Mental Suffering of Servants at A Federal Higher Education Institution in Times of Pandemic

Objective: The study aims to analyze the mental health of employees at a federal higher education institution (IFES) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretical Framework: With the worsening of COVID-19, some factors contribute to the increase in illness in the general population, including: social isolation, excess information, grief and/or fear of losing loved ones, among other economic, social and work factors (Nabuco, Oliveira, & Afonso, 2020). Method: In addition to simple descriptive statistics to identify the prevalence of mental suffering, the Chi-square test was also carried out to detect whether there is a significant association between the prevalence of CMD and the variables relating to gender, age and education of employees Research implications: The findings in this study invite the reader to reflect on three complex phenomena: pandemic, public service and mental health. Originality/Value: This work, in addition to addressing mental health issues in public service, provides an overview of mental illness at this pandemic time.