In the ashes of working hours
densification and breaks at work
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/2238-037X.2026.64403Keywords:
Rest Breaks, Work densification, Mental health, Neoliberalism, BurnoutAbstract
This study examines work time densification and the suppression of breaks as expressions of contemporary neoliberal rationality. Based on six empirical projects in Québec, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, it investigates the relationships between workload, breaks, meals, and mental health. Findings reveal that the structural intensification of work rhythms undermines the possibility of taking adequate breaks and meals, particularly among women, leading to significant impacts on stress, depression, and burnout. Theoretically, authors such as Foucault, Han, and Esquirol illuminate how time is colonized by the logic of performance, stripping it of existential depth. Claiming the right to pause thus represents resistance to the equivalence of time and money, restoring time as lived experience and breathing.
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