Cash in! Investigation in immersion in the large-scale distribution.

Summary At the end of the 2000s, sociologist Marlène Benquet conducted a three-year investigation in one of the main French supermarket companies: first she became a cashier, then she did an internship at the group's headquarters and another within the majority union organization. It is the result of this extraordinary investigation that she presents in this book, which is quite astounding in what it reveals about the "underbelly" of the retail industry. The identity of the founders ("grocers") has been turned upside down by the arrival of new financial shareholders: management by promotion has largely disappeared, and all the employees have difficulty accepting what they experience as a loss of autonomy and growing insecurity. So why do they accept to "take" these weakening reorganizations? To understand better, it was necessary to live their lives: "I wanted to know what it was like to be a cashier to understand why they did not revolt or, in any case, less than in other professional sectors. At headquarters, compartmentalization is the rule: badges only give access to the floor where one's own office is located, it is impossible to move to other departments without a good reason, and information circulates poorly. As for the majority union organization, how did it manage to establish itself? How does it contribute to social peace? Neither "membership" nor repression is sufficient to explain why employees are committed to their work despite an oppressive environment and uninspiring remuneration. More akin to the technique of a go player than a chess enthusiast, employer strategies neutralize employees, but do not subdue them.