The field of Worker's Health and the challenges of work today: a reflection from the perspective of Social Psychology of Work

Abstract

Introduction: the field of Worker's Health (WH) was established in the 1970s and 1980s, strongly connected to labor unions. Today, neoliberal capitalism deepens social and labor precarization, supported by an ideological discourse that affects the worker's subjectivity, leading them to normalize a logic contrary to their interests and potentially detrimental to their health. Objectives: to discuss the challenges within the field of WH in Brazil, considering this context. Method: starting from the perspective of Social Psychology of Work, we reflected on aspects to consider for an engagement aligned with current demands. Results: the current reality calls for repositioning WH public policies, so that actions are more effective, rescuing their political essence of health promotion. We proposed three aspects: understanding and acting on the diverse labor realities of informal work; comprehending the worker's subjectivity processes in the current context; and collaborating with social movements and other forms of collective organizations. Conclusion: we emphasize the need to design actions that promote collective subjectivation, the protagonism of workers, the strengthening and reinvention of forms of resistance to the dismantling of their rights and situations that threaten their health.