Neoliberalism and the working conditions of healthcare workers facing the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Abstract

The Neoliberalism has had a negative impact on the health sector and the pandemic reflected the contradictions of liberalization. In this sense, the work aims to analyze the working conditions during neoliberalism and the economic crisis that began in 2019, in its relationship with the working conditions of the health workers of the ZMVM, who treated patients with covid-19. The methodology is cross-sectional, a questionnaire with 45 reagents was applied to a convenience sample of 10 hospitals, in 10 areas, which measured working conditions and work stress. The instrument was validated by an exploratory factor analysis. The main results are, the increase in the working day from 8 to 12 hours a day, regular salary perception, which implied that employees must have a second job in 36%, the risk of work increased, 100% of the sample had an infected colleague and 83% a colleague who died, in terms of health protection, 40% considered it insufficient, 98.4% of the sample has high stress, which deteriorates the worker's living conditions. The implications are serious for the country and for workers who work in adverse conditions, the needs of the sector must be met immediately, increasing the budget for infrastructure and promoting the specialization of workers.