Pleasure, Suffering, and Engagement: Behavioral Triggers in Brazilian Research Scholarship Students

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between pleasure, suffering, and work engagement, along with its dimensions, in the professional context of postgraduate scholarship students in Brazil. The study was conducted with 1,027 scholarship recipients from different states in Brazil. It utilized theoretical frameworks from the Psychodynamics of Work, primarily based on the studies of Christophe Dejours, to analyze the subjective experiences of pleasure and suffering at work. The results indicated that freedom of expression negatively influences students’ vigor and dedication. Professional fulfillment impacts vigor, dedication, and absorption positively. Professional exhaustion adversely affects vigor, and unexpectedly, the lack of recognition impacts the vigor of the students positively. The study concludes that emotional factors in the workplace, such as the ability to express emotions, professional fulfillment, emotional exhaustion, and recognition, significantly affect key aspects of work engagement among postgraduate scholarship students.