Workers’ health and the consequences of work uberization in pandemic times

Abstract

Introduction: the emergence of an unprecedented health crisis, caused by the New Coronavirus, leads “uberized” workers to become “essential service providers” helping the population comply with the social distancing rules. Objective: to verify the potential consequences of work uberization during and after the pandemic. Methods: we used social psychology of work and the notion of “work polymorphism”, that is, the various forms that working assumes in our current context. Discussion: we characterize work uberization as a new way of managing, organizing and controlling work, focused on the Brazilian and Latin American scenarios. We argue that the precariousness of labor relations, arising from economic liberalism, could deepen the uberization of work in the post-pandemic context. Conclusion: among the aspects to be considered when pondering about workers’ health in pandemic and post-pandemic is the excessive control of work and the need to shorten the distance between those who study workers’ health and the collective movements of uberized workers.