Abstract

BERMUDEZ, Héctor L.. VOICE PICKING: A WORK ORGANIZATION METHOD THAT THREATENS WORKERS SUBJECTIVITY. THE CASE OF A FOOD RETAIL CHAIN. Innovar [online]. 2020, vol.30, n.76, pp.37-49.  Epub May 28, 2020. ISSN 0121-5051.  https://doi.org/10.15446/innovar.v30n76.85193.

The objective of this paper is to show the robotization of order pickers at the distribution centers of large commercial companies who work under the organization method known as voice picking. To examine this issue, we conducted a case study at a branch of a retail food distribution company in Quebec, Canada, whose fieldwork included two methodological steps: six-month participant observation and a set of loosely structured interviews. We found that the combination of asymmetry in the authority and indoctrination through short and direct instructions in an extremely monotonous work affects employee's subjectivity. The empirical evidence allows concluding that, when observing the consequences from a micro perspective, voice picking forces the employee to retain states of anxiety and encourages individualism. In addition, when examined from a macro perspective, it contributes to weakening the human bonds necessary in social structuring.

Keywords : human robotization; sociology; subjectivity; work organization.

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