When new work organizations are changing the relation to and the place of man at work: economic downturn, an enabler to rethinking health at work

Introduction
Crisis of capitalism and changes in work conditions.
Rapid technological, economic and financial changes have led to the emergence of new forms of work organizations. A new capitalism, now organized in networks, mobile and agile is emerging. The workers are increasingly constrained to a “controlled autonomy”, due to corporations’ obsession to evaluate work and to monitor performance.

Methods
Psychological suffering at work.
Work has a central place in the psycho-sociological structure of an individual. A frustration arises, resulting from the mismatch between individuals’ hope for a personal development at work and the consequences of new forms of organization calling for increased adaptability and performance. This suffering is collective, and due to pathogenic organizational dimensions. We have moved from an Industrial society where work was characterized by a physical workload to a society of services and relationship where the mental workload has overcome the physical one

Results
Alarming findings.
The health Community reports major breakthroughs in psychological distress at work: stress, burnout, suicide, Karoshi syndrome, depression, and harassment.
28% of European workers are stressed out (OSHA 2000)
79% of European managers are stressed out (ESENER 2000)
In France only, 300 to 400 suicides every year are caused by stress at work (GOURNAY 2003).

Discussion
A new debate on health.
Health remains a key challenge for man and society. work physicians have a privileged position to link pathology and work. In fact, for the primary and secondary prevention to be effective, work physicians have to become part of a multidisciplinary team, where they will be in charge of health prevention and monitoring and with legal enforcement power.
From data to signs: When art points to suffering at work
• Installation by Kevan Lemire “Men at work 8”