Satisfacción y reconocimiento en ocupaciones precarias: El caso de los recolectores de basura en Chile

Based on a survey and in-depth interviews with waste collectors in Santiago de Chile, this paper examines the meaning that these informal workers give to their work. Using a cluster analysis, the article shows five types of relationship between collectors and their work. Furthermore, it explains why most of them find satisfaction in this activity, despite the precariousness that characterizes it. The article argues that this perception of the collectors lies in their acceptance of an “ideological offer of social recognition”, embodied in the figure of “entrepreneurship”, which has been promoted by the chilean social policies since the 1980s. This acceptance appears to be conditioned by the obstacles that these workers find in their career, due to their position in the social space.