The working society, a series of six 30-minute episodes broadcast on Savoir media from Wednesday (also online), is not a trivial title. “Because work is society, it is the organization of society. […] And in the world of work, we find the major challenges of society, ”explains Geneviève Philippon, co-director of the series, met last week to discuss it. “And work affects everyone, it’s at the heart of our society, and by trying to find ways to make it work, everyone benefits. And everyone is a winner, ”adds Isabelle Darveau, his accomplice and co-director.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Geneviève Philippon and Isabelle Darveau, co-directors, in an interview at the café Les oubliettes
A funny subject that challenges us, admit it. “We spend most of our lives working. There is a very management side. But ultimately, we’re talking about lives, how people spend their time, what motivates them! “, they add.
A sign of the times, and by a revealing coincidence, there were no less than twenty teleworkers in the charming café in Rosemont (Les oubliettes, not to name it) where we were installed to discuss.
A must
It is not for nothing that the documentary series, quite classic in its form, although audacious in its angles, also begins on this essential subject (teleworking), so marginal a few years ago, today almost ubiquitous, recalling its many advantages (hello, flexibility), but also its limits (the loss of boundaries between working time and rest time, in particular).
Among other issues addressed throughout the episodes, let’s mention: from the most anticipated subjects (labour shortage) to the most philosophical (the quest for meaning), including the most committed (the urgency of rethinking the economical, downright).
The series here aims its camera at all these many ongoing transformations (hybrid work, immigration, robotization, eco-design), each time going to meet an inspiring example of success. We are here in solution mode, and it shows.
And it is above all wanted. Positive telescope included. A bezel that sometimes lacks nuances, that said. “We weren’t going to look for the problems, we were going to look for the transformations”, justify our interlocutors.
We therefore discover a young family flourishing in telework, an orchard that welcomes foreign workers with open arms, a company that has migrated to self-management. We even have the right to an interview with Fady Dagher, the director of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, to whom we owe a small revolution during his visit to Longueuil, in terms of changing police culture (from “intervention” to “aid to the population”). The episode on corporate culture (the third) is particularly interesting. And promising.
Meaning at work
Of course, as you will have understood, this series casts a wide, very wide net. Even if, by their own admission, they had to set aside certain subjects (child labor, atypical employees, workers who “punch”, etc.) It is not to mention that each issue is, as a bonus, analyzed by an expert, observer or professor (in particular from HEC Montréal, which co-produced the series), who speak directly to the camera, in long interviews that are a bit static, although always arch-searched. And the two directors welcome it: “These are long interviews, not punchy clips, we like to dive into different worlds. […] It’s an observational documentary approach”, they explain.
The biggest issue, according to their observations? “The meaning of work, they believe. Because we need everyone’s work, but how can we promote the necessary, albeit less attractive, jobs? ” Moral ? “You can always find meaning in work, whatever it is. We can also transform the work. And teleworking is the best example, the best manifestation of this idea. We are not a slave…” Objective: not to become one.
The working society will be broadcast from Wednesday 1er March at 9 p.m. on Savoir media. Also online.