PRESSURE AND EXHAUSTION: PRODUCTIVISM AND THE PRECARIZATION OF TEACHING WORK IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The Brazilian public university is undergoing transformations driven by the commercialization of knowledge and academic productivism, intensifying the overload and precarization of teaching work. This study aims to understand the relationship between academic productivity and procrastination in the pedagogical activities of professors in undergraduate programs at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). A qualitative approach was adopted, with semi-structured interviews conducted with two professors from the Center for Education. The results indicate that the pressure for productivity and the fulfillment of goals lead to overload and postponement of pedagogical activities     within the university environment. In other words, higher education is increasingly aligning with market demands due to implemented reforms, resulting in an overload of functions and productive polyvalence, which, under evaluative criteria, shape academic practices. It is concluded that the intensification of teaching work negatively affects academic practices, highlighting the need for institutional policies that promote a balance between productivity and well-being, ensuring better working and teaching conditions.