Mental health and dignity in higher education: the academic career in decline

Political, economic, and technological changes have made academic careers more challenging. This theoretical essay aims to critically analyze the issue of dignity in academic careers in Brazil, which, until recently, enjoyed great social prestige, especially in higher education. It seeks to identify factors contributing to career decline, accompanied by physical and mental suffering. It also examines the relationship between working conditions, dignity, and researchers’ health, including the impact of these dynamics on academic trajectories. In conclusion, the academic career is a construction process that requires ongoing effort to reaffirm its social role in an increasingly technological, economic, political, and ethical landscape. It demands a courageous stance in firmly defending the right to practice a profession with dignity, one that insists on becoming visible in a culture that seeks to render educators and promoters of science invisible. The work of academics produces qualified knowledge and forms critical individuals who transform society.