Citation

Dejours C. Crit. Horiz. 2014; 15(2): 115-130.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014)

DOI

10.1179/1440991714Z.00000000027

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A subject's relationship with work is by no means "neutral" as regards selfdevelopment. What becomes of the psychical (or subjective) relationship with work does not depend solely on the individual's particular characteristics as a person, in particular their gender; it depends also on the nature and organization of work. In order to analyse the importance of work in the development of the psychic erotic economics, I refer to the psychotherapy of a young woman that took place towards the end of her adolescence. This will enable me to show how work can have a positive impact on mental development. Then, in order to illustrate how work may destroy mental functioning, I briefly analyse examples taken from investigations I undertook in France in companies where several workplace suicides had taken place. © Critical Horizons Pty Ltd 2014

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide; Work; Sexuality; Freud; Psychodynamics; Gender domination