O Futuro Do Trabalho E O Trabalho Do(a) Pesquisador(A)

Abstract

The Perspectives section of this issue discusses the future of work with the viewpoints of Gazi Islam and Wilson Amorim. Since the classic article "Bringing work back in", by S. Barley e G. Kunda (2001), the subject has been in and out of management studies' agenda. With the pandemics, the subject is back on the scene as homes being technologized for work productivity (for those who may telework, of course), work-home borders disappear, unemployment rises, companies' management systems being reorganized, among many other phenomena we are now experiencing. The growth of contract labor, as anticipated by Barley and Kunda (2004), is again in the foreground (Perreira, 2020). However, besides the changes in work organization and people management we also face difficulties doing research about the subject (Oltramari, 2020). What does it mean to do research on work and what does the researcher's work mean today? In an interview to O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, Fapesp's chairman Marco Antonio Zago (2020) says that "the world goes round because of scientific progress, not economy" and that while the cut in research funds has no immediate impact, it has serious consequences to the country in a 10-year horizon. Reducing funds for research is not an action without consequences. If we put together the lack of funds and the practical difficulties doing research on work (and many other vital phenomena in Business Management), then we may envision the future of work and the work of researchers in the country. Doing science is hard work, but it pays off. Among its results are the articles you will find in this issue: