« Si ce n’est pas documenté, ça n’a pas été fait » : quand les indicateurs de gestion escamotent le travail invisible des femmes

Abstract

Historically, eldercare was usually furnished by unpaid women at home. Now that women are in paid work, much of this care is given by personal support workers (PSWs), who are usually female. With the massive introduction of management indicators in public organisations, a form of organisational silence has appeared : eldercare work remains invisible. To examine the precise mechanism involved in this invisibility, we observed the work of 37 PSWs in six Ontario residences and conducted interviews. Contrary to the way tasks are assigned, PSW work is often done collectively and documentation requirements are demanding ; consequently, documenting can conflict with direct health care. Because PSWs have insufficient time, they are sometimes forced to omit data indicating the challenges of their work. They thus enter a vicious circle where, unable to document their work, they lack resources and must omit even more documentation.

Keywords

• management indicators
• health care system
• gender
• women’s work
• ergonomics