(Dis)satisfaction with mental healthcare work: a study in Psychosocial Care Centers

The scope of this article is to analyze satisfaction in the workplace of mental healthcare professionals who serve in Psychosocial Care Centers (Caps). The research is of a qualitative nature and the data-collecting medium was semi-structured interviews with 19 workers of three Caps in Fortaleza, in the Northern Brazilian State of Ceara. The treatment of the empirical material was based upon the analysis of content with an emphasis on the thematic bias. The results revealed the determinants of (dis)satisfaction present in the daily routine of these workers. The relationships established with the users were singled out as the main source of satisfaction, whereas the work and wage conditions were the main motives for dissatisfaction. In addition to these aspects, consequences of (dis)satisfaction at work in the private, social and organizational field of the workers' life in the Caps were revealed, mainly in physical and mental health. Lastly, they emphasized the urgent need for implementation - on the part of public administration - of strategies that seek to reduce the precariousness of healthcare work, especially in mental health, with a view to mitigating damages potentially caused by such work.