Working all the time: overload and intensification in the work of primary education teachers

Abstract

The article aims to describe, analyze and explain the properties and characteristics of the intensification and work overload of teachers of primary education in 18 counties in the region of Vale do Rio Pardo, Rio Grande do Sul, in the years 2018 and 2019. For that, this article is based on data originating from a questionnaire application carried out with a sample of 204 public school teachers in primary, elementary, and high school, in addition to interviews and group discussions. The study is supported by theoretical references that are based on the sociology of work that deals with the main categories of the discussion carried out in this article, especially intensification and work overload, in addition to work conditions and work division and organization. The article is justified by the need to deepen research that addresses teachers’ problems of intensification and work overload at times of increasing precariousness and of new and complex responsibilities of teachers resulting from neoliberal reforms and economic production changes. The study discloses that teachers from covered counties are permanently involved with work, intense and overload journeys that require constant dedication to work, extending the journey to the domestic field and producing conditions that often lead to illness.