The taste for a job well done and the taste for others are still relevant, according to the latest study from the Institut Montaigne, “The French at work: going beyond received ideas” to be published on Thursday 2 February. Working people love their work, however arduous it may be, but want to do it in good conditions, and more in telework. And if they are ready to work more, it is to earn more. “The central concern of remuneration is reflected in our survey by the importance of (…) “to earn money” in the sense given to work, more in the private than in the public, and in particular for workers”comments the Institut Montaigne.
The think tank came to these conclusions in two stages. Kantar Public carried out a survey for him in the fall of 2022 entitled “Le travail au XXIe century”, which gave the floor to more than 5,000 working people (employees and self-employed, whether in the public or private sector) so that they could describe their relationship to work themselves. Then, he entrusted the econometric analysis to the consulting firm Kearney to dissect the data, identify the breaks with the previous studies of the Institut Montaigne, by crossing them with national and European statistics in order to explore the causal links. .
In this study, management appears as a major issue in connection with the quality of life at work. It is above all the workload that appears problematic: 60% consider that it has increased over the past five years. A quarter of employees (24%) and 18% of the self-employed even consider it « excessive » : 31% in the health, social and cultural sectors and 30% in the intermediate professions.
“We don’t disconnect anymore”
Most of the factors that explain the feeling of this workload « excessive » are subjective: a degraded relationship with management, low autonomy at work… and above all a psychological burden, which weighs heavily on the workforce. “Managers should be more aware that their role is more important than they imagine for employee satisfaction. The dissatisfaction with them, even if it is light, weighs heavily”comments the economist Bertrand Martinot, employment specialist at the Institut Montaigne.
Contrary to what is observed for physical hardship, mental workload does not depend on socio-professional category. On the other hand, it strikes certain sectors more than others: health, social, accommodation and catering. Psychological hardship is strongly felt: 47% of working people questioned believe that their work is psychologically difficult. “Issues related to health at work, especially mental health and the treatment, if possible preventive, of an excessive psychological load, must become central concerns”, recommend the authors.
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