INTRODUCTION: Changes introduced in Brazilian automotive industry working process since the 1990s have increased the weight of workforce management as determinant of workers' health. BACKGROUND: This article discusses two elements of management: profit or result sharing (PRS) and flexible working hours (FWH), drawing attention to the relationship between these two aspects and work intensity as well as workers' wearing down. METHOD: Literature review and analysis of collective agreements negotiated by the metalworkers' union in ABC-SP (Santo Andre, São Bernardo and São Caetano - three industrial centers in São Paulo metropolitan area), between 2001 and 2008. Results: The analysis showed that reorganization and lengthening of working time as well as high work intensity, both resulting from PRS goal achievement process and FWH, push workers towards qualitative and quantitative increase of their work, evidencing that these managerial tools cause work intensification and workers' wearing down. Time off work is also affected, hindering workers' recovery and biopsychic ability development as well. CONCLUSION: PRS and FWH can be characterized as models of management by stress, which increase workload and workers' wearing down.
workers' health; profits sharing; flexible working hours; workers' wearing down; intense workload and longer working time
