CARVALHO, Renata Guimarães de et al. Work situation and pain reports among clothing merchants. Rev. Psicol., Organ. Trab. []. 2016, 16, 3, pp.274-284. ISSN 1984-6657.  https://doi.org/10.17652/rpot/2016.3.735.

This study aims to describe work situations among market stallholders operating informally in a clothing fair in the city center of Fortaleza, and to identify signs of health related issues linked to this reality. A qualitative exploratory research study was conducted, using direct observation and structured interview techniques, performed in the working environment of the stallholders. The data were analyzed by means of a content analysis of interviews and observations. The categories used were: work situations, containing work and organizational conditions, and reports on pain and merchant work. The results pointed out that: (a) the group of workers interviewed is very diverse in terms of age, education, and income; (b) the stallholders present distinct informality categories; (c) the place where they work influences the way the work is organized on a daily basis; and (d) the discourses indicate the presence of musculoskeletal pain, but the necessity of not interrupting the work prevails over health concerns. It is concluded that the construction of specific forms of work organization in the fair environment indicates worker capacity for autonomy and effective organization, but does not reduce the precarious and informal conditions in which they are placed.

: Work situation; health; informality; market stallholders.

        · | |     · |     · ( pdf )