Intensity of Work and Painful Working Conditions in Hospital. Evolutions between 1998 and 2013[Intensité et pénibilités du travail à l’hôpital. Quelles évolutions entre 1998 et 2013]

This paper looks at the evolution of working conditions in the hospital sector over the past fifteen years. This issue is important in view of the extensive reforms undergone by the sector since the early 1990s. We will first consider the data concerning working conditions in hospitals. In the light of the three latest editions of the French survey Working Conditions (enquête Conditions de travail), we will then turn to the evolution of the pace of work and of different forms of hardship at work in hospitals between 1998 and 2013, compared with that observed in other activity sectors. Finally, we shall analyze, all things considered, the current specificities of the sector in terms of exposure to the pace of work, staggered schedules, physical hardship and a degraded working environment. We observe, over the 1998-2013 period, a clear speed-up in the rhythm of work regarding hospital staff. This comes with a slight alleviation of the physical strain involved. However, working conditions in hospitals remain particularly stressful.