Workers' Trajectories: Work, Illness, and Social Protection Amidst Contemporary Precarization

Abstract

Introduction: In the context of financial capitalism, transformations in the world of work have intensified labor precarization and informality, with repercussions for workers' health and social protection. Objective: To analyze workers' trajectories at the intersection of work, illness, and social protection, considering access to social security rights and the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) in contexts of structural labor precarization. Method: This theoretical-reflective study was based on documentary analysis of the Statistical Yearbook of Social Security (2024) and social assessments conducted for the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC) between 2024 and 2025. Results: The findings indicate that the increase in disability benefits is associated with contemporary transformations in the world of work, characterized by labor precarization, informality, and the weakening of social protection. Difficulties in accessing social security benefits, barriers to the BPC, and tensions in recognizing the relationship between work and illness were also identified. Conclusion: Addressing labor precarization and its repercussions on workers' health requires intersectoral actions involving the health, labor, and social security sectors, guided by recognition of the multifactorial nature of work disability in INSS assessments, strengthening occupational health as a human right and a strategy for reducing health inequities.