Some of the most striking characteristics of recent discussions about labor relations are the reduction in formal employment and the growth in the discourse about flexibilization, which are translated into words like employability and into practices like outsourcing. This flexibilization, however, does not imply that organizations no longer expect their workers to be fully committed or that the wish to construct a solid and stable career has lost its meaning for professionals. This suggests that there are countless inherent ambiguities in current relations. This study investigates how such a context interferes in the expectations of the individuals who work as outsourced employees in the IT area in large companies, by observing the discourses that develop about their professional conditions and their careers. The results indicate there are four types of discursive profile - the disillusioned, the ambivalent, the skeptical and the credulous. The possible implications of these profiles for individuals and for their employers are discussed in the conclusions.
Labor relations; outsourcing; IT professionals; career; discourse analysis