Quality of Working Life in a laundry serving the slaughtering and meat processing industry,by the evaluation of the environmental risk conditions

摘要

Many companies are concerned with working conditions. These include everything that affects the worker within an organization, such as work place, environment, task, journey, time allocation, remuneration, wholesome diet, health and well-being, in addition to other factors related to Quality of Life at work (QoLW), because conditions in the work environment contribute to the occurrence of accidents and occupational illnesses, compromising the QoLW of the workers. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the level of satisfaction felt by the workers with their QoLW, from the workers' perspective, and to identify the biological, physical and ergonomic risks that a laundry in the slaughtering and meat processing industry offers to them. The evaluation was made through the use of a questionnaire proposed by Fernandes (1996), where the criteria used to verify satisfaction with QVT are subdivided in blocks. The case study demonstrated that, although aware of the adverse conditions, the workers expressed satisfaction with the work. The biological risks are represented by microorganisms in the dirty clothes and in the air, and no use of PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment); the physical risks by temperature, noise and extreme humidity, and insufficient ventilation; the ergonomic risks by the adoption of incorrect postures, imposed by deficiencies in the equipment and in the environment. These risks are aggravated by the non-existence of standards for the organization of this type of laundry. It is suggested that training for the workers, installation of an extraction system, better ventilation and cross contamination barriers will lead to better work conditions, to avoid occupational diseases and to improve still more the workers' satisfaction with QoLW.