As manifestações de resistência informal à vigilância eletrônica na visão dos gestores de Call Centers

Abstract

Traditionally, the concept of resistance alludes to collective and explicit movements of opposition, like strikes and protests. The modernization of mechanisms of control and management practices evidenced informal and less visible forms of resistance, as jokes and irony for example. Since then researches about resistance has grown within partly overlapping fields. Based on the literature review, we verified that little is known about managers’ responses and implications of informal resistance. Because of that, this researchs’ objective was to understand how managers deal with informal resistance to electronic surveillance. To collect and analyse data we adopted a conceptual framework derived from core Labour Process Theory (LPT) and coping. In terms of methodology, this research is a descriptive and exploratory study with qualitative approach and the appropriation of episodic semistructured interviews. Due to the extensive use of control mechanisms, the sample was nine managers of call center teams’ working for companies of different industries in Natal. To analyze the data collected we used content analysis technique with appropriation of categorial (or thematic) codification. Aiming to provide more consistency and streamline to the analytical process we adopted NVivo® software to code, categorize and make comparative analysis using dynamic models, tree maps and word cloud. Our results confirm the extensive use of control mechanisms in call centers. We also identified 15 expressions of informal resistance to electronic surveillance on the cases investigated, being gossip the type more cited by interviewees. Most managers said take immediate attitude when recognize resistance, being conversations the attitude more cited. Finally, only two interviewees reported cases of flexibilization of the rules because everyday resistance, in all the others cases resistance did not reached its goals.