Work, Ergonomics and Industrial Relations

The articles in this special issue of Relations industrielles/ Industrial Relations are the first that the journal has published about ergonomics. Accordingly, the present article has two objectives: to define the object of study, the objectives and the methodology that are characteristic of ergonomics; and to highlight the common points and possibilities of collaboration between industrial relations and ergonomics. The interest inherent in a collaboration between these two disciplines is explained, among other things, by a "historical coìncidence". On the ergonomics side, a period that concentrated on developing concrete ways of collaborating with technical disciplines like engineering, Computing and architecture has given way to a focus on "work organization" and the "social management aspect of ergonomics intervention". At the same time, industrial relations has developed a more pronounced interest in the practical management problems that are posed by micro-organizational processes within firms, namely, the informai work activities of operators. Three specifie forms of future collaboration between ergonomists and industrial relations specialists are proposed.