"Lacan at Work"

by Glynos, J (2010)

Abstract

As a site of wealth creation, work and the organization of work receive critical attention from many disciplines and from many traditions of thought. In this chapter I explore why one might want to supplement existing approaches to work and the organization of work – both psychoanalytic and non-psychoanalytic – with ideas drawn from the field of Lacanian psychoanalysis. I suggest that there are advantages to organizing this Lacanian intervention around the category of fantasy, but that there are also aspects of this approach that demand further development if we are to offer a convincing critical explanation of workplace phenomena.

Key Passage

When travel, preparation, and worry are added together, the time devoted to work-related activities in formal organizations can amount to a large chunk of one’s life. And while the workplace continues to be regarded as a site of wealth production, social and technological change continually transform working practices, as a function of place, time, and control. In this context, it is not surprising that the concept of work itself becomes unstable (p.15)

Keywords

Lacan, Psychoanalytic, Lacanian Psychoanalysis, Organisation Studies, Pathologies Of Work, Psychosocial Studies

Themes

Lacan, Jacques

Links to Reference

• http://repository.essex.ac.uk/4085/
• http://repository.essex.ac.uk/4085/1/9781906948108LacanAndOrganization.pdf

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