PRODUCTIVITY AT ANY COST? MANAGERIALISM AND HARASSMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Considering the importance of aspects of work organization and, mainly, of management practices for the disposal of abusive relationships, this article aims to classify situations of harassment and moral violence reported by university professors, as well as to characterize the work context where attacks occurred. The research included 18 university professors from an institution in the Brazilian center-west who reported having experienced moral harassment, through their response to item 31 of the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ). To systematize situations of violence and harassment, the frequency of attacks was evaluated, as well as the frequency of responses to the NAQ items, the sociodemographic and occupational questionnaire and the Work Context Assessment Scale. The results point to a work context characterized by unfair practices and an intense work pace, fostering hostile and abusive relationships. For harassed professors, the university demands competitiveness (94%, n=17) and there is a lack of integration (83%, n=15), indicating a solitary experience that leads to individualism. In relation to moral harassment, 9 (50%) teachers were the target of slander and had their position disregarded monthly, weekly or daily. Regarding situations that happened from time to time (violence), 10 (55.6%) teachers reported being constantly criticized in the service. It is concluded that the occurrences of moral violence are proof of the need to rethink the university environment, whose social ties have been snatched away by quantitative, metric, meritocratic logic, in disregard of the quality and meaning of what is done.