The multiple and contradictory meanings of work to nurses: influences on organization and labor process

Abstract

The object of this study was the meaning nurses give to work and the feelings that emerge when they think about it. The object came from a category analyzed in the doctorate thesis “Subjective Dimension of Nurses in Relation to Organization and the Labor Process at a University Hospital”, defended at Anna Nery Nursing School. The objective was to analyze the meaning nurses give to work and the feelings that arise from a labor routine at the hospital. The study consisted of qualitative, descriptive research, developed with 25 nurses from medical and surgery clinics. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and the information was analyzed based on the hermeneutic-dialectic perspective. The results showed contradictory feelings related to work (pleasure-suffering), and the need for physical and mental effort in this labor activity. It was noticed that labor organization leads the nurse to mould her subjectivity, influencing on the health-sickness process.