Labor Transformations in the Digital Era
Download
Abstract
This research examines telework in Chile from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic through 2024, using work process theory to explore control and resistance in the workplace. It focuses on the experiences of supervisors and teleworkers in key sectors such as Information and Communications, Financial and Insurance Activities, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities. Through semi-structured interviews, technological supervision mechanisms and adaptation strategies developed by workers are identified. The findings reveal that, although telework offers flexibility and autonomy, it poses challenges related to privacy and work-life balance. In addition, factors such as gender, age and living environment are found to significantly influence the telework experience. The research concludes that it is crucial to adjust labor policies to address these complexities, promoting supervisory practices that respect autonomy and consider the different contexts of workers.Keywords:
Telework in Chile , Labor control and resistance , Labor process theory , Technological supervision , Work-life balanceReferences
Aguilar, O., Castro, J. F., & Von Geldern, P. (2022). Teletrabajo en Chile: reflexiones y desafíos: Cuaderno de investigación n°63. En Dirección del Trabajo. https://www.dt.gob.cl/portal/1629/articles-123450_recurso_1_.pdf
Almubarak, S. H., Alsaif, A. K., Almulla, S. J., Alfayez, A. S., Alnujaidi, H. Y., & Alsalman, D. M. (2022). Teleworking during COVID-19: experiences from Saudi Arabia. Industrial Health, 61(4), 291-303. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2022-0041
Barrera, M. D. M., Tonon, G., & Salgado, S. V. A. (2012). Investigación cualitativa: el análisis temático para el tratamiento de la información desde el enfoque de la fenomenología social. Universitas Humanística, 74(74), 195-225. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/791/79125420009.pdf
Boreham, P., Parker, R., Thompson, P., & Hall, R. (2007). New technology @ work. Routledge.
Bravo, J. (2023). Enfoque laboral n°23: Auge y caída del teletrabajo. OCEC UDP: Observatorio del Contexto Económico. https://ocec.udp.cl/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Enfoque-Laboral-23-VF-comp.pdf
Bravo, J. (2024). Enfoque laboral n°38: Teletrabajo: semejanzas y diferencias entre asalariados del
sector público y asalariados del sector privado. OCEC UDP: Observatorio del Contexto Económico.
https://ocec.udp.cl/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Enfoque-Laboral-38-VF-comp.pdf
Chung, H. (2022). The flexibility paradox: Why Flexible Working Leads to (Self)Exploitation. Policy Press.
Código del Trabajo de Chile [CT]. (2024, noviembre). Artículos 8, inciso cuarto, y 152 quáter J. Dirección del Trabajo de Chile. https://www.dt.gob.cl/legislacion/1624/articles-95516_recurso_1.pdf
Corbetta, P. (2007). Metodología y técnicas de investigación social.
De Souza, L. K. (2019). Pesquisa com análise qualitativa de dados: conhecendo a Análise Temática. Arquivos Brasileiros de Psicologia, 71(2), 51-67. https://doi.org/10.36482/1809-5267.arbp2019v71i2p.51-67
Dimitrova, D. (2003). Controlling teleworkers: supervision and flexibility revisited. New Technology Work And Employment, 18(3), 181-195. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-005x.00120
Edwards, R. C. (1978). The Social Relations of Production At the Point of Production. Insurgent Sociologist, 8(2-3), 109-125. https://doi.org/10.1177/089692057800800213
Gálvez, A., Tirado, F., & Martínez, M. J. (2020). Work–Life Balance, Organizations and Social Sustainability: Analyzing Female Telework in Spain. Sustainability, 12(9), 3567. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093567
Giménez, M. M. (2021). La digitalización de procesos en la organización como ventaja competitiva
en el contexto del Covid-19. Journal Management & Business Studies, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.32457/jmabs.v3i2.1700
Gandini, A. (2018). Labour process theory and the gig economy. Human Relations, 72(6), 1039-1056. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726718790002
Groen, B. A., Van Triest, S. P., Coers, M., & Wtenweerde, N. (2018). Managing flexible work arrangements: Teleworking and output controls. European Management Journal, 36(6), 727-735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2018.01.007
Harnecker, M. (2007). Los conceptos elementales del materialismo histórico. Siglo XXI.
Hodson, R. (1995). Worker Resistance: An Underdeveloped Concept in the Sociology of Work. Economic And Industrial Democracy, 16(1), 79-110. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831x9501600104
Izcara, S. P. (2014). Manual de Investigación cualitativa. Fontamara.
Izquierdo, G. M. (2015). Informantes y muestreo en investigación cualitativa. Revista Investigaciones Andina, 17(30), 1148-1150. https://doi.org/10.33132/01248146.65
Katz, R., Callorda, F., & Jung, J. (2020). El estado de la digitalización de América Latina frente a la pandemia de la COVID-19. Revista Latinoamericana de Economía y Sociedad Digital, 1. https://doi.org/10.53857/gqol2178
Ley Nº 21.220 de 2020. Modifica el Código del Trabajo en materia de trabajo a distancia. 26 de
marzo de 2020. Diario Oficial de la República de Chile. https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1143741
Lill, J. B. (2020). When the Boss is far away and there is shared pay: The effect of monitoring distance and compensation interdependence on performance misreporting. Accounting, Organizations And Society, 86, 101143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2020.101143
López, P. L. P. (2004). POBLACIÓN MUESTRA y MUESTREO. Revista Punto Cero, 09(8), 69-74.
http://www.scielo.org.bo/pdf/rpc/v09n08/v09n08a12.pdf
McNaughton, D., Rackensperger, T., Dorn, D., & Wilson, N. (2014). «Home is at work and work is at home»: Telework and individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication. Work, 48(1), 117-126. https://doi.org/10.3233/wor-141860
OIT. (2020). PANORAMA LABORAL 2020 América Latina y El Caribe. Organización Internacional del Trabajo/Oficina Regional para América Latina y el Caribe.
Ollo-López, A., Goñi-Legaz, S., & Erro-Garcés, A. (2020). Home-based telework: usefulness and
facilitators. International Journal Of Manpower, 42(4), 644-660. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijm-02-2020-0062
O’Sullivan, M., Lavelle, J., Turner, T., McMahon, J., Murphy, C., Ryan, L., & Gunnigle, P. (2020). Employer-led flexibility, working time uncertainty, and trade union responses: The case of academics, teachers and school secretaries in Ireland. Journal Of Industrial Relations, 63(1), 49-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185620960198
Paitán, H. Ñ., Mejía, E. M., Ramírez, E. N., & Paucar, A. V. (2014). Metodología de la investigación cuantitativa - cualitativa y redacción de la tesis. Ediciones de la U.
Panorama laboral 2022 de América Latina y el Caribe. (2024, 1 febrero). International Labour Organization. https://www.ilo.org/es/publications/panorama-laboral2022-de-america-latina-y-el-caribe
Park, S., & Cho, Y. J. (2020). Does telework status affect the behavior and perception of supervisors? Examining task behavior and perception in the telework context. International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 33(7), 1326-1351. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1777183
Pérez, P., & Cifuentes, L. (2019). The Service Industry, Private-sector Employment and Social Class in Chile: New Developments from Labour Process Theory. Critical Sociology, 46(3), 443-461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920519842372
Peters, P., Ligthart, P. E., Bardoel, A., & Poutsma, E. (2016). ‘Fit’ for telework’? Cross-cultural variance and task-control explanations in organizations’ formal telework practices. The International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 27(21), 2582-2603. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1232294
Ratto, N., & Castillo, A. (2018). Teorías del proceso de trabajo. Una revisión de su desarrollo y de las nociones de control y resistencia. (Fondecyt N° 1150860). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329071460_Teorias_del_proceso_de_trabajo_Una_revision_de_su_desarrollo_y_de_las_nociones_de_control_y_resistencia_Fondecyt_N_1150860_CIPSTRA
Richardson, L. (2020). Coordinating office space: Digital technologies and the platformization of work. Environment And Planning. D, Society And Space, 39(2), 347-365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775820959677
Sampieri, R. H., Collado, C. F., & Lucio, M. del P. B. (2014). Metodología de la investigación (Sexta edición) [PDF]. McGraw-Hill.
Vayre, E., Morin-Messabel, C., Cros, F., Maillot, A., & Odin, N. (2022). Benefits and Risks of Teleworking from Home: The Teleworkers’ Point of View. Information, 13(11), 545. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13110545
Thompson, P., & Smith, C. (2009). Labour Power and Labour Process: Contesting the Marginality of the Sociology of Work. Sociology, 43(5), 913-930. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038509340728
Wood, A. J. (2016). Flexible scheduling, degradation of job quality and barriers to collective voice. Human Relations, 69(10), 1989-2010. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726716631396
Zhang, S., Moeckel, R., Moreno, A. T., Shuai, B., & Gao, J. (2020). A work-life conflict perspective on telework. Transportation Research. Part A, Policy And Practice, 141, 51-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2020.09.0
