Pénibilité du travail en hôpital psychiatrique Harshness at work in public psychiatric hospital

This article aims to point out the harshness nursing staff face at work in psychiatric hospitals. We maintain that this is less due to danger faced with patients than the impossibility perceived of carrying out quality work. Through interviews, we try to analyse the difficulties felt. We develop the idea that this harshness is more due to a culture clash which translates a gap between work prescribed and the reality of work. Then, the discussion allows us to propose "psychopathology" as a frame to understand the results. The hypothesis made is that the impact of organizational changes studied in this psychiatric hospital are not specific to this sector; but, they have a stronger impact in work situations which are violent. In fact, the psychiatric hospital context highlights the exacerbation of identified organizational problems.