In this article, we characterize the process of construction and deconstruction of a work culture in Brazil, indicating some of its representative elements, based on the actions of different actors: workers, businessmen, the State and institutions that has shaped this culture at different times. The proposal, far from being exhaustive, and without pretending to reconstruct the economic changes in capitalism from the last quarter of the 20th century onwards, is to list situations that marked and still mark the process of construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of the culture of work, highlighting the transition from what would have been a wage culture to an entrepreneurial culture. It is a review article that draws empirically on the experience of decades of research with formal and informal workers in Brazil, as well as institutional references, which have enabled reflection on the internalization and reproduction of social values that go beyond mere ideology.
Keywords:
labour culture; wage society; entrepreneurship; social change; flexible work