Des professionnels du vieillir en proie aux injonctions du bien vieillir

This article shows the extent to which categorisation in the home care sector in Belgium is not directly based on age criteria, but rather on the dyad of autonomy and dependence, both on the part of the public authorities and the professionals in the sector. In this way, the categorisation of beneficiaries introduced by the legislator helps to keep people at home who, without external services, would be condemned to a form of institutionalisation. In the current situation, it really allows the emotion work that takes place between beneficiaries and service providers to unfold. However, this article shows the extent to which the gradual spread of a neoliberal frame for ageing well imposes different professional practices on these professionals, resulting in a de facto shift from social autonomy to functional autonomy.