Manifeste pour une démocratie du travail

a loss of meaning at work

.

While

“bullshit jobs”

—those useless, meaningless jobs theorized by anthropologist David Graeber—are multiplying, anxiety and suffering at work are on the rise. The ecological and health crises have also brought this search for meaning to the fore, even triggering a wave of

the “Great Resignation”

and giving rise to a profound desire to rethink our relationship with work.

Economists and researchers Thomas Coutrot and Coralie Perez link this loss of meaning to

several transformations in the world of work

: an increase in mergers and acquisitions, subcontracting and the creation of subsidiaries in the name of optimization, the introduction of new public management… These changes have all helped erode workers’ autonomy and their ability to influence decisions that affect them. This loss of agency at work echoes a broader democratic crisis, marked in particular by

distrust of institutions and the rise of the far right

.

As capitalism becomes ever more authoritarian and productivist, one question arises:

can we collectively take back control of our work?

Through the Manifesto for a Democracy at Work, a collective of researchers, trade unionists and professionals presents investigations, struggles and alternatives that show it is possible to revitalize democracy by starting with work. This event will be an opportunity to explore concretely how workers can find meaning in their activities again and regain influence over how they are organized. It will also open up debate on renewing trade unionism and discuss policy proposals for making work a lever for democracy, emancipation and the defense of the living world.