How Work as a Category of Thought Has Been Disrupted in Neoliberal Capitalist Societies

This article summarises and presents the main findings of Marie-Anne Dujarier’s French book Troubles dans le travail (2021). It focuses on the “travail” category of thought and practice in France, where it has become a ubiquitous and moral notion. The article traces the history of its social uses, highlighting its polysemy with respect to vernacular and scientific uses, then its limited meaning when used in institutions. It examines contemporary situations in which activity requiring effort, the production of use or exchange values, and the status of employment and remuneration are disconnected. Their frequency and importance cast doubt on who is working and when. This disruption in the “work” category of thought indicates that the eponymous institutions do not adequately accommodate real practices. They are therefore questioned. This observation is also an invitation for researchers to unpick this word for a better analysis of contemporary social, psychological and ecological issues. In France, the word “travail” is ubiquitous in our day-to-day exchanges, as well as in our scientific and political discussions (“travail” is often translated as ‘work’ or ‘labour’, translations are part of the history of the category). Although regularly given only one value, it also has a moral domain. But what does it mean? This article offers Anglo-Saxon readers a summary of in-depth sociological research on this issue, published in the book called Work Troubles. Sociology of a category of thought (French original title: Troubles dans le travail. Sociologie d’une catégorie de pensée) by the author of this article

Les représentations professionnelles en question. Le cas des intermédiaires dans les fusions-acquisitions

International audienceOne sector of finance, relatively unfamiliar to the public, has nevertheless been growing fast for the last 30 years. This sector, known as M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), specialises in the sale or purchase of companies. The middlemen who carry out the transactions are not the owners of the companies they buy or sell. They perform a set of socially divided and organised tasks and possess specific expertise. This article seeks to analyse these financial middlemen as workers, and in particular to understand their professional representation of the companies that they help to buy or sell. We show that the people working in this sector share a commodified, quantitative and abstract representation of the companies bought and sold. Through an analysis of activity, professional rhetoric, socialisation processes and career dynamics, the article shows how the homogeneity of this representation is constructed and maintainedUn secteur de la finance, peu connu du grand public, a pourtant une activité en forte croissance depuis trente ans. Il est connu sous l’anglicisme « M&A » (Mergers and Acquisitions), ou « fusac » (fusions-acquisitions) en franc ̧ais. Il est spécialisé dans la réalisation d’achat ou de vente d’entreprises. Les intermédiaires accom- plissant ces transactions ne sont pas propriétaires des entreprises qu’ils vendent ou achètent. Ils réalisent un ensemble de tâches socialement divisées et organisées et possèdent des savoir-faire spécifiques. Cet article se propose d’analyser ces intermédiaires financiers, en tant que travailleurs, et en particulier de comprendre leur représentation professionnelle des entreprises qu’ils participent à vendre ou à acheter. Nous montrons que les travailleurs de ce secteur partagent une représentation marchande, quantitative et abstraite des entre- prises vendues et achetées. À travers une analyse de l’activité, de la rhétorique professionnelle, des processus de socialisation ainsi que de la dynamique des carrières, l’article montre comment l’homogénéité de cette représentation est construite et maintenu