“Devagar com o andor que o santo é de barro”: o sofrimento psíquico nas relações de trabalho no turismo de base comunitária no Vale do Matutu, Aiuruoca, MG

Abstract

Workers in convencional tourism are often afflicted by illness as a result of performing rigid and repetitve labor practice, generally with the aim of generating profits for entrepreneurs in the sector. On the other hand, work in Community-Based Tourism (CBT) is usually characterized by greater flexibility in its practices. In this sense, the present study of case analyzed whether these practices and the organization of work in CBT in the territory of Vale do Matutu, Aiuruoca, Minas Gerais, are associated with the psychological suffering perceived by its workers. The study aimed to evaluate which factors contributed to the psychological suffering of workers in CBT in the Matutu territory, to determine the psychodynamic mechanisms involved, and identify possibilities that could contribute to the promotion of mental health of its workers. The research is qualitative in nature and has an exploratory approach, and with respondents being recruited from community tourism workers in Matutu who were available. The results and analyses allowed the conclusion that the determinants of psychological suffering are related to aspects of changes in the format of accommodation, to coping behaviors (disruptives) promoted by visitors, to seasonality, and to weaknesses in governance, competitiveness, and tourism communication. The psychodynamic mechanisms involved were better evidenced by the theory of the psychodynamics of work, in which the sufferings experienced were not sufficient to migrate to the psychopathological pole (illness), probably due to psychic defense mechanisms. However, if the conditions that generate suffering persist, they may, over time, fragment psychic homeostasis. As possibilities that may contribute to the promotion of mental health among CBT workers in the Vale do Matutu, one respondent pointed to a form of “philosophical tourism” in the territory as a practice driven by purpose, and other respondents engaged by the present research, mentioned the importance of creating collective spaces in workplaces that allow reflection on oneself, one’s feelings, and one’s suffering, relating these to the organization of their practices, in accordance with what underpins intervention research in the psychodynamics of work in its clinical dimension.