The work engagement cycles of federal civil servants

Civil servants have different levels of work engagement throughout their working lives. These variations are the work engagement cycles, which occur based on available resources and work environment demands. This study describes the work engagement cycles of federal civil servants based on their professional life histories, highlighting the demands and resources of the work environment in their professional trajectory. Using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and the cognitive maps methodology, it was possible to identify a positive cycle of work engagement, a reinforcing cycle (related to opportunities and appreciation), and two disequilibrium cycles, one related to dysfunctional productivity and the other to administrative discontinuity. The analysis of the engagement cycles allowed the identification of work environment resources that interfere in the engagement of public servants in different ways. Finally, the concept of “coping cycle” was used as a subsidy of policies for disengaged servants.