THE EXPRESSION OF PROFESSIONAL EXHAUSTION IN HEALTH CARE CONTEXT: A QUESTION OF SOCIAL NORMATIVITY?
The objective of this study was to observe if French caregivers, nurses and auxiliary nurses, adapted their explanations regarding the causes of their professional exhaustion in order to meet the normative expectations of occupational organization (Dubois, 2003). Eighty-nine caregivers answered a self-presentation questionnaire. The results effectively showed a greater clear-sightedness, i.e. a better knowledge of these normative expectations 1) of the social value of the explanations related to the effort (internal and controllable explanations) and more in front of a superior than in front of colleagues and friends; 2) amongst managers more than amongst non-managers. The discussion focuses on the relevance, in terms of prevention, of a socio-normative analysis of the discourse on professional exhaustion.