N° 100 - june 2010

THE GLOOMY SIDE OF PROJECTS: WHEN WORKING ON A PROJECT JEOPARDIZES INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS

By Alain ASQUIN
IAE Lyon, Euristik
Gilles GAREL
Université Paris-Est, OEP Prism
and Thierry PICQ
Professor EM Lyon

Article translated from French by Noal Mellott (CNRS, Paris, France)
Article published in French in Gérer et Comprendre [December 2007] http://www.annales.org/

In writings on management, projects represent the myth of fortune smiling… Invest in your job! Find self-fulfillment through involvement in the project! But does a project not also destroy meaning, destabilize personnel and convey the germs of new pathologies? In companies, projects are machines for making requirements and judging people. No doubt, there is a gloomy side to projects, as shown by this analysis of verbatim accounts from participants in projects and a review of the scant managerial writings on this topic. For working conditions to worsen in direct proportion to an increase in the stimulation to outdo oneself through involvement in a company project, something must have gone awry in the realm of human resources — at the very heart of capitalism.

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