Coronavirus and changes in work relationships

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In a society that lives 24 hours, seven days a week, the coronavirus arrives to challenge values, change behaviors and question individual decisions in the face of the collective interest. This is not hysteria. What we are currently experiencing is unprecedented in human history.

From a public health perspective, we are learning about a new disease and its prevention and treatment. Important restrictive measures have been adopted around the world, including in Brazil. Many believe that the coronavirus is the “villain” of the moment, but perhaps misinformation, individualism, misgovernment and market interests are even more virulent.

Disinformation is a two-sided coin, that of panic and denial. This is the first time we have faced a pandemic using social media and, as we have seen, communicating more is not necessarily communicating better. We need to develop more inclusive strategies, beyond social classes with access to disposable tissues and masks or alcohol gel. We need to consider social inequalities and the most vulnerable.

Despite the current government's disinvestment in the health sector and statements more focused on the economy, it is necessary to remember that the SUS survives, being the great hope in containing the pandemic, not only for 75% of the population, who exclusively use the system, but of all Brazilian citizens. Society hopes that the misgovernment that appeared in the first days of this crisis will be urgently reversed into wisdom and resources so that the SUS can fulfill its relevant social role.

Finally, the market roars in the face of coronavirus. The dollar rises, stock markets fall, the risk of recession is real. Why worry about it? Because economic interests often conflict with health measures and, as a result, the number of people exposed increases unnecessarily because work plays a central role in people's lives.

Definitely isolation and working from home (home office) are not an option for everyone. In recent years, the weakening of employment relationships in the country has created a legion of vulnerable workers who cannot afford to stay at home. According to IBGE, informal work reaches 41,1% of the economically active population, totaling 38,4 million people. Of these, 24,2 million are self-employed workers and more than a third live from precarious work supported by platforms, as drivers or app delivery people who end up more exposed to the coronavirus.

This deregulation of labor relations appears to be particularly perverse in a pandemic scenario. While many stay protected at home, many others take additional risks. Every time someone orders a pizza, a delivery man takes to the street. How about cooking more at home? If you hire a day laborer, how about guaranteeing your payment for the duration of social isolation? With the closure of schools and daycare centers, how can we plan the care of the children of those who depend on daily wages? It's time to think about public policies such as bill exemptions (water, gas, electricity) and offering temporary financial support to the most vulnerable workers. In the long term, rethinking the regulation of labor relations would be more sustainable. 

Health workers, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, technicians and many other professions involved in care, deserve special attention. These professionals need additional protection. It is necessary to ensure an adequate supply of personal protective equipment, such as protective glasses, gloves, masks and disposable aprons, in addition to taking more efficient collective protection measures, such as disinfection of contaminated environments, adequate management of patient flow, minimization of contacts between risk.

Recently, the World Health Organization published guidelines for work environments in general, which can be summarized in 12 steps, adapted below. It is important to adapt them according to different scenarios:

  1. Ensure that environments are properly cleaned and sanitized, especially those with greater contact (examples: handrails, elevator buttons, etc.);
  2. Promote hand hygiene regularly, disseminating correct techniques and providing water, soap and 70% alcohol gel at will;
  3. Promote good respiratory hygiene at work, making disposable tissues and/or masks available in public and high-traffic environments, installing trash cans in these locations;
  4. Provide guidance to workers on travel, avoiding travel to risk areas as much as possible;
  5. Guide workers who are already in risk areas, offering remote support, including mental health support;
  6. Prioritize work alternatives that replace risky travel so as not to expose workers unnecessarily;
  7. Offer guidance and support to workers who are in transit, ensuring they reach their destination safely;
  8. Upon returning from travel, adopt an appropriate period of observation, offering support to workers and their families;
  9. Adapt actions to each workplace, considering their particularities and needs, especially if there is a suspected case;
  10. Promote remote work or other adaptations, whenever possible.
  11. Prepare a contingency and activity continuity plan;
  12. Integrate workplace actions with those of the community.

See more information on this topic at publication of the World Health Organization.

 

* Márcia Bandini is a professor at the Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Medical Sciences and reflects on the impacts of Covid-19 on worker health

** Sérgio de Lucca is a professor at the Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Medical Sciences and discusses the health of working in the face of the coronavirus pandemic

 

Published article originally on the FCM website. 

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