PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH MANAGERS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH

The aim of this study was to identify the perceptions of professional health managers regarding the repercussions of their position on their mental health. Descriptive study, with a qualitative approach. To this end, nine health managers participated. The interviews were conducted between July 9 and 25, 2022 via Google Meet, using a semi-structured script with questions related to management and mental health. The interviews were recorded in audio and video and later transcribed. The data were organized according to three phases guided by Minayo, of content analysis, in thematic modality. In the last phase, the textual content of the corpus was processed using a lexicographic analysis supported by the Iramuteq software. Through the processing of the Descending Hierarchical Classification (CHD), five thematic classes were obtained as results, corresponding to the registration unit presented through the dendrogram. The results show that improvements are needed in the work environment and in interpersonal relationships. They highlight that the manager’s decision-making power, the continuity of work in the family environment, work overload, messaging applications and demands beyond their capacity to respond, compromise their mental health, leaving them exhausted and having difficulty sleeping. They also emphasize that working in management during the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging. Moreover, they revealed the following as strategies for preserving mental health: participatory management, dialog and understanding the particularities of professionals. The study highlighted managers' perception of the relationship between the work environment and mental health impairment and concluded that decision-making power has a negative impact on mental health and that requests for dismissal are common, due to the work dynamics and the overload experienced. daily. The use of information technologies and the extension of the working day to the family environment, caused damage to quality of life, changes in sleep, fatigue, high levels of stress, physical and mental exhaustion, and the pandemic period intensified pre-existing demands compromising the mental health of this workforce, which points to the need to make changes in organizational practices, as well as in managers' work processes.