Fatigue at work: A historical analysis of labor relations

ABSTRACT

The book ‘The history of fatigue: From the Middle Ages to the present day’, by Georges Vigarello, presents a historical overview of the social construction of fatigue, highlighting how the understanding of this phenomenon has evolved alongside changes in labor practices and social demands. From a chronological perspective, the author examines the valorization of physical exhaustion in the Middle Ages through to the medicalization and invisibilization of psychological fatigue in contemporary times. The book shows how tiredness, once seen as a sign of virtue, has come to represent an obstacle to productivity within the capitalist model. In this process, fatigue has been naturalized-especially among workers in precarious conditions-without proper attention to its effects on physical and mental health. Although largely descriptive, Vigarello’s historical approach enables a deeper understanding of fatigue as a political and structural phenomenon, intrinsically linked to the logic of labor exploitation. The work contributes to current reflections on the right to health in the workplace, emphasizing the urgency of public policies that address not only physical demands but also the emotional and subjective impacts of labor in modern societies.

KEYWORDS
Fatigue; Labor; Review; Occupational health; Mental health.