The need to work is in our nature. We must put ourselves to the test of the world in order to develop, grow, and free ourselves from our own limitations. Christophe Dejours, author of Living Work, on why we can’t produce anything if we don’t agree to work on ourselves from the start as well.
Psychologies: What is your definition of work?
K.D.: For me, this is the foundation of our civilization, something through which we interact with the world. The world at the same time resists us and changes us. While working, we use a part of ourselves, our mind, something beyond any instructions and job responsibilities, otherwise it does not work.
How do we use ourselves?
K.D.: When we work, we use not only the mind, but our whole body. The mind is needed to respond to the challenges of a reality that is beyond our control. And the body allows us to experience defeat from this reality that resists us: whether it is the resistance of the material, the technical device or the student in relation to the teacher. Through the suffering of the body, we look for a solution, gain new experience, become more competent.
So, the main result of our work is ourselves?
K.D.: Yes, we not only produce a product, but we ourselves are a product of work, we change, we transform ourselves. Therefore, feelings of bitterness, anger, irritation, exhaustion, impotence, anxiety, depression are associated with work. But we will not be able to produce anything, to develop anything, if we do not agree from the very beginning to work on ourselves as well.
How does the need to work arise?
K.D.: It is in our nature. We must put ourselves to the test of the world in order to develop, in order to free ourselves from our own limitations, including physical ones, in order to grow, become stronger as a person and build collaborative relationships with other people. This is a unique and irreplaceable experience, and it is available to us only in work.
Christophe Dejours, author of Travail vivant, Payot, 2013. See Philosophie magazine, 2013, no. 68 for details.