Work and banking technology: dynamics and contradictions of Brazil of the 21st century

Abstract

Technology is key to understanding history and working in banks. Electronic innovations, especially after the Internet, have greatly altered the work routine in banks, power relations, interaction with customers and ways of controlling the work process. Evidence shows that the effects of employment on labor should consider the socioeconomic context. The analysis of employment and working conditions and relations in Brazilian banks of the 21st century followed two different trends. In the period of economic expansion with income distribution, there was an increase in employment, a diversification of hiring methods, a significant increase in outsourcing, and an increase in union achievements. The new technologies diversified the channels of interaction between banks and clients with a view to increasing the sale of financial products and services. Workers are required to be profile salespeople and business consultants, at the same time as the pressure for targets and collections from banks and customers grows. The reversal of the favorable macroeconomic scenario interrupted the period of gains of rights and produced unemployment. All these changes bring challenges for each worker, for trade union representations and for social theory itself.