For a Dynamic Understanding of the Work: The Heuristic Value of the Life Course Perspective
The article aims to account for the heuristic value of the life-course approach to capture the dynamic nature of the relationship to work and its evolution over time. Analytical principles associated with this approach emphasize the importance of understanding the interactions between the different dimensions of an individual’s life, as well as the interactions between his life and that of his family, while considering the effect of time on the conduct of individual trajectories and the the context in which they occur. From a case study with Quebec network of health and social services young nurses, the author demonstrates that the relationship to work is the result of a complex process in which the aspirations of individuals, their actual conditions of employment and events in their personal lives and family ties interdependent dynamics connections that shape the relationship to work throughout life.