Ranking Tasks, Classifying the Jobless

Agents at the French job centre (Pôle emploi) are subjected to the two imperatives of proximity with the jobless, and efficiency. This article studies their day-to-day work and particularly the effects of software on the ways in which they exercise their power in the hierarchy, and on their spontaneous organization. It shows that the effectiveness of management constraints on their work depends on their conformity with computer language. In other words, managerial injunctions have more impact on the supervision of work when they are expressed in a language that is compatible with computerized management tools. Conversely, computer tools have the most influence when they correspond to users’ interests. It is therefore at the interface between the interests of these different actors (developers, managers, job counsellors) that software has the most influence. Saving time, which implies the optimization of resources, is the most common concern in this administration. The agents thus participate broadly in unemployment management determined from above.