Author of Work at heart and Award for a job well done (La Découverte, 2010 and 2021), holder of the chair of occupational psychology at the National Center for Arts and Crafts, Yves Clot analyzes the consequences of the individualization of work.
Does the individualization of work have consequences on the health of employees?
Sure. The organization of work makes people sick in part. It creates evils, which we allow to proliferate, to then try to solve them. With the individualization of work, it is the conditions that allow us to do well that deteriorate. People do well when they recognize themselves in what they do and when, from time to time, they are proud of what they do. The majority of health problems are due to “cut back” activity. Not doing quality work becomes a poison if there is no more discussion possible.
How does individualization produce loneliness?
Thanks to digital tools, what has developed around the task and the prescription of work is formal, observable communication. But not everything is said in these exchanges. When we can no longer dialogue on what everyone considers to be the degradation of work, on what employees are unable to control, that’s a problem. Conversely, it’s a pleasure when, among colleagues, we find the solution to the blind spot, and we agree on how to approach it with the hierarchy. If we give up putting blind spots on the table, loneliness comes, little by little the poison acts, and health deteriorates.
Do we know the extent of the damage?
In 2014, the Ministry of Labor indicated that 35% of employees in industry and 37% in the civil service (State or hospital) declared that they did not feel (always or often) “the pride of a job well done”. In 2021, 54% of employed workers believed “not being able to do a good job” and “having to sacrifice quality”. These numbers are constantly growing. This is a major political question, because using your intelligence to degrade products or services makes people sick. There is a very strong link between the quality of work and public health.
What kind of health problems are related to the organization of work?
Damage to health is both psychological and physical, simultaneously. We now know that the prevented gesture is the cause of musculoskeletal disorders. Prevented by lack of resources. When we talk about stress, we are talking about employees who no longer have the resources to cope, because the organization does not give them what they need to do a job that holds up.
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