L'influence des choix organisationnels sur l'intensité du travail

The aim of this paper is to show the influence of organizational choices on the intensification of work at different levels. This research stems from the consideration that most literature seems to relate technology, and especially Information and Communication technology, and work intensity and intensification in deterministic terms. On the contrary the main thesis of this paper is that choices about the adoption and use of a new technology are mainly organizational choices, as they imply changes in both the social structure and the tasks in a work setting. In turn, these organizational changes affect the pace of work activities, the balance between working time and leisure time, the balance between production and learning time. We will draw our evidence from a case study describing the introduction of a new information technology tool in a large car renting company. This tool has been adopted to facilitate the learning process for newly hired employees, but it ends up having considerable effects on both learning and production activities. In order to substantiate our explanation of the link between organizational choices and work intensity, we will proceed as follows in the rest of the paper. In the first paragraph we will briefly sketch the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs henceforth) and work intensity, using the literature about technology and organization as a background. In the following one, we will describe the organizational setting we drew our evidence from. Then, we will discuss the case and draw some general conclusions on the relationship between ICTs and work intensity.