RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: In a research project about work-related issues and corporate sustainability conducted in Brazil, the goal was to better understand how work-related issues were addressed in the corporate context. Particularly, there are some specific initiatives that serve as guides to organizational decisions, which make their performance indicators for the context of corporate sustainability. OBJECTIVE: 1) To explore the presence of work-related issues and their origins in corporate sustainability approach, analyzing a) corporate disclosures; b) sustainability guidelines that are identified as relevant in corporate disclosures; c) documents that are related to sustainable development and also identified as key-documents for these guidelines and initiatives. 2) To present the activity-centered ergonomics and psychodynamics of work contributions to work-related issues in a corporate sustainability approach. METHODS: An exploratory study based on multiple sources of evidence that were performed from 2012 to 2013, including interviews with companies that engaged in corporate sustainability and document analysis using the content analysis approach. RESULTS: Work-related issues have been presented since the earliest sustainable development documents. It is feasible to construct an empirical framework for work-related issues and corporate sustainability approaches. CONCLUSIONS: 1) Although some authors argue that corporate sustainability has its roots based only on the environmental dimension, there is strong empirical evidence showing that social dimension aspects such as work-related issues have been present since the beginning. 2) Some indicators should be redesigned to more precisely translate the reality of some workplaces, particularly those indicators related to organizational design and mental health.
Asunto(s)
Política Organizacional , Lugar de Trabajo , Brasil , Conservación de los Recursos Naturales , Revelación , Ergonomía , Guías como Asunto , Derechos Humanos , Humanos , Salud Laboral , Objetivos Organizacionales , Lugar de Trabajo/psicologíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: By introducing policies for sustainability and social responsibility, companies declare their interest in caring for all stakeholders, including workers. OBJECTIVE: To analyze how and which themes related to work practices and to workers are approached in the discourse of corporations are considered sustainable and socially responsible. Based on ergonomic principles, more elements are brought into this discussion, viewed from a strategic perspective for the development of corporations and society. PARTICIPANTS: Data collected from 20 corporations considered more sustainable according to an assessment made by the Corporate Knights organization. METHODS: Multiple-case study, based on the analysis of secondary sources content (websites and reports). Analysis of websites and reports by their content, and their classification according to the aspects present in the thematic of work practices and of human rights elaborated by standard ISO 26000. RESULTS: Corporations show that the worker is one of the stakeholders to be considered in their sustainability and social responsibility policies. However, it's not possible using this method to obtain effective evidences related to actual programs performed by companies in order to demonstrate the real importance of workers in sustainable polices. CONCLUSIONS: The discipline of ergonomics could be active in improving the implementation of corporate social responsibility policies, especially by emphasizing the social dimension of these policies.