Attracting new employees for high performance companies: a critique to human resource professionals' reasons/Atraindo novos funcionarios para empresas de alta performance: uma critica as razoes dos profissionais de recursos humanos

The so-called high performance systems reflect the organizations' need to strengthen worker involvement in order to respond more quickly to demands for results. Despite the fact that high performance practices promote work intensification and increasing stress levels, and thus restrict quality of life and well-being at work, high performance companies tend to appeal to a large number of qualified professionals; which gives rise to the question about the mechanisms that promote such attractiveness. In order to investigate this issue, this study focuses on the discourse of human resources professionals in high-performance companies operating in Brazil. The research was conducted through in-depth interviews with these professionals, based on broad questions about their recruitment and selection practices. The arguments and motives that permeate the professionals' discourse were analyzed in light of the conceptual repertoire of Critical Theory, particularly the debate about the rationalities that guide social action. The examination of the discourses points to an instrumentally oriented communication and a systematic distortion of the communicative process within organizations, at the expense of work-life balance and individual and interpersonal well-being. Keywords: Job intensification. Rationality. Critical theory. Communicative distortion. Os chamados sistemas de trabalho de alta performance refletem a necessidade de organizacoes fortalecerem o envolvimento do trabalhador para que este responda mais rapidamente as demandas por resultados. Apesar de as praticas de alta performance promoverem uma gradual intensificacao no trabalho e o aumento do nivel de stress dos trabalhadores, e, portanto, restringirem a qualidade de vida e o bem-estar no trabalho, empresas de alta performance exercem grande poder de atracao nos profissionais qualificados, o que enseja a indagacao sobre os mecanismos que promovem essa atratividade. Para investigar esta questao, este estudo se debruca sobre os discursos proferidos por profissionais que atuam na area de recursos humanos de empresas de alta performance atuantes no Brasil. A pesquisa foi realizada por meio de entrevistas em profundidade com esses profissionais, com perguntas amplas sobre as atividades de recrutamento e selecao de funcionarios. Os argumentos e motivos que permeiam os discursos desses profissionais foram analisados a luz do repertorio conceitual da Teoria Critica, particularmente o debate sobre as racionalidades