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Bernard Benattar

“« Penser ensemble pour mieux travailler ensemble. »”

Bernard Benattar
Speaker · Philosopher · Psychosociologist · Mediator
Bernard Benattar is a work philosopher, psychosociologist, and mediator, founder of the European Institute of Practical Philosophy. For over twenty-five years, he has been supporting companies, institutions, and communities in restoring meaning, ethics, and cooperation in the workplace. Through lectures, philosophy hikes, and mediation films, he connects reflection, experience, and action to humanize organizations.

Bernard Benattar

Bernard Benattar est philosophe du travail et psychosociologue, engagé dans une démarche qu'il qualifie de « philosophie pratique » : une réflexion appliquée, au cœur de l'organisation, de la culture d'entreprise et de la vie professionnelle. Il a débuté son parcours académique par des études de philosophie (DEA) puis un DESS en psychosociologie ; il s'est ensuite formé à l'approche systémique (école de Palo Alto), à la médiation, au théâtre-forum et aux pratiques d'acteur (Roy Hart Théâtre, Augusto Boal) afin de donner à sa pensée une dimension incarnée et pragmatique.

In 1991, in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, he founded his human resources consulting firm to become a "bridge" between professions, functions, and sectors, and very quickly he opened his interventions to the education, service, agri-food industries, SMEs/SMIs, and the public sector. In 1995, in Avignon, Bernard Benattar launched the first local "café-philo," where women and men of all ages and conditions gather to philosophize around themes such as friendship, forgiveness, and solitude. This format would become the signature of his approach: introducing philosophical dialogue into the world of work.

En 2005, il fonde l'Institut Européen de Philosophie Pratique (IEPP) avec l'objectif de fédérer un réseau d'intervenants pluridisciplinaires, de développer une recherche interdisciplinaire et d'intervenir dans les organisations privées et publiques pour questionner le travail, l'organisation, les valeurs et l'éthique. Aujourd'hui, fort de plus de 25 ans d'interventions, Bernard Benattar accompagne les entreprises, les institutions et les équipes dans la construction d'environnements de travail responsables et épanouissants : il met l'accent sur le bien-être au travail, la qualité de vie, l'éthique, le sens de l'action collective. Ainsi, sa trajectoire fait de lui un conférencier-philosophe qui relie la réflexion abstraite à l'opérationnel, en invitant les organisations à « penser ensemble » la raison d'être, les valeurs et la culture du travail.

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What meaning does work have?

  • Work is not just a productive activity: it is a meeting of what one does and what one wants to be. In this conference, Bernard Benattar invites participants to question the deep convictions that underpin their profession: "What are the values that matter to me?" and "What does 'doing well' mean to me?".
  • He highlights the tension between "what I have to do" and "what I want to do", between organizational imperative and personal aspiration. He draws on his experience as a philosopher of work to illustrate how this tension can become a driver of engagement rather than a source of disillusionment.
  • He then proposes a collective dialogue for the team to share their own questions, converge towards a common vision, and transform the internal culture into a space of shared meaning. He explains that it is by "thinking together" that the organization builds a "collective well-doing".
  • Finally, the speaker shows how integrating a renewed sense of work can strengthen engagement, improve job satisfaction, and consequently contribute to the sustainable performance of the organization. He offers concrete avenues to align the professional mission with the company's purpose.

The philosophy of quality of work life: a sustainable asset!

  • In a rapidly changing professional world, quality of life at work (QWL) is becoming a major issue. Bernard Benattar explores here how ancient philosophy and contemporary reflections can nourish this question. He shows that QWL is not limited to comfort or the arrangement of premises, but refers to the freedom to act, recognition, and harmony between individuals and their environment.
  • He suggests that the organization should become a place of flourishing and not just constraint, inviting everyone to develop their power to act, to reflect on their place, their role, and their interactions. He believes that QWL is a driver of performance and not a cost.
  • Then, the conference leads to workshops of expression and dialogue allowing participants to question what hinders their quality of life at work today: psychosocial risks, tensions, lack of meaning, overload. Through philosophical mediation, they co-construct levers for transformation.
  • To conclude, Bernard Benattar offers concrete strategies for establishing a corporate culture where quality of life is integrated into processes, managerial practices, and values, and where each actor becomes responsible for their work environment. This collective investment paves the way for sustainable well-being and renewed performance.

Between ethics, values, and morality: what are the fundamentals of work philosophy?

  • Business ethics is no longer an add-on: it is a pillar of organizational credibility and resilience. In this conference, Bernard Benattar invites us to revisit the foundations of ethics in the workplace: what it means to empower, to act with awareness, and to respect others.
  • He questions the difference between "following the norm" and "being in agreement": he encourages professionals to go beyond compliance to embody active responsibility. In this context, he draws on the ideas of Emmanuel Levinas (responsibility to the other) and Gilles Deleuze (philosophy of the possible) to enrich this reflection.
  • Through a process of dialogue and philosophical workshop, participants identify the values that underpin their organization, the gaps between principle and practice, and collaboratively build action points to establish a shared and lived ethics.
  • In conclusion, the conference offers pathways to make the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) approach not just a gimmick, but a vibrant culture: participants leave with tools to translate values, principles, and practices into their daily activities.

Desire at Work: For Sustainable Well-Being!

  • Desire is too often forgotten in professional debates: yet, it is an essential key to flourishing. Bernard Benattar suggests looking at work not just as a task to be completed, but as an opportunity to respond to deep aspirations: recognition, freedom, justice, truth.
  • In this presentation, he explores how organizations, technologies, and processes can alter or revive our ability to desire: how to prevent the erosion of desire by routine, stress, and lack of recognition, and how to evoke engagement through desire.
  • Then, he sets up a workshop for individual and collective questioning: "What do I really desire?", "How does my organization enable or prohibit it?", "How can I awaken this desire at work?" This work helps to emerge concrete actions to restore meaning and motivation.
  • Finally, the speaker shows that well-oriented desire translates into individual well-being but also into collective performance: desiring employees are engaged, creative, and responsible actors. He invites us to make desire a lever to rethink organizations and work.

Thinking together: trust, courage, and empowerment in collective action!

  • In a world where the individual and the collective are redefining themselves, trust, courage, and empowerment become the pillars of collective action. Bernard Benattar shows that in organizations, it's not enough to have goals: everyone must be able to "think together," feel like an actor, driven by a common vision.
  • He proposes a workshop journey where participants explore trust as a posture (and not just as a simple contractual agreement), courage as the ability to intervene, to act despite uncertainty, and empowerment as the acknowledgment of each individual's capacity to act.
  • Through interactive sequences, participants question governance modes, decision-making processes, the flow of dialogue, and the recognition of initiatives. They identify obstacles and build simple commitments to revive cooperation, autonomy, and collective responsibility.
  • In conclusion, the conference invites transforming individual engagement into collective dynamics, promoting a management that does not "do," but "accompanies," a leadership that does not command, but encourages, an organization that considers the individual as a subject and not a resource. The result: regained trust, active courage, and concrete empowerment, driving innovation and performance.

Taking Care – When Philosophy Meets Care

Immersion in four Alzheimer units where Bernard Benattar's philosophical perspective highlights the dignity, tenderness, and creativity of the caring gesture. A film-mediation that invites teams to rediscover the deep meaning of "taking care".

Philosophizing work – Giving meaning and value back to action

In this conference, Bernard Benattar questions the role of meaning, desire, and ethics in our professional practices. He demonstrates how philosophy can become a concrete tool for well-being and collective performance.

Thinking Together – Cooperation in Motion

Through exchanges, rando-philo, and workshops, Bernard Benattar facilitates dialogue between managers and employees around trust, courage, and the power to act. A vibrant experience of collective thinking at the service of more human governance.

Reflections on work, mediation, and professional engagement

In this intervention, work philosopher Bernard Benattar explores contemporary developments in the relationship with work, emphasizing the importance of mediation, professional ethics, and the meaning given to commitment within organizations. He addresses the challenges posed by societal transformations and how individuals and institutions can co-create a more human and sustainable work environment.

Take the time to reflect with philosophical hikes

  • The philosophical hikes led by Bernard Benattar, a work philosopher and mediator, offer companies a rare experience: thinking together while walking. Walking becomes a space for retreat, listening, and dialogue, allowing for a different approach to the issues of cooperation, meaning of work, and relational quality.
  • Rhythmically punctuated by philosophical stops, structuring questions, and a facilitation based on over thirty years of expertise in professional ethics, these hikes invite teams to reconnect with free thinking, share their experiences, and bring forth common perspectives.
  • This format accessible to all fosters cohesion, opens new horizons, and breathes life into transforming collectives. A unique and inspiring way to work together on trust, engagement, and creativity.
  • As Armelle Le Pennec, a member of the scientific committee, writes: "It is a space for collaborative thinking where everyone, while walking, finds the sweet jubilation of feeling alive. Around a bend in the path, fertilization occurs when each person discovers what they can offer to the other. Nature invites sharing, and thought unfolds freely there, without judgment."