Precarização e flexibilização laboral nas faculdades privadas: o caso dos professores horistas no Maranhão

Abstract

Work has been a subject of significant study, particularly in the Humanities and Social Sciences, due to its fundamental role in humanization. Certainly, this eminently human activity has undergone relevant changes throughout history, and such transformations are often accompanied by the indelible mark of precariousness, a process that makes work more flexible and intensified. It is important to highlight that, contemporaneously, work insecurity affects all sectors of activity and professional categories, as not even the existence of formal employment relationships and high professional qualifications has been sufficient to protect workers from precarious conditions, a fact that can also be observed in the case of hourly teachers working in private universities. Based on such scenario, this research establishes its main objective as analyzing the process of work insecurity among hourly teachers in private universities. Specific objectives: to characterize the precariousness of university professors' work based on a systematic literature review; to list the evidence of flexibility and precariousness identified in the emergence of hourly professors; and to investigate the repercussions of this precariousness in the organizational processes of hourly professors' work. To address these objectives, three studies were conducted: one theoretical (Study 1) and two empirical (Studies 2 and 3). In Study 1, a review of scientific literature indicated that the primary evidence of the precarious working conditions faced by university professors is linked to poor working environments and the prevalence of physical and mental health issues among them. In Study 2, data from semi-structured interviews indicated that the emergence of hourly teachers reveals evidence of both flexibility and precariousness, primarily characterized by low pay and fluctuating income associated with their employment contracts. Finally, Study 3, which was also based on semi-structured interviews, indicated that the work processes of hourly teachers develop within a context of instability, pressure, intensified workloads, relational tensions with students, and challenges related to mental health. Through the development of the three studies, it was possible to confirm that hourlyAbstract teachers are the primary representatives of the neoliberal offensive in the educational context. Despite being hired solely to teach classes, these professionals are burdened with many responsibilities typically assigned to teachers with more stable contracts, resulting in excessive unpaid work.