Suffering at Work or Neo-Taylorism that Leads to Resignation: Case of Two Professions in Tunisia

Abstract

The objective of this article is to understand the path of suffering at work, in the Tunisian context, through a survey carried out on two professions in the private sector (agents in call centers, cashiers in supermarkets) to put highlight the patterns of this suffering through the singularities of the experience of individuals, while seeking the constants that cross these professions. This is an exploratory qualitative research which is situated in the interpretivist paradigm and where we interviewed 10 respondents by profession (20 semi-structured interviews). The results of the content analysis show an almost similar evolution of suffering for the two professions with a similar reaction to suffering: The resignation of call center agents and cashiers due to neo-Taylorism.