How can the work activity point of view inform territorial development projects?

BACKGROUND: The heuristic potential of work activity-focused territory analyses has yet to be explored in depth. Instead of viewing territories as a product of their actors, the prevailing approaches rely on statistical indicators to view them "from above". OBJECTIVE: To understand how work activity acts upon a territory and transforms it, and to discuss what the main indicators used to characterize territories reveal and conceal. METHODS: Case studies led on two territories, each in a different industry. One on transportation in a sparsely populated "low density" area; the other in an industrial district, focusing on its "high activity rate" cork industry. In the first case, work activity analyses were led with drivers and mobility designers, including systematic observations and interviews, in the context of an endeavour to redesign a local transport network. In the second case, work activity analyses led among cork stopper choosers were followed with an integrative literature review of indicators about the cork industry and its health impacts. RESULTS: This territory analysis highlights: (i) traces of bus drivers' work activity on the mitigation of inequalities in access to public transportation; (ii) "absent indicators" regarding cork choosers' work activity and its health impacts, stressing the existence of a development agenda for this territory focused on cork processing rather than on those who perform it. CONCLUSION: Our analysis of territorialization processes through the lens of work activity signposts a path for research-action seeking to associate territorial development with improvements in the working conditions of citizen workers.

Por que querer (re)descobrir a psicologia do trabalho no Brasil? / Why do we want to (re)discover work psychology in Brazil?

A história da psicologia do trabalho é plural. Tudo o que se herdou foi sendo objeto de muita controvérsia no âmbito de análises que vieram permitir um melhor esclarecimento de questões deixadas em aberto, consideradas residuais ou até completamente ignoradas. Os posicionamentos críticos deram novo alento aos projetos de renovação da abordagem da experiência humana quando investida na atividade de trabalho. Na academia brasileira, vários contributos o demonstram

The history of work psychology is plural. All that has been inherited has been subject to much controversy within the scope of analyses that have allowed a better clarification of questions left open, considered as residual or even completely ignored. Critical positions have given new vigour to the projects of renovation in the approach to human experience when invested in the activity of work. In Brazilian academia, several contributions demonstrate this.

'My whole body is at work': the silence of gendered body techniques in cork industry in an era of automation.

Discourses about technological transformation tend to focus on technology, as if its introduction was neutral regarding local variabilities, and the men and women that make it effective. This paper focuses on the technical act. The body is where the technical acts are inscribed and it is through the body that they are exteriorised. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the operative modes associated with the technical acts, from a gender perspective, in the context of the technological transformation in cork industry. The analysis of the work activity performed by men (punching operators) and women (choosers) was supported by observations, collective interviews, and group sessions to validate the results. The findings show male- and female-specific body techniques; how the efficacy of the technical acts contributes to the debate about the limits of technology; and how body techniques and effects on health tend to remain in silence due to automation.Practitioner summary: The reconfiguration of the human-machine relationships hardly leaves room for the analysis of how the body techniques evolve. This paper shows how the efficacy of men and women body techniques contributes to the debate about the limits of technology, even if these uses of one's body entail health costs.

Reconfiguração do horário de trabalho para turnos de 12h: que impactos na saúde? / Redefining work schedules for 12-hour shifts: which health impacts? / Reconfiguración de la jornada laboral para turnos de 12 horas: ¿qué impactos en la salud?

Num contexto normativo que amplia a margem para configuração de horários de trabalho ao abrigo de um "regime de adaptabilidade", acentua-se o debate sobre os turnos de 12h, em virtude de uma conjuntura que mobiliza mais trabalhadores para tais horários, bem como das evidências de impactos na saúde. A partir da análise da mudança de um horário 3x8h para 2x12h numa empresa portuguesa, este estudo explora os fatores e condições considerados de risco agravado em jornadas de 12h. Os resultados revelam que os trabalhadores, no confronto com os constrangimentos do trabalho nestes horários, constroem estratégias de preservação de si e do coletivo, ainda que estas estratégias comportem custos para a saúde. A ponderação (no imediato e a longo prazo) que cada trabalhador faz sobre a sustentabilidade do trabalho em 12h convoca, simultaneamente, para debate: as especificidades do conteúdo de trabalho, a fase do percurso profissional e as suas exigências concretas, e os imperativos de conciliação com a vida fora do trabalho. (AU)

The normative context that enlarges the scope to shape work schedules under an "adaptability regime" has sharpened the debate about 12-hour shifts, given a conjuncture that leads more workers into such schedules and given the evidence of the impacts on health. Based on the analysis of the change from a 3x8h schedule into a 2x12h schedule in a Portuguese company, this study explores the factors and conditions considered to be aggravated risks in 12-hour journeys. The findings indicate that the workers, when confronted with the constraints of the work in these schedules, build preservation strategies for themselves and for the group, though such strategies entail health costs. The deliberation each worker does (immediately and in the long term) about the sustainability of the work in 12 hours calls simultaneously for debate: the specificities of the work content, the stage of the professional path and its specific demands, and the imperatives of reconciliation with life outside work. (AU)

En un contexto normativo que amplía el margen para el ajuste de la jornada laboral en virtud de un "régimen de adaptabilidad", se intensifica el debate sobre los turnos de 12 horas, debido a una coyuntura que moviliza más trabajadores para esos horarios, así como a las evidencias de los impactos en la salud. A partir del análisis del cambio de un horario de 3 x 8 horas para 2 x 12 horas en una empresa portuguesa, este estudio explora los factores y condiciones que se consideran de riesgo agravado en jornadas de 12 horas. Los resultados revelan que los trabajadores, al enfrentarse con las limitaciones del trabajo en estos horarios, construyen estrategias de autopreservación y de preservación del colectivo, aunque estas estrategias conlleven costes para la salud. La ponderación (en lo inmediato y en el largo plazo) que cada trabajador hace sobre la sostenibilidad de trabajar 12 horas llama al mismo tiempo para el debate: los detalles del contenido del trabajo, la fase de la carrera y sus requisitos específicos, y los requisitos de reconciliación con la vida fuera del trabajo. (AU)

Preclaridades da noção de representação / Distinctions of the notion of representation

Pretende-se neste artigo contribuir para o esclarecimento da noção de "representação" no campo da Psicologia do trabalho e da Ergonomia da atividade, situando-a no quadro de duas abordagens. A primeira abordagem, que é tributária da noção de "imagem operativa", está associada à categoria de análise das "representações para a ação" e à proposta metodológica de "trabalho de representação". A segunda é relativa ao estudo das representações ditas "sociais" que resultam de processos de interação social no campo da construção de opiniões, crenças e atitudes. Os dois paradigmas assim envolvidos evidenciam potencialidades e limites em relação à compreensão das "questões vivas" das atividades de trabalho. Estudos empíricos sustentam a argumentação deste artigo que propõe uma abordagem alternativa, baseada, nomeadamente, nos contributos de Yves Schwartz e, igualmente, de Alessandra Re. Privilegia-se então a distinção entre várias formas de saber - saberes instituídos e saberes investidos - que, no debate e na controvérsia, tendem, na análise do real das atividades de trabalho, a construir uma linguagem comum.(AU)

In this article we intend to contribute to the clarification of the notion of "representation" in the fields of Psychology of Work and Activity-Centered Ergonomics, distinguishing the concept within two approaches. The first one, based on the notion of "operative image", is associated to the analytical category of "representations for action" and to the methodological proposal of "work of representations". The second one refers to the study of the so-called "social" representations that result from processes of social interaction within the framework of the construction of opinions, beliefs and attitudes. The two paradigms involved in these two approaches show potentialities and limits when "applied" to the work activities. Empirical studies support the argumentation of this article who ends with an alternative proposal - based, in particular, on the contributions of Yves Schwartz and also of Alessandra Re. Instead, it favors the distinction between various forms of knowledge - instituted knowledge and invested knowledge - that, in the debate and in the controversy, tend, in the analysis of the real of the work activities, to construct a common language.(AU)

Beyond a man's world: contributions from considering gender in the study of bus drivers' work activity.

BACKGROUND: Bus driving is a typically male occupation undergoing a process of feminization. Although men remain a majority, women's integration has raised some questions, namely, related to work organization or its impact on health. OBJECTIVE: This paper focuses on the contributions of assuming a gender perspective in the analysis of the bus driving occupation and the conditions under which it is performed. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty female and 158 male bus drivers. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined. Ergonomic work analysis and individual interviews were used, as well as INSAT (Work and Health Questionnaire). RESULTS: Difficulties inherent to the work activity were highlighted, in terms of working hours and management of "peripheral tasks", with implications for the balance between professional and personal life. These difficulties were reported differently by men and women, although both made themselves clear about the impact on their career and health. CONCLUSIONS: Taking gender into consideration has enabled an enrichment of the questions that guide the analysis of this work activity, and contributed to a new perspective on the work performed by this occupational group as well as a new approach to study the history of the transport industry by proposing as focus of analysis issues related to "gender mobility".

Ivar Oddone e sua contribuição para o campo da Saúde do Trabalhador no Brasil / Ivar Oddone and his contribution to Worker's Health in Brazil

Este ensaio aborda as contribuições de Ivar Oddone e do Modelo Operário Italiano (MOI) de luta pela saúde para o desenvolvimento do campo da Saúde do Trabalhador, particularmente no Brasil. Primeiramente, faz-se um balanço das formas de incorporação do legado do MOI nos estudos e nas práticas de Saúde do Trabalhador. A seguir, apresenta-se a experiência de construção de cartografias de riscos industriais desenvolvida em região do sudeste da França. A terceira parte trata da concepção de "comunidade científica ampliada" e suas derivações. Ao final, discute-se a técnica de "instrução ao sósia" como um instrumento eficaz para a reapropriação, pelos trabalhadores, de suas estratégias de ação no trabalho, assim como para desenvolvê-las. Destaca-se que não se trata de incorporar esse patrimônio tal e qual foi utilizado na Itália, mas de explorar seus princípios e experimentações, considerando seu potencial de produção de ações coletivas e de fortalecimento de mobilizações já existentes. Sinaliza-se a atualidade do MOI, pois, apesar das tradicionais formas de luta dos trabalhadores estarem menos visíveis, a capacidade de recriação dos trabalhadores é um potencial em que se deve apostar.

This essay discusses the contributions of both Ivar Oddone and the Italian Worker's struggle for health Model (IWM) for the development of the worker's health field, particularly in Brazil. It starts by revising the ways the IWM legacy was incorporated to the Worker's Health research and practices. Then, it presents the building of the industrial hazard mappings experience carried out in the Southeast of France. The third part deals with the concept of "expanded scientific community" and its derivations. Finally, it discusses the "instruction to the double" technique as an effective instrument for workers' re-appropriation of their strategies for action at work and for their implementation. The paper highlights that it is not a matter of incorporating the Italian experience, but of working out its principles and experiences, considering its potential power for instigating collective actions and for strengthening existing mobilizations. The paper points at the IWM up to date aspect: although the traditional ways of struggling are less evident, one can be sure of workers' recreating capacity.

When gender bumps into health and safety training: working conditions, readings and challenges drawn from a case study in an industrial chemicals company.

Health, safety and environmental issues are at present a social concern and an increasingly referred topic in the so called gender studies. This paper focuses on the relations between training, gender and risk perception in an industrial chemicals company, in Portugal, characterized by a mainly male population and by the presence of high occupational and environmental hazards. After characterizing the company and the training project that started up this reflection, the paper presents the reasons for its focus on gender followed by the essential methodological explanations: 14 interviews were made with male and female workers from the company; their content was transcribed from the audio recordings and it was systematically analyzed. A gender-attentive socio demographic analysis was also undertaken. Although at the beginning the company did not consider the gender issues as a problem nor was it the central topic of the training, which focused on the prevention of occupational and environmental hazards, the results reveal that the gender factor brought to light some working conditions, which so far have not been properly discussed within the group meetings. As a consequence, there is now room for the transformation of the representations on those working conditions.

Thinking about gender, thinking about a common space of observation and discussion of the work activity of the other: the case of bus drivers.

The work activity of urban bus drivers is held in the public space and characterized by a constant vigilance, but the moments of observation the colleagues' work are scarce. This fact results in a paradox--it is a work activity that is more visible to "outsiders" than to "insiders"--which has an important impact on the debate of the work activity from a perspective of gender and the women's work in a predominantly male context. Ergonomic analysis of work and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 urban public transport drivers, 16 women and 16 men. The results reveal the lack of conditions for the drivers' knowledge of the activity of another, especially when that other is a woman--while men attribute characteristics to women based on gender stereotypes and an extension of their role in the private sphere, women relate them with the need to prove their competence and be recognized. It is proposed the development, in the context of training, of a space for debate and knowledge of the activity of the other and for the creation of conditions for another integration of women in the profession and for another visibility of their work.

Police training course for agents--entry into the profession and also into the distinction between men and women.

An exploratory study was conducted about the initial training of the Public Security Police with the aim to understand the role of this initial training in the distinction between the work of men and women in the police force. This study is part of a broader study about the entry of women into typically male professions. After documental analysis and interviews to students, trainers and school board members, it was concluded that women face greater difficulties in the access to the profession. Moreover, female qualities like the capacity to dialogue are devalued. Nevertheless, women represent an important work tool for the police force. The stigma of physical strength was also encountered and identified in the previous study conducted with elements of the police force. This fact leads us to believe that these stereotypes usually associated with women are defended by elements of the institution.

The entry of women in predominantly male professions: when training supports the search of alternative ways of organizing work time.

Following a research carried out on the integration of women in professional areas predominantly for men, this paper intends to present and debate the project of a training course which aims the transformation of the organization of work schedules in order to improve the well-being of the workers involved. The conception of training courses with this type of objective involves the confrontation and debate between the "invested skills" of the trainers and the "constituted skills" of the trainees. But will this paradigm remain intact when applied to training courses permeated by the gender dimension? That is what one will try to realize with the effective implementation of a training course, whose reflection will allow, ultimately, to enrich our understanding on gender, work, health and training.

From the "terrain" to "territory": which contributions from mobility and bus drivers' activity towards local development?

The focus of the present analysis is on the work of drivers in the public road passenger transportation sector in Portugal and on its specific contribution to local development. This approach dissociates itself from the one that places mobility as a "paradigm" of the contemporary societies and considers that the increase in mobility registered in the latter years is, in itself, revealing of development. For field work, a public transportation line, in an urban context, and a network of lines, in a rural context were chosen. In each of these contexts, the drivers' work was analyzed in real situations and semi-structured interviews were held with 16 of them: ten drivers in an urban context and six in a rural context. Considering the point of view of the work activity, enabled us to abandon the dominant perspectives that tend to highlight the social inequality of the mobility conditions (between those who use a private vehicle and those who need to use public transportation), to reflect on the characteristics of the mobility spaces which benefit or limit it, contributing to other inequalities. What is the importance of the space for mobility besides its support? How is it considered in the drivers' work?

Análise do trabalho e formação em Saúde & Trabalho.

Discutiu a relação entre análise do trabalho e formação em saúde e trabalho tendo como base o panorama europeu. Apresenta as principais contribuições da autora neste sentido.