Abstract

WINTER, Lilian Ester  and  ALF, Alexandra Machado. Police Officer Profession: experiences of pleasure and suffering at work. Rev. Psicol., Organ. Trab. [online]. 2019, vol.19, n.3, pp. 671-678. ISSN 1984-6657.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17652/rpot/2019.3.13214.

This article examines research conducted with Military Police professionals in a remote area of Rio Grande do Sul State, in the year 2016. Based on the theory of Psychodynamics of Work, some factors that create experiences of pleasure and suffering in the daily work of the Military Police were investigated. This study evaluated ten professionals, using a sociodemographic questionnaire and an individual semi-structured interview. The discourse was analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that Military Police work creates both pleasure and suffering. The uncomfortable uniform and the discontent with employees' situations were linked with suffering, while the feelings of pleasure were indicated for the opportunity to work with autonomy in responding to incidents. Thus, some defense strategies used by the Military Police to ease the suffering at work were identified, highlighting: resilience, sublimation, and nonverbalization of suffering, supported by the virility reinforced by the gaucho culture.

Keywords : Policemen; Pleasure; Suffering; Labor.

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