VITTIME O COMPLICI? SULLO STRANO DESIDERIO DI ESSERE VALUTATI / Victims or Accomplices? On the Strange Desire to Be Evaluated

Abstract

There is a paradox with individualized performance evaluation: despite the harmful effects of the evaluation systems and the complaints they generate, most people are favourable to their development. Why do they support practices that end up affecting them negatively? In this article five hypotheses are given to interpret the reasons for this growing and unstoppable success: (1) evaluation entails a narcissistic promise of self-development, (2) it also offers the subject the illusion of continuously being able, like the phoenix, to rebirth from his ashes, (3) people hope that evaluation will enable to suppress the undeserved enjoyment of the other, (4) people want to become themselves evaluators, (5) evaluation is expected to give the subject some form of recognition. However, the evaluation is fatally destined to fail all these promises. But this, instead of inducing to abandon it, paradoxically feeds the social and political demand for more evaluation.

Keywords:
Evaluation, Psychodynamics of Work and Organizations, Jacques Lacan, Social Envy, Need for Recognition