Work activities within sustainable development

Abstract

This paper presents the main results of a Franco-Brazilian Research project entitled "Work, Innovation and Development". The aim is to conceptually consider work activity within sustainable development, and to contribute methodologically towards developing strategies for designing sustainable work systems. After a brief description of the factors and the dimensions that have contributed to the creation of ideas on sustainable development, we will put forward two main approaches for understanding work activity within the context of sustainability, these being: the durability of work activity and the development of work activities for sustainable development. Both approaches are presented and examples are given. This is followed by a discussion of the design of sustainable work systems that focuses particularly on the political and technical dimensions of project management.

Comparative analysis between transportation modes for sustainability perspective in one metropolitan region of southern Brazil

“…A great deal in understanding sustainable development is to take into account that it is part of the history of thinking about economic and social development (Duarte et al, 2015), being therefore understood as the ability to meet the demands of the present without compromising the welfare of future generations (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In this sense, sustainable transport refers to the concept of providing mobility with sustainability (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, 1997).…”

Work, Innovation and Sustained Development

“…If we carry out a comparative analysis of the place allocated to work into its conceptualization in sustainable development [3], it is possible to observe i) that it does not constitute a priority component of the latter and ii) that its consideration primarily relates to exertion, but that iii) considering work a resource constitutes a concern.…”

“…For ergonomics especially, such an approach raises the question of the deep-seated difficulties that actors may face with respect to innovation, both on the level of changes in work systems as well as the level of professional transitions; enabling, for example, farmers to leave behind intensive production methods to instead switch to production methods that are more respectful of the environment. What processes must be implemented to accompany such changes, and what design process allows to support/sustain these [9]?…”

Travail bien fait, pouvoir d’agir et « écologie du travail »

“…C'est d'abord la pratique concrète de l'intervention qui implique une réflexion autour de ces questions, du fait des nombreux enjeux écologiques et environnementaux qui pèsent de plus en plus sur le travail et sur les travailleurs dans certains secteurs. Des recherches s'intéressent, entre autres, à mieux comprendre la manière dont ces travailleurs réadaptent et font évoluer leurs activités professionnelles, dans des contextes où la prise en compte de nouvelles dimensions écologiques venues de l'extérieur devient une plus grande nécessité (Boudra, 2016 ;Chizallet, Prost, & Barcellini, 2020 ;Duarte, Béguin, Pueyo, & Lima, 2015 ;Duhamel, Olry, & Cerf, 2021).…”