OBJECTIVE: To understand the stress experienced by workers in the Family Health Teams (FHT) - in the municipality of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul - and the implications for their health. METHODS: This is a descriptive study to integrate quantitative and qualitative methods, developed with 86 workers of all teams, in the municipality of Santa Maria. In the first stage, was applied the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and in the second stage was applied semi-structured interviews with 12 workers who had the highest (6) and lowest (6) scores on the MBI. RESULTS: Younger age showed a statistically significant association with levels of stress presented by the workers (p = 0.034). The exhausted workers used ways of coping problems using emotions which are personal resources; the not exhausted, solved the everyday work problems using the team support. CONCLUSION: The main reasons for development of the burnout syndrome were associated with relationship problems and organization.
Workers´ health; Burnout, professional; Family health