La digitalisation de la relation de service : conséquences sur la santé et sur les parcours des agents de service aux clients d’une compagnie aériennesanté, transformations, transport aérien, activité, parcours

The aim of this study was to identify the reconfiguration of health-work relations caused by the increase in two phenomena in the work world: the digitalization of the service relationship and the ageing demographic of the active population. The accompanying article presents the results of research...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lucie Reboul, Catherine Delgoulet, Corinne Gaudart, Sonia Sutter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST) 2020-06-01
Series:Perspectives Interdisciplinaires sur le Travail et la Santé
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Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/pistes/6851
Description
Summary:The aim of this study was to identify the reconfiguration of health-work relations caused by the increase in two phenomena in the work world: the digitalization of the service relationship and the ageing demographic of the active population. The accompanying article presents the results of research carried out in an airline company. The exploratory research sought to understand how the career paths of customer service agents are being put to the test by numerous, continuous changes that have been accelerating in recent years. To this end, we identified two main orientations: wear-and-tear paths, in which deficiencies tend to become more pronounced, and construction paths, which are vectors for skill development and health. The methodology combines: 1) a synchronic approach (an analysis, through the prism of work activity, of how changes interact and effect health and performance) and 2) a diachronic approach (identification of the various changes underway). An analysis of the work activity of five customer service agents revealed an intensification of work by way of increasing industrial and market constraints in the service relationship, as well as a change in the "co-production" of service in "digitized" situations. These new constraints arise at a time when room for maneuver at the organizational level is shrinking. These results call into question the possibility for these ageing personnel to hold their own in a context where work life is lengthening. The results also point to the resources on which agents rely at the various levels, be they individual (experience developed in the service relationship), collective (work teams), or organizational (coordinating of schedules, design of work stations and equipment). They likewise highlight the possibilities, when designing work organization and career paths, of taking these resources into account and drawing on health, HR, and managerial actors, who play a fundamental role.
ISSN:1481-9384