The book. When sociologist and clinician Thomas Périlleux sees new patients coming in for consultation, they often point out one symptom: “I can’t sleep anymore, I have a tightness in my chest, I have a lump in my stomach; or in relation to a work pathology: I’m stressed, I’m burnt out, I’m harassed…” Faced with these workers in professional difficulties, he will then begin a slow process of listening and questioning to get to the heart of the issues that concern them.

It is this complex journey that he presents to us in his new work: Rough work. Occupational suffering, what to consult for? (Eres). By transcribing his consultations carried out in Liège and Namur in Belgium, he offers us “to enter the kitchen of a previously little-researched practice”convinced that “The anger and questions that workers have directed at me cannot remain behind closed doors [où elles ont été exprimées] ».

In doing so, the author offers us an impressive panorama of the pain that affects workers today. Above all, they come to him because they are ” In the fog “in a work situation “became illegible ». They don’t do that ” find[ent] no longer have the means, yet [eux] nor in collective bodies to fight injustice, prevent humiliation, overcome shame, rediscover the taste for what[ils font]defend the dignity of [leur] work “.

The author tells in detail the story of Sébastien, a technician in the industry who, in the face of increasingly strict regulations, had to do poor work – and had his team do it. The distance in which he had hidden himself only lasted a short time: one day his body gave out and Sébastien was taken on sick leave.

Management by numbers

Virginie is also on leave. As a psychosocial worker, she worked in a facility caring for young people suffering from domestic violence. She experienced burnout, felt helpless in the face of the abuse she was witnessing, and was stunned by her organization’s inaction and failure.

Behind the patients’ pain and the psychological connections that can be made with their family history, Mr. Périlleux, beyond the session’s reflections on values ​​and normality in business, highlights – and denounces – the dysfunctions that affect today’s organizations. “Criticism of the work is also possible from individual living beings who protest against the condition given to them through their discomfort.”, he says. A work that he describes “in bad condition. He needs to be looked after.assures the author.

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