It’s the third Monday in January and as a British advertising campaign for a travel agency in 2005 assured, we are about to experience the “most depressing day of the year”, also called “Blue Monday”. “. If this concept has no scientific basis, it is no coincidence that it falls on a Monday. According to a study for the Monster website, 61% of citizens around the world have a Monday phobia. Even Guinness World Records declared that Monday was “the worst day of the week”… But then, why?
According to Nicolas Framont, sociologist of work, author of You don’t hate Mondays, you hate domination at work, released last October by Les Liens Qui Libération, this feeling is closely linked to suffering at work, itself induced by the capitalist system.
Why do you think “Blue Monday” necessarily fell on a Monday?
Beyond the marketing aspect, this bogus concept speaks of a collective experience: the majority of us are often depressed on Mondays. If I talked about Monday morning in my book, it is precisely because it seemed to me that it was a rallying point, an experience that many people could identify with. But in reality, the problem is not Monday. It’s about working under capitalism.
What is the link between capitalism and the Monday blues?
From what I have been able to observe through my experience (Nicolas Framont was an expert with the social and economic committees of companies), Monday depression comes from the root of what it is to work under the system of capitalism, where We are dispossessed of a whole part of our work. The fruit of our work comes back to us little or nothing. We arrive at the famous formula of “what’s the point?” “.
If in certain professions you can be well paid, in others, often less well qualified, you barely receive enough to survive. We then say to ourselves: “If we work to feed ourselves but we eat to work, what’s the point? »
But unlike “Blue Monday”, this depression and suffering at work does not only last a short period. Being unwell at work is intrinsic to capitalism and how economic relationships generate suffering.
How does capitalism generate suffering at work?
This is not a new phenomenon because capitalism has existed for two centuries, but over the last ten years we have seen a rise in this feeling of alienation and psychological suffering at work. First, because work has become more alienating with work organizations (with more and more hierarchy) which put people under much more pressure, expect more results, leave much less breathing space and give less autonomy to workers.
Then, because there was the emergence of new forms of psychic alienation. From now on, employees are asked to be very involved, to be one with the spirit of the company and therefore, to renounce their own identity. Consequences ? We are seeing an increase in burn-outs in France. Studies say that one in two people say they are in psychological distress because of their work and yet the law does not recognize it as an occupational illness, removing responsibility from employers. This statistic is enormous: we are therefore talking about a majority experience. And it wasn’t always like that. There were phases where we were less exposed, with more capacity for resistance and therefore to complain, to strike, for example.
So, that’s all that, Monday morning blues. And unfortunately it’s not just Monday that poses a problem, otherwise it would be too simple.
In your book, you say that this suffering is notably due to hierarchy…
Yes and it must be reduced! Now, they are everywhere, even in sectors like associations or the public service, which were not well equipped with them. We therefore see leaders appearing at all levels, who monitor, who control and who also infantilize, in a certain way.
I also think that the suffering of Monday morning can be compared to that which we had when we were children, when we did not want to go to school, a place where we were subject to orders, to discipline and to constraints. For many, the world of work is still like that, unfortunately. And this infantilization has consequences beyond our profession. The less autonomy we have at work, the less we will take initiatives in the public sphere. If all day long you are told “this is how it is and not otherwise”, there is little chance that you will petition, vote and want to “change things” because you experience this same feeling of, “anyway what what I do, it doesn’t change anything.”
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How can we change this dynamic to end up loving Monday morning?
Perhaps if we did work from which we reaped the benefits, if we were free to do it as we wished, with people we esteem, without receiving orders, perhaps we would like good on Monday morning. Moreover, the people who tell me that they like Monday mornings – rare but they do exist – are independent workers, who really see how their work pays and who have a feeling of “ownership” of their work.
Otherwise, according to the testimonies collected, what prevents employees from “sinking” is always their colleagues. Among colleagues, we talk about our work problems, we organize ourselves, we have small meetings. It’s thanks to the strength of colleagues that we can enjoy our Monday morning, that’s how we bring joy to work. A vision which is therefore completely opposite to that of current capitalist society which pushes for individualism and competition.
Moreover, we often think, wrongly, that going on strike is useless. However, according to figures from the Ministry of Labor, in 2021, 79% of companies declaring at least one strike have put in place agreements favorable to employees, compared to only 16.6% of companies having experienced neither strike nor conflict. In conclusion, asking for things nicely and individually doesn’t work. The collective thus remains something which produces results and which can really change the situation.