Jean-Emmanuel RAY - Civil Liberties at Work

Pouvoirs n°130 - L’état des libertés - septembre 2009 - p.127-142

Subordination being the main criterion of the work contract and businesses belonging to a private realm dedicated to production, firms are not a natural site for the development of civil liberties. Yet, since 1982, Labour Law has acknowledged legal precedents forcing the former “pater patronus” to reconcile the citizen’s civil liberties with the duties of the salaried employee. Such reconciliation is not always easy to achieve on a day to day basis under the rule of law, for instance in cases involving private life issues in the workplace. The arrival of new generations little used to respecting authorities together with the emergence of Information technology networks have redesigned Taylor’s formula “productivity = discipline”. For “knowledge workers” today, freedom is the source of productivity : where and when they work is of no importance if the result is achieved. Yet, do their blackberries and laptops that enable them to work “where and when they want” lead to a state of enhanced liberty or of voluntary servitude ? Résumé

Référence électonique : Jean-Emmanuel RAY, "Civil Liberties at Work", Pouvoirs, revue française d’études constitutionnelles et politiques, n°130, 2009, p.127-142. Consulté le 01-06-2012. URL : http://www.revue-pouvoirs.fr/Civil-Liberties-at-Work.html