Psychosocial Health, Work and Language : International Perspectives Towards Their Categorizations at Work

This volume deals with the construction of categorizations of health at work on the basis of individuals’ perceptions and analyses of the psychosocial health effects at their work. The volume approaches the subject from the point of view of those who have experienced psychosocial risks at work, either by being under constraints themselves or by being witness to such constraints. Each chapter sheds light on their representations by examining how the individuals label these constraints. The book compares official categorizations of psychosocial health effects of work to unofficial categorizations, built or expressed. It shows how taking into account subjective narratives may reinforce existing strategies. By giving a central place to language in the analysis of the representations of psychosocial health at work, the volume provides additional information about the various prevention and coping strategies that can be used for dealing with the issue. Beyond some international comparisons, the book covers various national case studies, including in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chechnya, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Russia. Front Matter....Pages i-xxv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Language Issues in Standard Questionnaires for Assessing Psychosocial Working Conditions: The Case of the JCQ and the ERIQ....Pages 3-18 The Linguistics of Work Values: Comparative Analysis....Pages 19-35 Psychosocial Risks at Work: A Performative Speech Act....Pages 37-54 How French Bus Drivers, Managers and Unions Talk About Incivility and Physical and Verbal Assaults at Work....Pages 55-72 Alternative Classifications of Psychosocial Health at Work: Gifted People at Work....Pages 73-89 Front Matter....Pages 91-91 Appropriation and Acculturation in the French Debate on Mental Health at Work of Anglo-Saxon Clinical Categories (Stress, Burnout and Mobbing)....Pages 93-111 Talking About Job Burnout in Germany: The Disappearance and Reemergence of Conflicts in Subjective Narrations....Pages 113-127 Unequal in Sickness: Construction and Uses of the Differential of Legitimacy and Social Acceptability of Diagnostic Labels....Pages 129-142 Self-Categorization of Frontline Work Conditions in Belgian Temporary Work Agencies: The “Cooking” Metaphor....Pages 143-156 Suicides in Worker Accident Insurance: Riskization and Medicalization of Suicide in Japan....Pages 157-172 The Language of Psychosocial Risks at Work in Argentina. The Case of a Multinational Company....Pages 173-189 Back Matter....Pages 191-197