O trabalho em espaços de coworking: seus aspectos e sentidos para trabalhadores-frequentadores em Salvador-Bahia

Abstract

The Sharing Economy is a recent worldwide phenomenon that has been gaining strength since the Global Financial Crisis (2007-2008), as well as through the advancement of technology and online platforms. The focus of this economy is on the use of products and services, but not on their acquisition. Coworking spaces are one of the collaborative business models of the sharing economy, where people work together, in the same room, with many other professionals from different areas, empowered by the advancement of technology. In Salvador, there are currently about twenty-seven of these spaces operating concurrently and the continuous adhesion of new professionals to these spaces is noticeable. The present dissertation has as its themes: Meanings of Work and Sharing Economy. The object of research was workers from coworking spaces in the city of Salvador-Bahia. This is an empirical work that has as its general objective: to understand the aspects of work in coworking spaces and the meanings of work for coworkers in the same spaces in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The research methodology used was a qualitative approach, data collection was carried out from semi-structured interviews remotely, and for data analysis the content analysis method was used. The results of this research allowed the objectives, specific and general, to be achieved, reaching the conclusion of this research that identified that the main aspects of working in coworking are flexibility, cost-effectiveness, interaction between coworkers, networking, collaboration among its members; however, these spaces are often noisy and provide little privacy to their coworkers. The meanings of work were defined as something significant in their lives that should make a difference and impact something, someone, or some place. To them work is meaningful if it makes a difference in some way to the society in which they work.