THESIS DEFENSE of Claire VIOLLEAU - October 6, 2025

Managers are regarded as major players in organizations, both from a performance and health perspective, as they implement regulations to manage inevitable variability. The aim of this research-intervention is to study the managers’ work on regulations by analyzing their activity through the prism of their interactions. It involves some twenty managers on four hierarchical levels in a logistics warehouse of a multinational retailer. We begin by describing the way in which managers construct and develop their proximity to the real work of the teams they supervise, by focusing on their interactions with their subordinates, whether direct or mediated. We then extend the study of these interactions to all stakeholders, and we analyze the various forms of collective activity managers develop to respond to the preoccupations caused by their activity. By showcasing the conditions, the effects and the interdependencies of their activity, our results contribute to a better understanding of their work, and shed light on the chains of regulation between hierarchical levels. Finally, as managers are usually more studied for the effects they have on the health of others than for themselves, these results open up new perspectives on how to encourage and support the development of their activity.