Well-being and psychosocial issues made invisible in the best companies to work for in Latin America: a view from their digital organizational communication

Abstract

The objective of the research was to analyze the digital organizational communication carried out by a sample of private organizations in Latin America with the purpose of identifying the level of visibility or invisibility that they give to the well-being care and attention to psychosocial issues of their collaborators. The theoretical framework that was used is based on a critical perspective of the ethics of liberal economy organizations. Liberal self-exploitation is a consequence of the discourse of capital, which introjects the idea of performance as the main value. The problem that arises is that the collaborator seeks business gratification at all costs, which leads him to remain silent or to normalize the types of violence experienced in the organization; accepts with resignation greater sacrifices to meet job expectations. The worker's desire is to connect with what he or she perceives as good and beneficial for the company. The employee sees the need to find for himself or herself the balance to perform at work and in the family sphere, which is why he or she tends to silence and sublimate dehumanizing aspects.

The analysis was carried out on the websites, Facebook profile, X profile and LinkedIn profile of a sample that consisted of 25 multinational companies which were named the best to work for in Latin America (Great place to work, 2023). In the case of the websites, the main pages, the "about" or "about us" section and in some cases the "talent attraction" section with its various nomenclatures were analyzed, as they better contained the required information. In the case of social media profiles, all content published between August 10 and September 10, 2023, was analyzed. Based on the above, a total of 25 websites, 74 social media profiles (one company did not have X profile), with a total of 235 publications were analyzed. The analysis categories were description of the organization, philosophy of the organization, well-being and psychosocial themes with a total of fifteen dimensions. The methodology was content analysis with axial coding in three phases.

The study shows that most of the best companies to work for in Latin America emphasize their content on diversity and inclusion, however, the conceptualization of this dimension is mostly linked to the new conceptual configurations of gender, leaving aside in a minority to those who recognize that this dimension must address people with different abilities, people of ethnic origin, and even generational differences, continuing with the increase in inequalities (ILO, 2014). Regarding the dimension of balance between personal life and work, companies were observed with excess content that reflects programs with this theme; However, the majority considers this dimension in a lateral, minimal, and insufficient sense. The categories and dimensions analyzed have a high presence on the websites, leaving social networks for the publication of news about specific events. For the most part, the dimensions of psychosocial well-being of employees are excluded and made invisible, where respect for their rights, their health, equity, and care of their family is privileged, among other circumstances that are left aside. by the collaborators themselves in search of performance. In the case of LinkedIn, it is about attracting new talent based on this reflection of concern for psychosocial issues and the well-being of collaborators, that is, for their interests. From the definition of the organizational philosophy with key words such as our or us, we seek to influence the sense of belonging of the collaborators who in turn seek to fulfill the desire of their employer. Although the companies analyzed here present digital communication attentive to an awareness of psychosocial well-being based on a work ethic with a liberal approach, it highlights the need for the academy to continue researching the comprehensive well-being of workers to eliminate dehumanization from work itself, for the sake of business performance and to maintain the simulacrum of comfort. It is about seeking, above all, an ethic of dignity to stop competition between co-workers that becomes invisible from the system and privilege the integrity of the person.