"Excellence and productivity": New management imperatives in public service

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the destabilizing effects in the subjectivities of federal employees after implementation of a new management tool based on excellence, productivity and performance evaluation in a public institution in Amazon's state. The qualitative study was based on the theoretical framework of labour psychodynamics in the field of Mental Health at Work. 14 employees absent from work for reasons of mental and behavioral disorders were interviewed, according to the International Classification of Diseases - ICD- 10. The interviews were grouped into categories and interpreted based on Bardin's thematic analysis (2011). We observed that the institution organizational changes resulted in technological advancement and introduced total quality goals. However, this improvement had an impact in the worker's subjectivity and body, limiting the autonomy and recognition at work, as well as becoming a source of discomfort, psychological distress and illness.