Drinking and Alcoholism at Work : Ethnography of a French Mail Sorting Center
This study, based on on-site observation and interviews with mail handlers and managers employed by the French postal service La Poste, was conducted to improve knowledge of the alcohol consumption and alcoholism-related practices specific to this occupational milieu. Neither of these sets of pra...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Language: | Français |
| Published: |
2006
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| Online Access: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Summary: | This study, based on on-site observation and interviews with mail handlers and managers
employed by the French postal service La Poste, was conducted to improve knowledge of
the alcohol consumption and alcoholism-related practices specific to this occupational
milieu. Neither of these sets of practices can be studied in isolation from mail handler
socializing and practices of mutual support in the workplace, or from the social oversight
practices that regulate routine production activity; specifically, the requirement that
managers report “intemperate mail workers”. Analysis of the interdependence between
routine work and alcohol consumption practices sheds light on why managers often show a
passive attitude despite regulations requiring them to report “alcoholic” mail handlers. |
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