The ergological gaze

intervening to transform work

Abstract

This article is situated in an interdisciplinary study approach that thematizes language and work in work environments, with the objective of discussing and reflecting on the ergological foundations in their relevance to understand and intervene in the work activity. It is based on the theoretical contributions of Yves Schwartz and collaborators – Schwartz (2000, 2006, 2010a, 2010b, 2011, 2014, 2015), Schwartz and Durrive (2008, 2010, 2015), Schwartz, Duc and Durrive (2010a, 2010b), Nouroudine (2002, 2011) and Trinquet (2010). Methodologically, this is an exploratory, bibliographic research with a qualitative approach. Ergological analysis allows us to understand how each subject mobilizes the body-self to manage the distance between antecedent norms and concrete reality, conferring singularity to their choices and daily practices. In this sense, Ergology highlights the importance of the dialectic between constituted knowledge and invested knowledge, showing that knowledge about work emerges from the encounter between concrete experience and theoretical or technical contributions. This perspective breaks with fragmented visions, by valuing the active contribution of workers in the production of knowledge and in the transformation of the environment in which they work. Thus, by illuminating the dramas of the use of the self, Ergology offers theoretical and methodological instruments to understand and intervene in work, reaffirming its potential as a critical and transformative field.