The meaning of work amidst paradoxes: A case study of waste recycling workers[Le sens au travail à l'épreuve des paradoxes. Le cas des agents de déchetterie]

The ethical and sustainable transformation of organizations requires the implementation of an engaged and civic-minded Human Resources Management (HRM), in line with the realities of daily work experienced by workers, often marked by organizational paradoxes. In work, certain situations seem logical in isolation but simultaneously become irrational. The resulting paradoxical tensions can create cognitive discomfort and potential psychological suffering among workers, potentially affecting their perception of meaning at work. Although these contradictions can exist at all levels of organizations, front-line workers are particularly exposed to them because they must make trade-offs – often in a hurry and sometimes without adequate resources – between what the procedural framework of prescribed work imposes on them and what real work entails, especially when it comes to satisfying the divergent interests of various stakeholders. This is the case of waste disposal center workers, whose front-line operational work provides a suitable framework for exploring organizational paradoxes, especially since the link between paradoxes and the perception of meaning at work remains little explored in the literature. This communication proposes to identify the main paradoxes that waste disposal center workers face and the implications of these paradoxes on their perception of meaning at work. To examine these links, an exploratory case study was conducted based on semi-structured interviews. By combining a typology of paradoxes and the characteristics of meaningful work, it suggests an enrichment of existing models to better reflect the reality of front-line workers and adapt managerial practices in favor of meaning at work.