The SUSCARE Project: What if “caring” were the solution to the labor crisis?

Led by Professors Nathalie Burnay (sociology) and Michel Ajzen (management) from the Faculty of Economics, Management, and Communication (EMCP) at Sciences Po, University of Namur, this interdisciplinary project aims to conceptualize the ethics of care—“taking care” in French—within organizations and the conditions for its implementation to promote sustainability in the workplace. 

“For several years now, we have been witnessing a profound transformation of work, accompanied not only by a deterioration in working conditions but also by a search for meaning. More and more workers, whether skilled or unskilled, are no longer content with just a job: they are looking for work that is meaningful and suits them. " - Nathalie Burnay, Professor at the EMCP Faculty and researcher at the Transitions Institute.

In light of this observation, the pair of researchers explores the idea of care as a driver of sustainability in the workplace—that is, the living and working conditions that enable individuals to sustainably commit to a long-term professional career.

“The ethics of care is an emerging concept in management, sometimes overused under the term ‘benevolence.’ Our goal is to take a critical and rigorous look at this concept, drawing on the literature and empirical data.” — Michel Ajzen, Professor of Organizational and Innovation Management.

The SUScare project will span five years and will be structured around several phases: 

1. A review of the scientific literature to better understand the concept of sustainable work in a changing world;
2. A quantitative assessment to measure the current state of work sustainability in Belgian companies; 
3. In-depth interviews to understand how workers and managers perceive the issue of care in the workplace;
4. A case study to examine the conditions under which care can become a pillar of sustainability at work.

To carry out this work, Nathalie Burnay and Michel Ajzen will be supported by a multidisciplinary team consisting of two doctoral students—one in sociology and the other in management—as well as a postdoctoral researcher in the social sciences. 

The results of this research will take the form of a white paper for managers and a workshop with human resources professionals.