Defining the meaning of "sustainable work" from activity-centered ergonomics and psychodynamics of Work's perspectives

Abstract

Introduction: Work-related issues are already part of the theoretical framework and the historical rationale that underpin corporate sustainability. However, the relationship between work and sustainability is still little known in company practices. Based on the concepts of activity-centered ergonomics (ACE) and psychodynamics of work (PDW), this paper investigates the meaning of "sustainable work" in Brazilian companies. Thus, two research questions guided this study: How the concept of "sustainable work" can be defined in the perception of companies based on the perspective of ACE and PDW? How the concepts provided by these approaches can help companies in developing practices towards sustainable work?

Method: Case studies conducted in ten Brazilian companies engaged in corporate sustainability practices involving document analysis, interviews, and content analysis.

Results: Companies recognize the importance of human action in organizational processes, by considering people as the cornerstone for ensuring corporate sustainability, and seeking to build a work with meaning and significance. However, i) Improvement actions are usually mitigatory or compensatory, acting on the effects while the root causes remain untouched; ii) Sustainability initiatives focus on individual issues, in most cases on the leader (individual), narrowing its scope and neglecting broader, important topics such as work organization and work content; iii) Both work overload and work for sustainability agenda are usually disregarded; iv) A comprehensive view of health should not be limited to the workplace.

Conclusions: According to companies' perceptions, sustainable work includes but is not limited to integrating work to corporate sustainability guidelines, respecting labor laws and human rights, developing synergy between areas/departments towards sustainability, providing possibilities for constructing health in its multidimensionality with the worker as protagonist, and creating work that is meaningful, pleasurable and leads to happiness and recognition. ACE and PDW offer valuable concepts to support companies in bridging the gap between their corporate sustainability vision and practices, i.e., transforming guidelines into actions towards sustainable work. In this sense, sustainable work is believed to be that which improves the organization's performance and promotes professional development as well as workers' health broadly and positively (not limited to the absence of illness, but in the sense of building health) and well-being. Thus, it fosters respect for and the development of intelligence and creativity (as opposed to alienating work) by performing work that has meaning and significance, understanding the profound importance of physical, cognitive and organizational issues, and above all, the importance of work to the development of culture (Bolis et al., 2014).

Keywords: Activity-centered ergonomics; Corporate social responsibility; Corporate sustainability; Psychodynamic of work; Work.