Suffering at work as a consequence of paradoxical management: Case of teacher-researchers and caregivers in the context of New Public Management in Tunisia

Abstract

This article aims to understand, from a sensemaking perspective (loss / quest / construction), how actors react to the paradoxical management system that leads to suffering at work. The study took place in the Tunisian post-revolution context with two professional activities: university teacher-researchers and hospital caregivers in public organizations managed according to New Public Management principles. The objective is to generate a model highlighting, from a sensemaking perspective, the interactions of this paradoxical management with the dimensions of work (being, having and know-how) and the mechanisms mobilized by the actors in reaction to this suffering. The aim is to identify both the peculiarities of individuals’ experiences and the cross-cutting constants of these activities. The research is qualitative, exploratory and is located in the interpretive paradigm. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted and the results of the content analysis show an almost similar evolution of suffering for both activities characterized by acquired, active, even preventive, resilience. Resilience, a concept that has abductively emerged in this research, refers in particular to the notions of dynamic capacity and the preservation of resources through a salutogenic approach.