O olhar da equipe de enfermagem sobre o trabalho em uma unidade neonatal: uma intervenção com foco na atividade

Objective: to analyze the work and health relations in the nursing team of a neonatal unit aiming at understanding and improving these relationships. Methods: intervention research following principles of Ergology and Psychodynamics of Work to understand and analyze the work activity. Results: the adversities associated with working conditions in the neonatal unit involved environmental, relational and organizational matters, including overcrowding, healthcare of children with chronic diseases, difficulties to work as a team, lack of professional acknowledgement and inappropriate workplace. Nevertheless, the nursing professionals managed to adopt strategies to endure such adversities and go on caring for their patients. Discussion: the intervention research made it possible to identify the limits imposed by such working conditions, as well as the strategies adopted to overcome them. Understanding the history and knowledge of each worker, that makes the activity feasible, favors the recognition of the workers themselves in their efforts to be engaged, and strengthens their personal, professional and social identity, which enables constructing the meaning of work.