UNVEILING THE DUALITY OF LABOR FLEXIBILITY: A PATH TO FULFILLMENT OR PRECARITY

Exploring the current labor landscape, characterized by a shift towards flexibility and adaptability in the context of a globally interconnected economy through new information and communication technologies, unveils a complex reality. Anchored in a thorough critical review of emerging labor dynamics, this study unravels how the promise of greater freedom and self-management in work transforms into a scenario of precarity and vulnerability for workers.

Adopting a qualitative approach, existing literature and specific cases within the labor panorama, especially in specific contexts such as Colombia, are analyzed to understand how labor flexibility practices intertwine with local and global socioeconomic structures. This methodological approach not only identifies but also comprehends the implications of labor flexibility beyond the surface, examining its effects on the daily lives of workers.

The findings reveal an intrinsic duality in labor flexibility: on one hand, it is promoted as a strategy to enhance productivity and organizational efficiency, offering workers a supposed greater autonomy and job satisfaction. However, in practice, this flexibility translates into an intensification of work, an invasion of personal life by work demands, and a transfer of entrepreneurial risk to the worker, leaving them exposed to instability and economic uncertainty.

This analysis demonstrates how, far from being a solution to contemporary work challenges, labor flexibility represents a central problem that requires critical examination. The conclusions point towards the need to rethink labor relations in search of a balance that respects the dignity of work and promotes sustainable human development, challenging the neoliberal premises underlying the logic of flexibility.