"Mantente feliz, tranquilo y productivo en tu nuevo teletrabajo”: subjetividad ética y gestión productiva en tiempos de pandemia

Abstract

This doctoral research aims to highlight the production of an ethical subjectivity in remote workers as a strategic axis for managing productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on an archaeological-genealogical analysis of the power effects of the discourses and practices of Positive Organizational Psychology (POP) developed in the context of remote work during the pandemic. The study seeks to understand how the remote worker is shaped as an ethical-productive subject in a global health crisis. At a descriptive level, it identifies the emergence of the remote worker as a new subject, characterized by the fusion of work and personal spaces, blurring the traditional boundaries between the two. This process of adaptation to remote work becomes normalized as part of professional life, driven by the need to maintain productivity. However, a tension is observed between the flexibility promised by remote work and the reality of work overload, extended working hours, and difficulty in disconnecting. At an analytical level, the research highlights how official discourses promoted “self-care” as an individual control mechanism, shaping a remote work ethic focused on productivity, adaptability, and self-regulation. The study critiques POP narratives for individualizing work-related issues and offering superficial solutions. Finally, it proposes the politicization of work-related distress, recognizing that stress and anxiety are symptoms of power structures that need to be challenged and transformed.