TENSION BETWEEN THE PRODUCTIVE BODY AND THE PLAYFUL BODY IN THE AGE OF HYPERCONNECTIVITY

Abstract

This article analyzes the tension between the productive body, oriented toward performance, efficiency, and permanent availability, and the playful body, associated with rest, affection, creativity, and resistance, in the everyday lives of technical-administrative staff in education (TAEs) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The discussion is grounded in a critical perspective on work and leisure, in dialogue with Simone Weil, Paul Lafargue, and Christianne Gomes. This is a qualitative analysis drawn from descriptive mixed-methods research conducted in 2023 with 255 staff members, focusing on written responses analyzed using Bardin’s Content Analysis. The findings suggest that digital technologies, including WhatsApp, are part of a context in which the boundaries between work and personal life become increasingly permeable. Psychological distress and the overlapping demands of paid work, domestic responsibilities, and caregiving activities, particularly among women, also restrict opportunities for leisure. The study concludes that tensions between work and leisure highlight the importance of preserving times and spaces free from work, positioning leisure as a possibility for resistance, self-care, and autonomy. In this context, the right to disconnect constitutes a relevant institutional consideration for protecting workers’ health and dignity.