Reduction of working time versus intensification of work: For a more human management of people[Réduction du temps de travail versus intensification du travail : Pour un management plus humain des personnes]

The reduction in annual working time is a general trend observed in both Europe and North America (it has been halved since 1830). For the past thirty years, this decline has continued in most OECD countries, with a particular situation for France, which is distinguished by a marked reduction in hours worked per active worker, especially since the "Aubry" laws of 1998 and 1999. This collective reduction in working time had beneficial consequences: job creation, increases in the efficiency of production processes, better reconciliation for many workers in professional and family life, etc. But this reduction is also often associated with an intensification of work which makes the balance sheet much more mixed as regards working conditions and the health of the employees. If the intensification of work has increased in parallel over the past twenty years, it is mainly due to the introduction of new forms of work organization in companies (so-called "just-in-time" modes of production, or " just in time "; forms of reorganization of production called" reengineering "; flexibility of the workforce, etc.). This results in harmful psychosocial consequences for employees' health and increased hardship which seriously calls into question certain management advice and the uncontrolled importation of Anglo-Saxon management models (Mintzberg, 2005).