Agribusiness is a vital sector for the Brazilian economy, representing a significant portion of the country’s GDP and encompassing a wide range of activities from cultivation to the industrial processing of food and the production of goods for export.
The diversity of tasks and the environmental conditions in which workers are inserted make working hours in agribusiness a complex and challenging issue. There are specific characteristics, such as seasonality and peaks in demand, which end up requiring long working hours. For this reason, rural employment has its own particularities, which end up influencing various regulatory aspects specific to the activity.
Despite following Brazilian labor legislation, which provides for eight hours a day and 44 hours a week, rural workers often have to extend their hours. The sector also has its own risks, with occasional episodes of exhaustion, repetitive strain injuries and prolonged exposure to the sun and pesticides, as well as the handling of agricultural machinery without proper safety measures.
For the rural sector, due to the regularity of overtime, there is provision for differentiated working hours, such as part-time and intermittent work, which can be applied depending on the nature of the activity. Their adoption guarantees productivity without compromising health.
In recent years, there have also been initiatives to improve working conditions in agribusiness, such as certification programs and good agricultural practices, which seek to ensure that companies comply with safety standards. There are also technological developments, such as mechanization, which have reduced the physical burden of rural work, as well as bringing more efficiency to the producer.
In urban areas, flexible working hours are already common practice in many sectors, through flexitime, bank hours and remote working, depending on the needs of the business. This flexibility is a trend that can be adapted to rural work.
Digital tools for controlling working hours, such as electronic time and attendance and management software, can be implemented in agribusiness to ensure compliance with labor regulations and facilitate the adaptation of flexible working hours.
As agribusiness evolves, more adaptive regulation is essential to keep the sector competitive and socially responsible. The search for better working conditions, health and safety is a constant priority, requiring coordinated action from all those involved in the sector.
Public policies and employee qualification initiatives are essential to transform the sector, but there is still a need for greater effort from governments, companies and civil society to ensure that the development of agribusiness is sustainable and inclusive.
