A forgotten dimension of management : fragility. An exploratory study[Une dimension oubliée du management : la fragilité. Une étude exploratoire]

The increasing number of psychosocial risks calls into question management practices and academic research. It is important to understand the causes of these risks. It is necessary to move away from a management approach that considers people simply as a labour force - interchangeable and shock-resistant. This means drawing on an anthropology that takes into account not only the value and uniqueness of human beings, but also their frailty. The instinctive reaction is always to deny the risk of failure, or to eliminate any elements that present such a risk. In contrast, integrating disabled people into the firm provides the following lesson : one can be happy in the firm even if one is not the best player in the game of social success ; one must accept one's frailties. If management is to avoid psychosocial risks, it should start by accepting that every human being has frailties. To highlight this conclusion, the article draws on the anthropology developed by G. Le Cardinal (2009) and analyses the testimony of people involved in the integration of disabled people in the workplace.