What if the feeling of well-being at work was due to the satisfaction of a job well done? Being able to do a “beautiful job” would influence the perception of the task, the job and the organization. This book represents an ideal opportunity to reflect on the quality of work and its aesthetic dimension, two elements at the very heart of employee motivation.
Finding an elegant solution to a problem, creating a perfect mechanism, designing a well-thought-out product, carrying out a task with beauty: these are all rewarding activities! “To be able to do good work is to be able to be proud of what we do,” summarizes French sociologist and professor Jean-Philippe Bouilloud. And it is sometimes also about resisting the economic pressure of the organization which prefers productivity to quality. “Alongside ethical suffering, there is real aesthetic suffering in the prevention of this beautiful work which nevertheless remains a real professional demand, and a moral right for everyone,” he affirms.
Beauty can materialize in the creation of a program or an object of value as much as in the execution of tasks, even the most repetitive. As these words from the writer Georges Navel illustrate: “You only handle the pickaxe well if you pay attention to it. The diggers use it with [an] economy of effort. Their movements are intelligent, well regulated. Handling the shovel without excessive fatigue, doing an equal task every day requires skill. » While the experiences of “beautiful” at work are multiple, they often seem out of place in today’s world.
As soon as you take up your position, the pleasant sensation of beauty, like a first good impression, can create an effect of surprise and be lastingly remembered as “the first connection with the field”. The positive or negative sensations perceptible in the workplace are like “evidence” that say a lot about the working conditions, the concerns or the anxieties of employees, specifies the author. Generally speaking, forgetting beauty, or even preventing it, generates discomfort and frustration within a team.
Would the need for beauty give meaning to work? The demand for a job well done may seem unpopular with employees, but it is quite the opposite that happens, assures Jean-Philippe Bouilloud. The desire to scrupulously monitor the quality of the work we carry out would be at the heart of our commitment to work. This posture requires going beyond ease and provides a feeling of accomplishment.
Not to mention that “good work” supports professionalism, connects workers and creates great professional relationships that will impact the entire company. The same goes for the satisfaction of something done according to the rules, of exemplary work recognized by peers. A job well done would even be a source of dignity and common identity within an organization.