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1 – 10 of over 4000Kerly Lourenço Borges e Silva, Ana Paula Muraro and Luís Henrique da Costa Leão
The purpose of this paper is to compare working conditions, experiences of discrimination and suspected cases of common mental disorders (CMDs) among Haitian and Brazilian migrant…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare working conditions, experiences of discrimination and suspected cases of common mental disorders (CMDs) among Haitian and Brazilian migrant workers in the same production processes.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional, exploratory study was conducted using a nonprobabilistic convenience sample of Brazilian and Haitian migrant workers aged over 18 years from the capital of the Brazilian Midwest, evaluated from October 2018 to May 2019. Individual and face-to-face interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire consisting of three instruments: health and work (questions of the Health and Work Survey: Inquérito Saúde e Trabalho), the experience of discrimination score and the self-reporting questionnaire.
Findings
In total, 165 workers were evaluated: 99 Haitians (58 from the service sector and 41 from the construction sector) and 66 Brazilians (37 from the service sector and 29 from the construction sector). Male workers of both nationalities were predominant. Deafening noise and dust or gas exposure were more prevalent among Brazilians than among Haitians. Chemical agents and radiation exposure have been reported more frequently among Haitians. Discrimination related to nationality or race was nine times more common among Haitians (10.1%) than among Brazilians (1.5%). Perceived discrimination at work was higher among Haitians (16.2%) than among Brazilians (3.0%). The prevalence of suspected CMDs among Haitians and Brazilians were 24.0% and 4.5%, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the limitation regarding convenience sampling and the high number of Brazilians who refused to participate in the interviews, this paper brings contributions and recommendations. First, considering that comparisons in health outcomes between migrants and nonmigrant are challenging, this study sheds light on the knowledge of work-health relations between migrant populations and host populations.
Practical implications
This study’s results have attempted to show the importance of protecting health in the workplace as a right to be defended. In this regard, a matter of great concern is the recent loss of labor rights in Brazil and the Brazilian decision to leave the Migratory Pact, which aims to strengthen migrants’ rights, contributing to sustainable development
Social implications
Also, work is identified as a powerful determinant of health and a place that should protect and promote health. There is an urgent need to monitor and proceed with workers’ health surveillance to grasp the impacts of work on migrant’s health, develop health-work indicators and trigger plans and programs in health services.
Originality/value
Haitians are at a disadvantage compared to Brazilians, mainly related to discrimination due to nationality and skin color. Experiences of discrimination and a higher prevalence of suspected cases of CMDs were observed among Haitian workers.
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This paper aims to analyze Brazil’s governmental positions during two international conflicts involving major Brazilian firms and two South American countries: the nationalization…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze Brazil’s governmental positions during two international conflicts involving major Brazilian firms and two South American countries: the nationalization of Petrobras in Bolivia in 2006 and the expulsion of Odebrecht from Ecuador in 2008. Brazil’s government officials showed themselves to be not only open to negotiations but also understanding and cooperative with Bolivia. The same policymakers, however, showed no trace of this accommodating behavior toward Ecuador. This paper focuses on the explanatory power of the ideas of the ruling Workers’ Party and sustains that this party has played a crucial role on shaping the current government–business relations in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
This research applies process tracing analysis within two case studies; and content analysis to operationalize the concept “Workers’ Party’s ideas” using 14 Workers’ Party’s official documents. It investigates the circumstances under which political ideas guide policymaking.
Findings
This work found a correlation between Workers’ Party’s ideas and Brazil’s governmental positions which first benefited Bolivian demands. On the other hand, these ideas found no representation during negotiations with Ecuador. To explain this variation, this study tested the link between uncertainty and influence of ideas. Uncertainty was both an “activating condition”, allowing ideas to come into play in policymaking, and a “magnifying condition” showing the dynamic relationship between the level of uncertainty and the level of influence of ideas.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the evolving debate on business and government relations in Brazil by focusing on the role of ideas and interests on policymaking.
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Leandro Pinheiro Vieira and Rafael Mesquita Pereira
This study aims to investigate the effect of smoking on the income of workers in the Brazilian labor market.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of smoking on the income of workers in the Brazilian labor market.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from the 2019 National Health Survey (PNS), we initially address the sample selection bias concerning labor market participation by using the Heckman (1979) method. Subsequently, the decomposition of income between smokers and nonsmokers is analyzed, both on average and across the earnings distribution by employing the procedure of Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009) - FFL decomposition. Ñopo (2008) technique is also used to obtain more robust estimates.
Findings
Overall, the findings indicate an income penalty for smokers in the Brazilian labor market across both the average and all quantiles of the income distribution. Notably, the most significant differentials and income penalties against smokers are observed in the lower quantiles of the distribution. Conversely, in the higher quantiles, there is a tendency toward a smaller magnitude of this gap, with limited evidence of an income penalty associated with this habit.
Research limitations/implications
This study presents an important limitation, which refers to a restriction of the PNS (2019), which does not provide information about some subjective factors that also tend to influence the levels of labor income, such as the level of effort and specific ability of each worker, whether smokers or not, something that could also, in some way, be related to some latent individual predisposition that would influence the choice of smoking.
Originality/value
The relevance of the present study is clear in identifying the heterogeneity of the income gap in favor of nonsmokers, as in the lower quantiles there was a greater magnitude of differentials against smokers and a greater incidence of unexplained penalties in the income of these workers, while in the higher quantiles, there was low magnitude of the differentials and little evidence that there is a penalty in earnings since the worker is a smoker.
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Renata Borges, Monica Bernardi and Renata Petrin
The purpose of this paper is to compare the factors that can influence the tacit knowledge sharing (KS) in two different cultures by investigating information technology…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the factors that can influence the tacit knowledge sharing (KS) in two different cultures by investigating information technology professionals (IT) in Brazil and Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey method was used and a standard questionnaire was applied. The sample size comprised 115 respondents from Brazil and 86 participants from Indonesia. A partial least squares analysis was used to assess the structural and confirmatory models and test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that, in both cultures, IT workers who are committed to the organization are more likely to engage in tacit KS behavior. Similarly, strong social ties play an important role in the willingness to share tacit knowledge. Also, there are major differences between the organizational cultures; for instance, whereas Brazilians seem to be influenced by team-oriented cultures, Indonesians seem to be indifferent.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the small sample size as only two cultures were chosen to assess the differences and the representation of just one professional category (IT).
Originality/value
This paper provides theoretical contributions as the literature lacks a macro-level analysis on the KS comparison between countries. The results advance the comprehension of tacit KS phenomenon by testing in a cross-country comparison the mediation effect of organizational commitment. To practitioners, this research presents important empirical contributions indicating how organizational culture, social environment, personality traits and employee commitment impact an individual’s willingness to share tacit knowledge with their coworkers.
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The aim of this paper is to revisit the Brazilian case in an effort to shed light on how state-business relations have been transformed in the contemporary era of globalization…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to revisit the Brazilian case in an effort to shed light on how state-business relations have been transformed in the contemporary era of globalization. Brazil has long been considered the archetype of “dependent development”, having served as the inspiration for the classic theory of the relationship between states and capital in the semi-peripheral states of the developing world. Since the theory of dependent development was initially formulated in the 1970s, however, both the Brazilian political economy and the global context in which it is situated have changed dramatically.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis draws on 15 months of field research conducted in Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Beijing, New Delhi and Washington, as well as at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, involving 157 interviews with senior government officials, trade negotiators and representatives of industry and non-governmental organizations, ethnographic observation and extensive documentary research.
Findings
The author shows how the emergence of a highly competitive export-oriented agribusiness sector in Brazil has prompted the expansion and internationalization of domestic capital, leading to the emergence of an independent, private sector lobby with considerable influence on the Brazilian state. Driven by the rise of Brazilian agribusiness, the state and capital have allied together to aggressively pursue the expansion of markets for Brazilian exports, specifically through dispute settlement and negotiations at the WTO.
Originality/value
These findings challenge conventional understandings of state-business relations in emerging economies such as Brazil.
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Paul Stewart, Andy Danford and Edson Urano
The purpose of this paper is to assess difficulties facing the unionization of foreign workers focusing on the experience of trade unionists in Union MIE, an exemplar of what in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess difficulties facing the unionization of foreign workers focusing on the experience of trade unionists in Union MIE, an exemplar of what in Japan is known as a community union (sometimes described as a form of Minority union – Stewart, 2006). Union MIE is characterized by its orientation to the social and political agenda of Latin American workers, among whom Brazilians form the most numerous group. The paper also addresses the precarious nature of workers’ employment including the condition of labor. The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan.
Findings
The increasing significance of community unions raises the question as to the possibility of the reregulation of worker interests in ways not fully encompassed by traditional labor market-focused unions. In addition to having relevance to the wider discussion on union decline, this paper contributes to the debate on migrant workers, their condition of labor and one form of labor organization responsive to their concerns.
Research limitations/implications
A comparative approach would add even more to the weight of evidence accrued in the paper.
Practical implications
Mainstream trade unions need to anticipate that the concerns of migrant and precarious workers will become increasingly common among their erstwhile “regularly” employed membership and so the activities of community and minority unions need to be taken on board in an organic, as opposed to an opportunistic, manner.
Originality/value
From unique interviews using snowball technique and direct questionnaires to union membership of community union in Japan, the paper presents original data not typically accessible in Anglo-Saxon research tradition.
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Daan Bisseling and Filipe Sobral
The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the effects of emotional and task conflict on team performance and member satisfaction in two distinct cultures, Brazil and The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the effects of emotional and task conflict on team performance and member satisfaction in two distinct cultures, Brazil and The Netherlands.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey with 366 team members and interviews with 20 team managers were conducted. To analyse data and test the proposed hypotheses, hierarchical regression analyses were used.
Findings
Findings suggest that cultural differences between these two countries not only influence the way intragroup conflict is experienced, but also its impact on members' satisfaction and group performance. In Brazil, emotional and task conflict were both negatively associated with individuals' satisfaction and perceived team performance, while in The Netherlands no significant relationships were found between both types of conflict and team performance.
Research limitations/implications
Several limitations of this research must be recognized: the use of self‐report measures that may have some inherent social desirability bias; and the use of linear regressions to test relationships that may be non‐linear.
Practical implications
This paper shows that managers need to focus on differentiating emotional and task conflict and find ways to seize the potential of task‐related conflicts.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on how culture influences intragroup conflict and its impact on team outcomes, enlightening the role of cultural context in conflict research.
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Gabriela Gomes Mantovani and Jefferson Andronio Ramundo Staduto
The article aimed to identify and analyze the income differences across the income distribution between homosexuals and heterosexuals by occupational groups in Brazil.
Abstract
Purpose
The article aimed to identify and analyze the income differences across the income distribution between homosexuals and heterosexuals by occupational groups in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
PNAD-C microdata was used in two periods (2013–2015 and 2016 to 2019), highlighting the different economic, social and political contexts in Brazil. Recentered influence function and quantile income decomposition were estimated to verify the difference and income discrimination according to the guideline the worker’s sexuality.
Findings
For some cases homosexual workers earn more and in others, homosexuals earn less than heterosexuals. The differences in remuneration according to sexual orientation were smaller in positions that demand low qualification and competence. The quantile income decomposition between 2013 and 2015 revealed the positive effect of discrimination was the generator of income disparities between homosexuals and heterosexuals, with greater impact for the 10th and 90th quantiles and on groups that require small levels of complexity and education. Between 2016 and 2019, there was the presence of both effects, but the explained effect was the promoter of wage disparities in most occupational groups.
Research limitations/implications
Given the dataset, it was only possible to work with proxies of homosexual couples.
Originality/value
There has been little research linking the themes of discrimination based on sexual orientation and occupational groups, and so far, it does not exist similar in Latin America. This study found that sexual orientation influences remuneration according to the occupational group that the worker belongs to, affecting income and, consequently, occupational choice. This connection of issues will contribute to new insights into discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as more effective public policies aimed at reducing discrimination against homosexuals.
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Enlinson Mattos and Laudo M. Ogura
The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of skill differentiation between formal and informal labor markets.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of skill differentiation between formal and informal labor markets.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a theoretical model is developed under the assumption that concealment of production is increasingly costly for informal firms. Second, using data on the Brazilian self‐employed economy, two methods are utilized to compare earnings in the formal versus the informal economy: propensity score and instrumental variable (IV) methods. For the IV estimations, state‐level variables are used as instruments for individual's decisions. In addition, the effect of schooling on formality choice is analyzed.
Findings
The theoretical model implies that more productive firms tend to operate formally and the proportion of workers employed by formal firms is larger for higher skilled workers. In the empirical analysis, it is found that formal firms are more productive than informal firms, controlling for workers' characteristics, and that higher workers' skill increase the probability of formal operation, as predicted by the theoretical model.
Originality/value
The paper provides an original theoretical model of skill differentiation in labor markets and empirically evaluates the implications of the model.
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Daniele B. Vinholes, Carlos Alberto Machado, Hilton Chaves, Sinara L. Rossato, Ione M.F. Melo, Flavio D. Fuchs and Sandra C. Fuchs
A staff canteen in the workplace can offer a healthier diet, which may lower the blood pressure (BP). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the presence of staff…
Abstract
Purpose
A staff canteen in the workplace can offer a healthier diet, which may lower the blood pressure (BP). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate whether the presence of staff canteen in the workplace is associated with consumption of healthy food and lower systolic and diastolic BP.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study was conducted, randomly selecting workers through a multistage sampling, stratified by company size in Brazil. Demographic, socioeconomic, and life style characteristics were evaluated, and weight, height, and BP were measured. Statistical analysis used generalized linear models, controlling for design effect and confounding factors, to assess the association between BP and staff canteen and the intake of food items.
Findings
In total, 4.818 workers, aged 35.4±10.7 years, 76.5 percent men, with 8.7±4.1 years of formal education were enrolled. Prevalence of hypertension was 24.7 percent (p-value <0.001) among workers from industries with staff canteen vs 30.6 percent among those with no staff canteen. Workers of industries with staff canteen consumed higher proportion of fruits, green leafy vegetables, and milk than workers of industries without canteen, and had lower systolic and diastolic BP, independently of the frequency of intake.
Practical implications
Workers of industries with staff canteen consumed a healthier diet, and had lower systolic and diastolic BP, and lower prevalence of hypertension than workers from workplaces without staff canteen.
Originality/value
This study was the first carried out among workers of industries reporting that the presence of a staff canteen in the workplace is associated with lower systolic and diastolic BP and prevalence of hypertension.
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