Work scenarios: An approach to the heterogeneity of contemporary work in Latin America

This paper proposes a model for characterize-ing and analyzing workspaces in contemporary Latin American organizations that seeks to portray the heterogeneous forms in which the activity of work unfolds in a single social and productive space. This model may be relevant for different types of social studies of work insofar as it sheds light on the structural characteristics that account for different social and subjective processes. It proposes the notion of work scenarios, understood as typical labor configurations where certain ways of organizing work and employment and human management practices converge which reflect the basic contribution that is expected of workers by the organization, and the type of relation the organization offers in return. In addition to proposing analytical criteria and methodological approach strategies, the paper describes a qualitative research experience that tested the notion of work scenarios as a result of which six scenarios were identified that provided cross-section of important sectors of the Chilean economy.