The Covid-19 pandemic in the world of work: Psychosocial effects for the working class

Abstract

Our objective in this essay is to analyze the psychosocial impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic in the worker’s lives and in the organization of work in Brazil. From studies conducted in the Psychology of Work and Organizations field, we study the consequences the pandemic has been generating with the increase of (1) remote work (2) relaxation of employment contracts and (3) informal work. We postulate that remote work tends to correlate with the intensification of work, invasion of the family life, loss of the collective dimension of work and social isolation. The relaxation of employment contracts stimulates the fear of losing jobs, thus leading to negative effects in the mental health. The informal work, in its turn, is associated to lower wages and worse work and health conditions. We consider the organization of working class through its institutions to be a way of building an ethical-political project focused on the human life.