Subjectivity in ergonomics, a new start to the dialogue regarding the psychodynamics of work

Abstract

The emergence of subjectivity as a central issue of work pinpoints a dimension that is quite underexplored in ergonomics, even through the "activity ergonomic approach". Drawing on concepts related to an ergonomic approach concerned with subjectivity, not many answers exist. Part of this lack of answers can be solved through a dialogue with contiguous approaches proposed by other work sciences, such as ergology, the clinic of activity, or the clinic of work developed by the psychodynamics of work (PDW). The results of different studies provide evidence of the importance of subjectivity in work, especially if we take into account the emergence of mental health problems in different organizations. In this paper, we focus on the dialogue between ergonomics and PDW.