What proportion of the work involves « dirty work »?

Quelle part significative du travail dans un contexte de « boulot sale » ?

Emmanuel Coëtard () and Houyam Boudaouine ()
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Emmanuel Coëtard: IRG - Institut de Recherche en Gestion - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 - Université Gustave Eiffel
Houyam Boudaouine: MRM-MPR - Management et Pratiques Responsables - MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier, MRM-RH - Montpellier Research in Management - Ressources Humaines - MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier

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Abstract: This article examines how employees in the industrial cleaning and urban waste collection sectors – referred to as ‘waste workers' (Coortel and Le Lay, 2011) – manage to find a sense of purpose in their work despite the social stigma associated with ‘dirty work' and, all the more so, in the context of a ‘dirty job'. Adopting a perspective centred on the narratives of employees and their supervisors, the methodological design is based on a thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts from semi-structured interviews conducted by the authors across two case studies. The results and discussion are structured using an adaptation of the IGLOO framework, enabling the identification of the resources identified as well as their levels of emergence. The findings highlight the importance of five types of resources in the perception of meaning amongst waste workers: (1.) team spirit; (2.) socio-technical legitimacy; (3.) dignity at work; (4.) societal recognition; and (5.) impact on the local area. This research calls on HR professionals and organisations to support and develop the resources that foster a sense of meaning amongst waste workers. By bringing together in an original way the concepts of ‘dirty work', ‘messy work', ‘meaningful work' and the IGLOO framework, this research makes several contributions by offering a fresh perspective on the contribution of waste workers to the functioning of local communities.

Keywords: Dirty work; Waste workers; Meaningful work; IGLOO frame; Cadre IGLOO; Sale boulot; Boulot sale; Travail porteur de sens; Travailleurs des déchets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10-21
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05695933v1
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Published in La Responsabilité Sociale des Territoires (RST) : un enjeu clé pour générer de la valeur partenariale au cœur des Ressources Humaines, AGRH, Oct 2026, Limoges, France

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