Critical Work Psychology in Socio-education: Possible Actions in the Context of Deprivation of Liberty

Abstract

Based on the observation of cases of illness and demand for a cure, this article presents a proposal for the practice of Critical Psychology of Work focused on workers in the socio-educational system, built based on intervention research and conducted in a Center for Socio-education with freedom restriction. The research involved state managers and 128 workers. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, documentary research, and participant observation. The results indicate that: i) working conditions are precarious, the environment is marked by contradictions and tensions, management actions are insufficient, and there is suffering and illness related to work; ii) interdisciplinary critical theoretical frameworks favor a Critical Psychology of Work in the field of worker health; iii) collectively, intervention devices were constituted that favor the circulation of speech, incisions that prompt thinking, and collective elaboration for transformations in the work context and socio-education as a public policy.