Not Loose Wolves Nor Tied Sheep in Socio-Sanitary Organisations (Part 2)

Abstract

The dynamics and labor logics in socio-sanitary organisations in the public sector are highly complex. In a previous part (the first part of this essay), we explored different theoretical sociological perspectives (Weber’s bureaucratic analysis, Bourdieu’s constructivist structuralism, Boltanski’s critical programmatic perspective), as well as texts from other authors that deepen the reflection on the practices within these organisations. We also drew on the music, dance, and songs of the Argentine rock band “Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota” as a metaphorical exercise in intertextuality, allowing us to link this reflection to other social dimensions. In this text (second part), we delve into their status as professional bureaucracies characterized by the ample autonomy enjoyed by their
workers in their actions. This inquiry focuses on the micropolitical and affective dimension of their
practices because, despite being less pyramidal than others, these organizations also replicate dynamics and logics of exploitation and alienation that disempower their workers. We propose mutual recognition, devoid of hierarchy and situational context, as a catalyst and enhancer for individuals and teams to dismantle the alienating mechanisms of passionate capture that they often embody and perpetuate.