The Analysis of Workplace Conflicts to Question the Well-Being of Professionals in the Healthcare and Social Care Sector in France

Many scientific disciplines have long since seized the term "well-being", associating it with other related notions such as happiness, quality of life, or satisfaction. Its use by sociologists is much more recent, with questions of legitimacy, definition, and methodology arising acutely, as the established boundaries of well-being are linked to the individual, their subjectivity, and their health - physical, mental, and social - according to the definition given by the WHO (World Health Organization) in 1948. This research falls within a completely different perspective: to articulate subjectivity and objectivity, reposition the individual within their interactions and contexts of action, and move away from the medical perspective to align with a sociological perspective, consistent with the mentioned choices.

This study examines well-being through the lens of workplace conflicts. By adopting an interactionist and phenomenological perspective, we aim to understand the subjective dimension of professional experiences. Contextualizing this experience will facilitate its objectification by collecting data on the work environment and employment conditions. The understanding of the conflict dynamics at play and the underlying issues will help identify the factors detrimental to workplace well-being. The analysis of the absence of conflictual experience and the various associated factors will, conversely, bring to light the contours of workplace well-being. The survey was conducted in 2023 on a representative sample of professionals working in the healthcare and social care sectors. The results are based on the analysis of 728 questionnaires collected in northern France.