Ilness at work: the discourse of teleoperators about voice disorders

Abstract

Introduction: The organizational changes in companies, in the context of the changing in the world of work, were characterized mainly by outsourcing and job precarization. In telemarketings, there were an intensification of work and strict controls execution of activities, generating health problems to the workers. As a voice professional, teleoperators have voice disorders, often triggered from bad working conditions. Objective: To investigate how the teleoperators understand the relation of vocal disorders with the organization of work in the company. Methods: Data were collected in a private Speech Therapy Clinic. For the selection of subjects, clinical records of teleoperators were searched, according to following creterion: assets workers, including removed ones, exercise activity of work at least one year for six hours / day, have a diagnosis of vocal disorder and be attending speech therapy. Thus, four women were elected to the research. It was used semi-structured interview, which was recorded and transcribed, and the speeches were analyzed through content analysis. Results and discussion: Women workers report a work routine characterized by stiffness and stress, with vocal and psychological consequences. They consider that voice disorders are caused by their own negligence, in a context of intense pace of work and pressure for achieving the company goals. Conclusion: Although teleoperators express in their speeches some elements that show the consequences on the health workers of the changings in the world of work, they tend to overestimate the failure of their individual efforts as the main cause of their vocal disorders.