on the systematic and positivist objectivity of the
institutions, leaving the issues related to the problems of the so-called
corporate well-being to the studies of subjectivity.
Subjectivity studies
include the subthemes related here to stress, illness, burnout syndrome, up to
the most recent term, which directs this study to an innovative theme,
"absence of emotional health", which would directly influence
individuals in the field of emotions, by bringing severe impacts especially
when they bring this absence to the surface as a social pandemic (Leiter,
2013).
For the applied
sciences of administration, studying the theme of absenteeism from the notion
of absence of emotional health means bringing a contemporary and extremely
recent perspective to the area, which began in 2006 in Europe, more precisely
in Germany, with the creation of a model of the concept of absence of emotional
health in organizations, still little used (Kraft, 2006).
In Brazil, there was
little research on the theme of lack of emotional health in organizations until
the years 2009, mainly due to the difficulty of access to this type of
information, since the organizations did not want to show that their workers
presented some discomfort in relation to health (Zanatta,
2015).
2.
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.
Recent Studies
In Brazil, the works of multi-level research
of 1) Canesqui (2010), with themes and approaches of
social and human sciences in health in academic production from 1997 to 2007;
2) Nascimento (2011) referring to the studies of the
psychic repercussions caused by work environments, in 730 articles that analyze
citations related to all situations in which the collaborator and organizations
influence each other; 3) Muniz (2014) with the theme emotional health and
stress control of 240 municipal guards in the State of São Paulo.
Mention is also made of the recent work of
researchers from other countries, which began almost at the same time, among
them: 1) In England, Prosser (2012), when writing about the relationship
between stress and job satisfaction, in a study with thirty health professionals;
2) In Mexico, Martinez (2013), when studying the relationship between the
dynamics of emotional health associations, an analysis of the causal
relationship between emotional health and job satisfaction; 3) In the United
States, Glina (2008), when they discussed and
analyzed 150 cases of workers who had been removed and treated in reference
centers, with diagnoses based on daily practices in relation to work and mental
health; and 4) In Spain, Simón (2013), when they
studied the factors influencing emotions in six hundred and forty-two Spanish
workers, adolescents, and those aged up to eighteen years.
The most recent research involving the key
concepts for this research presents related themes such as: "illness and
psychic health", "physical and mental exhaustion of the worker",
"stress and productivity". For several authors, the intention is to
understand the dynamics of these processes: Stein (2009), Assunção
(2007), Arnaud (2012), Archer (2000), Alves (1996), Bachelard
(1996), Brotheridge (2002), Calheiros
(2010), Chanlat (1994), Erickson (1997), Fiker (2006), Fredrickson (2005/2006), Freudenberger
(1974), Harvie (2006), Linstead
(1992), Minayo (2002), Pugliesi
(1999) and Robbins (2009) sought through complex relationships, to explain the
social nuances that affect human beings in their individual and social
anxieties (Braverman, 2012).
If on one hand individuals are charged for the
systems that society creates, there is always the opposite, thinkers who
criticize the existing systems and suggest new constructs (industrial models
and alternative societies; productivity and control; pressure, goals and
results) (Routledge, 2005). At the end of the 19th century, scholars of the
human sciences appropriated these analyses in order to create complementary
theories for exact science researchers, which opened up new horizons and
perspectives for the social sciences, and a little later for the applied social
sciences (Neuman, 2013).
Besides
these, classical authors through their works have always been in search of
explanations for the emotional dilemmas of individuals, by raising questions
about the role and function of man as a social being: Freud (1915) when he
produced "Malaise in Civilization"; Heidelberg (1953) with
"Mythology of Emotions", Dejours in
"The Psychic Load of Work" (1980) and "Psychodynamics of
Work" (1994) through his significant concepts; besides Ehrenberg (1998)
when he wrote "The fatigue of work" and; Kraft (2006) when he
developed a model of recognition of emotional health risk at work.
2.2.
Emotions, health and organizational behavior
The concept of emotional health is linked to
the habits of life that characterize a healthier way of living (Vilela, 2007). Well-being in life is a concept that
encompasses several dimensions: emotional, physical, spiritual, social, family
and professional, and includes responsibility for one's own health, seeking a
more balanced lifestyle (Health Ministry, 2007). In addition, the family
history, the environment in which you live, the health care you receive are
also decisive.
Emotional health is the balance of psychic
functions, which reveals itself in the ability to control and manage emotions,
resulting in a feeling of well-being and the absence of emotional disorders
(Tamayo, 2004). Not having emotional imbalance does not necessarily mean one is
walking towards full health. It is not only physical factors that affect your
ability to stay healthy: the lack of defined goals, empty emotional life and
out of control anxiety can also generate a state of imbalance (Dejours, 2004).
When the individual is in a condition of
frequent psychic and physical imbalance, together with the problems faced daily
in organizations, the probability of a breakdown is accentuated. In the studies
that served as the basis for this work, in a common way, behaviors are cited
that frequently present themselves in companies: frequent conflicts with
colleagues and managers, the lack of autonomy in relation to time itself and
the feeling of having very little used capacities fills a perfect picture for
the appearance of stress and burnout syndrome, which accelerates the appearance
of symptoms such as muscular tension, nervous gastritis, heart problems,
depression, insomnia and generalized anxiety disorders.
It is important to emphasize some definitions
about organizational behavior because, through it, one can better understand
human behavior. Without the understanding of this behavior, it is impossible to
understand the needs that motivate people to develop their tasks well. For this
reason, Wagner and Hollenbeck (2002), who discuss organizational behavior as
"a field of study aimed at predicting, explaining, understanding and
modifying human behavior in the context of companies", are used.
Behaviors and attitudes related to the absence
of emotional health in organizations need to be studied and analyzed by three
determining factors: individuals, groups and structure, so that they have
positive results and more effective people, that is, how these behaviors affect
the performance of these companies (Robbins, 2002). It is noted that this
relationship affects directly on employees and acts on the needs, personality,
teamwork capacity, ambitions, and dreams, of each of the members of an
organization. If individual needs do not meet the needs of the organization,
the result of this interaction can be seen in low performance and low
motivation teams.
Emotions were cited by McGregor (2002) as
instincts associated with emotion and, which would explain some actions within
organizations: Escape instinct that
provokes, among others, the emotion of fear; Fighting instinct that originates
the emotion of anger; Paternal instinct that leads to tenderness; Curiosity
instinct that originates the emotion of admiration; Self-affirmation instinct
that leads to the emotional expression of pride, being able to justify the
pride of social class and cultural level; Instinct of self-humiliation that
originates the emotion of submission before people of greater capacity;
Gregarious instinct that leads to the emotion of loneliness; Property instinct,
simply for the pleasure of having; Food instinct that provokes the emotion of
hunger; justifies the purchase of food and drink.
Now, if behaviors are linked to emotions and
are closely linked to the needs, needs or desires that people can present at
each moment, through behavioral theories we could explain the decisions related
to work. As the subjectivity and complexity in the situations is much
accentuated, the rationality is limited, there is a relativity and imperfection
in the decisions because the chosen alternative never allows a perfect or
complete fulfillment of the objectives pursued, which happens with the absence
of emotional health and burnout syndrome.
If for administrative rationality the behavior
of individuals in organizations can be oriented to achieve objectives, in the
complexity and subjectivity of human emotions, this does not become so simple,
since it would also take into account affectivity and relational capacity, in
which the behavior of an individual is proportional to his affectivity, and can
be high or low. In this way, the affective aspect would have a profound
influence on the development of employees in companies (Lima, 1998).
2.3.
The impact of dissatisfaction on work
Indicators of dissatisfaction in the work
environment, such as turnover and absenteeism, have grown significantly over
the years despite the efforts made to contain these impacts (Calheiros & Rodrigues, 2010). Despite the numerous
advances observed in the field of organizational psychology by authors such as Dejours (1980) and Bleger (1996),
a growing trend of oppressive workplaces can be observed (Schöttner,
2008).
In addition, there is a growing number of
working arrangements in which the employee is forced to accept the performance
of activities that are not of his or her preference. The purpose of these
changes is to reduce operating expenses that result from organizational
restructuring that usually adds functions and increases demand on the worker (Neuman, 2003).
This situation generally determines a drop in
the quality of services provided by individuals, increasing their
dissatisfaction with their work. This negative scenario related to the work
context has favored the absence of emotional health at work and the occurrence of
a significant number of diseases and syndromes such as: hypertension, diabetes,
major depression and burnout syndrome (Iacovides,
2003).
Another significant factor is the relationship
between job satisfaction and worker health, since with the increase in the
level of dissatisfaction at work increases the use of medicines, alcohol and
drugs by individuals (Limongi-France & Arellano,
2002). This dissatisfaction originates in the imposition of performing a
meaningless and non-involving function for the employee, and mainly because the
employee does not know the usefulness of his work for the entire organization.
This causes the employee a feeling of devaluation, both in relation to
remuneration and in relation to the opportunity to develop their skills, autonomy
and responsibilities in the company (Dejours, Jayet & Abdoucheli, 1994).
Even if there is an initial, desire to
contribute, as time goes by, this will diminish because of the work context in
which most workers contribute in a small way (Lima, Mendonça
& Lima-Filho, 2009). This set of factors, such as: negligible work,
accumulation of unpleasant activities and unfavorable work context, can lead to
absence of emotional health and the manifestation of syndromes such as burnout
(Zanatta, 2015). Corroborating this idea, Dejours (2015) states that the worker is made up of what he
does, just as what he does constitutes what he is.
In this way, understanding this reciprocity
makes it possible to consolidate a clinical practice capable of signifying
one's own work. In this way, it is significant to investigate in the worker's
life history possible events in which the worker has experienced traumas that
may manifest themselves through adverse situations in the context of work.
The concept of Robbins (2009) for job
satisfaction is something that extrapolates the context of the company itself.
In this way, it is also necessary to measure outside the work environment. It
is also in most of these companies, with little interest in the overall context
of the worker and his satisfaction at work, that the main problems are
observed.
2.4.
The Kraft model
Within an organization, it is necessary to
understand people's needs, discover their individual and professional goals,
and then adjust them to the organization and vice versa. Do some personality
types adapt more easily to certain types of work? In an attempt to answer,
Robbins (2002) states that personality is the internal dynamic organization of
those psychological systems of the individual that determine their specific adjustment
to the environment. For Soto (2002) personality also includes intellectual,
affective, impulsive, physiological and morphological aspects.
Through the above, we can then begin to study
the reasons that lead workers to withdraw, or absenteeism itself as a
consequence of physical and emotional exhaustion, and what would be the causes
that lead individuals to withdraw by burnout. The term Burnout (which in
English means, "totally burned") interferes with the ability to lead
a professional and personal life, happy, healthy and productive (Maslach, 2008).
Who is affected by this evil depends on each
profession, but regardless of the areas in which they work, the first symptom
that becomes evident is "discouragement", up to the last stage called
"exhaustion" by specialists. The syndrome also reveals relationship
problems and associated stress, decreasing physical resistance and especially
mental and cognitive resistance, because professional demands exhaust the
individual's resources at work, which suggests a reassessment of the way the
work is performed, with the performance of functions considered
"tedious" to the detriment of others more pleasant.
The concept of "Emotional Health"
has been cited since the years 2007 in researches related to workers' health
around the world (Leiter, 2013). In
2013, some authors began to study more closely the "Emotional Health at
Work Syndrome", relating suffering - stress - burnout - absenteeism, as
inseparable.
In a longitudinal study published in 2008,
4446 employees of a multinational company based on all continents were
evaluated, and again after one year, the same aspects of this disorder were
investigated, in order to know how the same participants who scored high in
only three dimensions, for example, "exhaustion", and how it would be
one year later.
The common indicator found in the survey was
"a sense of injustice and a climate of favoring people who would not be
prepared to receive rewards such as promotions or transfers. The study showed
that professionals who saw the professional environment as impartial showed
some improvement. However, the great
result was the appearance of the "Emotional Health at Work Syndrome"
in more than 20% of the interviewees. The pressure for goals and the excessive
number of hours worked were pointed out as the main causes of poor health in
workers.
Employees who experienced discouragement and
pessimism but had not yet lost energy or efficiency were more likely to regain
their spirits when they felt their superiors communicated well with them and
kept them in important projects (Leiter, 2013). This was fundamental to the
understanding of the company's health professionals, who used a cyclical
diagnostic model entitled "Emotional Health Risk Recognition at Work
Model" prepared by Ulrich Kraft, based on the concepts of Emotional
Collapse and with an enormous tendency toward absenteeism and presents, in the
elaboration of Ulrich Kraft - Emotional Health Risk Recognition Model, as shown
in the table below.
Table 1:
Emotional Health Risk Recognition Model - Kraft in 2006
|
STAGE |
CONCEPT |
SYMPTOM |
|
01 |
Need for self-assertion |
Doing everything
perfectly, afraid of making mistakes and compulsion for performance; |
|
02 |
Intensified dedication |
Intensify things
and try to do everything yourself; |
|
03 |
Mischief with oneself |
Professional life
takes up almost all the time; |
|
04 |
Avoid conflitos |
The person fears
a crisis and the first physical problems arise; |
|
05 |
Interpreter valors |
Isolation, denial
of one's own needs and self-esteem is measured by work; |
|
06 |
Denies problems |
The person
becomes intolerant and considers others incapable; |
|
07 |
Collection |
Signs such as
irritation, discouragement and alcohol and drug abuse can occur; |
|
08 |
Behavioural changes |
Fear, shyness and
apathy. He blames the world and feels more and more useless; |
|
09 |
Depersonalization |
He devalues
everyone and himself; he abandons personal needs; he stops making plans; |
|
10 |
Indoor Empty Sensation |
It can be
exceeded in food, sex life, drug use; |
|
11 |
Depression |
Indifference,
lack of hope and extreme tiredness; life loses its meaning; |
|
12 |
Emotional Health Syndrome |
One perceives
oneself as a dead end; there is total emotional, physical and psychic
collapse. |
Source: prepared
by the authors (2018).
This chart represents the interdisciplinary
context used during the work, by using the clinical interview technique, the
psychoanalytical interpretation and social analysis of the elements of the
speeches presented. After the initial practical work, Conde (2009) recommends
that the analysis of the constructed texts be continued, in the following
sequences: a) interpretation, b) analysis and; c) articulation between the
analysis and the interpretation, suggesting a narrative articulation of the
research results. It is important to emphasize the importance of the use of
Freudian psychoanalytical concepts of - Absence of Psychic Health and Inner
Suffering; and the concept of Emotional Collapse with an enormous tendency
towards absenteeism and presents, in the elaboration of Ulrich Kraft - Model of
Recognition of Emotional Health Risk at Work.
Once the interpretative procedures covering
the work of the text in a global manner had been finalized, the steps
concerning the analysis procedures were initiated.
2.4.1.
Description of research
participants
The subjects participating in the research
captured in the scope of the researcher's intervention are characterized by
female patients, in working age considered productive (from 20 to 50 years) and
of Brazilian nationality.
Table 2:
List of Respondents for Research
|
Nomenclature
(Interviewed) |
Training |
Current
profession |
Name (Fictitious) |
|
E1 |
Psychologist |
Psychotherapist |
Camila |
|
E2 |
Administrator |
Real estate
entrepreneur |
Débora |
|
E3 |
Administrator |
Businesswoman in the aesthetic field |
Mirela |
|
E4 |
Administrator |
Food Business Owner |
Nair |
|
E5 |
Administrator |
Retail Entrepreneur |
Tatiani |
Source: prepared
by the authors (2018).
2.4.2.
Ethical Inferences
In order to maintain ethics in research, the
following documents were presented: "Disclaimer of Responsibility for Use
of the Speech for Research Purposes" and "Term of Guarantee to the
Subject of Confidentiality and Anonymity". In addition, there was the
guarantee of return to the subjects researched of the transcription of the
statements collected.
3.
METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytical Theory was
chosen as the initial interpretative theory for this work, since it deals with
assumptions about the codification of meanings through speech and physical and
emotional expressions, observed through behaviors during the research process.
For Godoi (2006),
this is a methodology that seeks in interpretation and reciprocity between
researcher and researcher, the understanding of the knowledge that subjects
have about themselves. In this research, there was the elaboration of the
researched people in relation to life experiences, memories, perceptions and
significant events.
Still in relation to the analysis of data,
Alonso (1998) and Godoi (2006), recommend that it be
done in a structural way, by recovering the subject himself in the text,
building the discourses according to a social reality and so that there is also
a more pragmatic direct link of language and the social uses of argumentation,
communication and tension, more or less conflicting. In this way, a possible concrete sense was
constituted in its development, which attests to the objective of the research
and the planned theme.
In terms of both discourse and context
conceptions, the methodological-practical elements took into account the
assumptions of the researcher, in this case, the generalist formation and
systemic understanding of the world, work, individual and society (Conde,
2009). These guidelines were developed to be used in the qualitative research
environment, whether in discussion groups, triangle groups or even in
individual interviews.
Therefore, the choice of research technique
used in this work was the clinical interview, which consisted in approaching
the subjects by means of non-directed interviews, in which they intervened
carefully to obtain the maximum in depth about their points of view (Creswell,
2013). During the clinical interview, there was almost no intervention and this
often allowed the interviewee to have moments of reflection about what he was
saying.
In addition, the individuals reported on
issues related to the main theme, with the interviewer remaining the
observation and brief link between their thoughts. In this technique, the
silence of the researcher was of utmost importance, and varied according to the
interjections and non-verbal expressions, such as head movements, gestures and
small sounds (Creswell, 2013)
In the "interview records" item,
audio recordings were made, so that later a reading, rereading and annotation
could be made in a journal of the recorded audios. In these, we took into
consideration the variations of voice tones, timbres, sounds and affective
context. Following the orientation of the clinical-quitative
investigations of (Turato, 2005) the approaches of
apprehension of the information were based on the individuals, the personal
experiences and the manifestations of the perceived experiences. The
transcriptions reflect what the interviewees wanted to say at the time,
relative and reliable to the phenomenon studied "Absence of Emotional
Health".
It was also of utmost importance to preserve
the anonymity of the interviewees, herein referred to as fictitious initials,
in addition to the physical comfort during the interview, the mutual
relationship of trust and the avoidance of a second interview, due to the
possible loss of authenticity and consequently of originality (Turato, 2005). The following table summarizes the research
methodology applied at work:
Table 3:
Survey view
Empirical investigation of the phenomenon
Theoretical
relevance
Choice of methodology
Preparation of techniques
Application of the interviews
Audio recording
Written Transcription
Analysis of meanings and senses
Source: prepared by the authors (2018).
4.
RESULTS OF THE STUDIES
In the attempt to propose a way of
understanding the manifestations of the phenomena, the analyses were carried
out to contribute to the identification of the positions that emerged
throughout the interviews, and were presented through drawings and from the
arguments and opinions expressed by the individuals researched (Mastella, 2015). It should be noted that the specific
objectives described in the work were presented through an adaptation of
analysis procedures developed and proposed by Silva (2010).
In this model, the psychodynamic connections
common to all participants are presented and analyses of the participants'
speech are made, and for this reason, psychoanalysis is used, considered the
"speech interpretation theory" and, the "interpretative social
analyses", tries to identify the social actors and link with the main
themes, in the case of this work, with the narration of symptoms.
In this positioning map, we look for which
symptoms were common to each participant, in an attempt to elucidate the Common
Reference Process of Psychic Adoption - a concept used by Dejours,
which precedes the concept of Nexus, and which would occur as a mechanism of
defense of the subject against a situation of illness (Dejours,
2009).
Figure 1:
Map of participants' positioning in relation to the period of manifestation of
symptoms throughout life
Source: Adapted Dejours (2009).
It is noticeable that the five individuals
interviewed present the Burnout Syndrome - (a disease characterized by
professional exhaustion generated by a state of permanent tension and chronic
stress that causes physical and psychological wear and tear) - as a Common
Reference Process (Dejours, 1992) and that would lead
them to medical withdrawal due to illness. In addition, the physical and emotional
wear and tear experienced by the subjects in ambivalent situations of pleasure
and suffering, resulting from work conditions and organization".
The objective of this graph is to relate the
reports to the perception of the interviewees of how they felt when they
experienced the process of Burnout Syndrome. The graph is disposed as to the
degree of Self-perception in relation to Burnout and acceptance of the disease
by the interviewees. In turn, the further to the left, the easier it seems for
the individual to accept the problem.
These wears, besides being reported, were
diagnosed by the doctors, who are the only professionals responsible for these
purposes, and for the due withdrawals. It is noticeable that Camila, presents
as Nexus, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder and the Physical and Mental
Exhaustion. Débora, on the other hand, presented as
Nexus, the Social Isolation and Suicidal Thoughts.
Figure 2:
Self-perception in relation to Burnout (x) Level of difficulty in accepting the
disease process
Source: prepared
by the authors (2018).
The Psychodynamic Nexus presented by Mirela was through the symptoms of Gastric Ulcer and
Insomnia. While for Nair, the complaints were those of Suicidal Thoughts and
Depression. Finally, in this map, Tatiani presents as
Nexus the Physical and Mental Exhaustion associated with Panic Syndrome.
It is also noticeable in the individuals
researched that most physical symptoms appeared in adolescence and youth, while
the associated psychic symptoms appeared in childhood; at the same time there
is a list of the symptoms considered more severe such as stress, panic attacks,
anxiety disorder and suicidal thoughts, appeared in adulthood and maturity.
Another point that calls attention is the appearance of depressive pictures from
a very early age, and one of the interviewees presented the association of
anorexia and bulimia, even as a child.
For Abreu (2015), the most common causes of an
emotional collapse would be chronic stress, generated by the environment in
which one works, the separation of a partner, the death of a family member or
affective relationship, for financial problems or even by managers with
threatening characteristics, which would cause a constant feeling of failure to
the individual.
The positioning of the participants in this
map is done by excluding the symptoms that did not appear in the common
relationship of the participants, precisely to facilitate the causal
understanding between the Symptoms, Nexuses and Emotional Collapse. All the
women interviewed reported physical, mental and emotional exhaustion; only
Camila and Debora who did not present Panic Syndrome, Nair did not present
physical problems, Tatiani did not develop Major
Depression Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
As we observed in the previous graph, the only
point in common with the five interviewees is that they all reached the limit
and mental, physical and emotional collapse. Thus, Mirela
and Nair are the interviewees who accepted more quickly to be under emotional
strain, while Mirela and Camila had more difficulty
in accepting the problem. Deborah, on the other hand, denies all the time and
attributes to others the fact of being emotionally and physically committed to
the work.
These associative chains appear when the most
colloquial language shows itself incapable of presenting analytically the
dimensions that are at stake in a given phenomenon, appearing as a single
representation, linked to several associative chains (Conde, 2009).
5.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
In the scope of contemporary administration,
it is up to managers to broaden the world vision in a systemic way, by
contemplating and valuing the various areas of knowledge that are available and
trying to solve these problems in organizations.
Management professionals are not responsible
for judging which denominations are the most correct, but rather for
understanding, how the symptoms reported would initiate the process of
emotional illness, and how they would be interpreted because of the removal of individuals
from organizations. Underpinned by the concepts of the individual, we believe
that organizations need awareness of individual differences, how people act
differently from each other and have unique emotions, needing to be sensitive
enough to perceive and define their goals and objectives, and increasingly
facilitate the formation of organizations with individuals with characteristics
equivalent to their needs.
The
contributions coming from this in all interviews made it possible to identify
the mechanisms of perception of the symptoms of lack of emotional health in
individuals. We observed that the beliefs brought since childhood, as well as
the traumas that marked these individuals during adolescence and adulthood,
open space for an important and enriching reflection: to what extent do
organizations act as a reflection of the society in which we find ourselves?
Are people not reflecting an emotionally ill society in many ways and
replicating these relationship models in organizations?
From
the point of view of research practice, it was understood through this work
that the elaboration of the content through speech can help in the elaboration
of various elements that were stored in the interviewed individuals. We tried
to establish links between lack of emotional health, dissatisfaction at work,
stress, burnout syndrome and work absences.
One
of the biggest problems found was finding people who wanted to participate in
the research. It is known that these individuals would be confronted with the pain
and emotional suffering that they went through at the same time as they would
revive the feelings, emotions and memories of the traumas experienced in the
organizations that worked through a process that could be more painful than
pleasant.
We
identified relationships between time away, moments in the life of these
individuals when the first symptoms of psychic disorders appeared and the
ability to accept the process of illness. The time away from work appeared to
all interviewees as the final process in which it was no longer possible to
bear the psychic, emotional, mental and physical symptoms.
It
is noticeable that absenteeism for these individuals even worked as a defense
mechanism, especially in the cases of the reports considered more serious, those
with a history of propensity to develop diseases. It was observed that the
quality of the relationships within the cited organizations, especially in
relation to their direct superiors, caused the return of symptoms that were
dormant.
It
was also noticed that four of the five individuals who went through the process
of absenteeism, today are owners of their own businesses, no longer having a
direct relationship of superior subordination. While in the Freudian
perspective, the diseases called psychopathologies would be the absence of
psychic and emotional health, for medicine it would be worth the pathologies of
behavior that can be measured, through the parameters and symptoms that present
themselves.
However,
it is inquired if the work was a consequence, cause or occurred due to people's
pre-disposition to burnout, since all of them had serious precedents in
relation to the factors "pressure", "time", "excess of
responsibility". In these relationships, we could even say that these
people could never have worked in these organizations; certain that they would
have the subjective vulnerabilities are different in each person. It is
possible to establish a symptomatic pattern, but not the degree of psychic and
emotional manifestations, the severity and speed that the symptoms manifest.
It
is interesting to note that all the individuals participating in the research
have moved away from work due to burnout syndrome, and show us that there was
some kind of relationship with the theoretical concepts, from the
psychoanalytical theory, the nexus and psychodynamics of work, the history of
evolution of burnout syndrome and lack of emotional health.
It
is important to emphasize that, even if the origins of psychic disorders have
evolved from emotional triggers experienced in childhood or adolescence
traumas, the organizational environments have contributed for these phobias to
manifest themselves again, in different ways in each individual. It was also
perceived through the reports that the process of aversion to companies that
act in a traditional way and with a more rigid and controlling management was a
reason for individuals with these profiles not to adapt, precisely because
emotions give us valuable clues about the causes of psychic suffering.
We
suggest new studies on the theme of absence of emotional health as part of a
process for studies related to absenteeism, since in this area of organizational
studies the relationship between the themes is considered in Brazil to be
unprecedented. It is also necessary to increase the number of people
interviewed, thus exploring more relationships between the themes addressed. If
on the one hand, we have individuals who do not adapt to this reported
organizational model, it is possible that others will be able to live together
better, since each human being presents different degrees of complexity.
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