This is a descriptive study, with a qualitative approach, which aimed at identifying how nursing auxiliaries relate stress to their daily activities. 15 Laborers women of a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro were investigated. The thematic analysis of the results revealed that stress is perceived as an emotional disorder which brings about mental health imbalance, causing irritation, bad humor and inability to work. These nurses do not consider themselves stressed, although some of them mention this sensation in certain occasions. They believe that their labor activity may contribute to stress, due to the conditions and characteristics of the work they do. We can conclude that although they define stress as a disorder and they work in unfavorable conditions, not all of them perceive the influence of these factors in their emotional balance, being important to give value to the workers' mental health, especially nursing professionals, who need to be physically and mentally well in order to interact with their clients, helping them.
Stress; Occupational Health; Outpatients Clinics, Hospital