Showing papers in "Work, Employment & Society in 2017"

The hidden face of job insecurity

Abstract: Drawing on nationally representative data for British employees, the article argues for a more comprehensive concept of job insecurity, including not only job tenure insecurity but also job status insecurity, relating to anxiety about changes to valued features of the job. It shows that job status insecurity is highly prevalent in the workforce and is associated with different individual, employment and labour market characteristics than those that affect insecurity about job loss. It is also related to different organizational contexts. However, the article also shows that the existence of effective mechanisms of employee participation can reduce both types of job insecurity.

Employee satisfaction and use of flexible working arrangements

Abstract: This article considers the impact of flexible working arrangements (FWAs), using the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, 2001–10/11. Results of panel logit, ANCOVA and change-...

Mechanisms of invisibility: rethinking the concept of invisible work:

Abstract: In the mid-1980s, Daniels coined the term ‘invisible work’ to characterize those types of women’s unpaid labour – housework and volunteer work – which had been culturally and economically devalued....

Time reclaimed: temporality and the experience of meaningful work

Abstract: The importance of meaningful work has been identified in scholarly writings across a range of disciplines. However, empirical studies remain sparse and the potential relevance of the concept of temporality, hitherto somewhat neglected even in wider sociological studies of organizations, has not been considered in terms of the light that it can shed on the experience of work as meaningful. These two disparate bodies of thought are brought together to generate new accounts of work meaningfulness through the lens of temporality. Findings from a qualitative study of workers in three occupations with ostensibly distinct temporal landscapes are reported. All jobs had the potential to be both meaningful and meaningless; meaningfulness arose episodically through work experiences that were shared, autonomous and temporally complex. Schutz’s notion of the ‘vivid present’ emerged as relevant to understanding how work is rendered meaningful within an individual’s personal and social system of relevances.

Work in and beyond the Second Machine Age: the politics of production and digital technologies:

Abstract: Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, in their widely read and politically impactful book The Second Machine Age, highlight the costs and benefits of digital technologies for the volume and quality of work and identify reforms designed to ensure that digital technologies deliver net advantages to workers and society more generally. This article offers a critique of their thesis. Specifically, it criticizes the authors for their neglect of the nexus between the politics of production and digital technologies. They fail, in short, to grasp the importance of power relations for the form, direction and outcomes of digital technologies. The article argues for an alternative view of the progress of digital technologies that is rooted in an understanding of the political economy of capitalism. In this respect, it draws on and applies ideas and concepts from Marxian political economy.

Neo-villeiny and the service sector: the case of hyper flexible and precarious work in fitness centres

Abstract: This article presents data from a comprehensive study of hyper flexible and precarious work in the service sector. A series of interviews were conducted with self-employed personal trainers along with more than 200 hours of participant observation within fitness centres in the UK. Analysis of the data reveals a new form of hyper flexible and precarious work that is labelled neo-villeiny in this article. Neo-villeiny is characterized by four features: bondage to the organization; payment of rent to the organization; no guarantee of any income; and extensive unpaid and speculative work that is highly beneficial to the organization. The neo-villeiny of the self-employed personal trainer offers the fitness centre all of the benefits associated with hyper flexible work, but also mitigates the detrimental outcomes associated with precarious work. The article considers the potential for adoption of this new form of hyper flexible and precarious work across the broader service sector.

Understanding social exclusion in elite professional service firms: field level dynamics and the 'professional project

Abstract: This article explores social exclusion in elite professional service firms (PSFs) through a qualitative study of six legal, accounting, investment banking and consulting firms. Employing a Bourdieusian perspective we find that all six firms privilege candidates with the same narrow forms of cultural capital, while acknowledging that this contradicts their professed commitment to social inclusion and recruiting the best ‘talent’. We find that this behaviour is enshrined within the habitus of elite firms. We argue that it represents an organizational strategy generated by a compulsion to achieve legitimacy in a specific field of London-based elite PSFs. We identify a ‘professional project’ of sorts, but argue that this can no longer be mapped on to the interests of a discrete occupational group. As such, we contribute to studies of elite reproduction and social stratification by focusing specifically on the role of elite professional organizations in the reproduction of inequality.

The effect of foreign accent on employability: a study of the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and non-customer-facing jobs:

Abstract: Using quantitative methods, this article examines the effect of foreign accents on job applicants’ employability ratings in the context of a simulated employment interview experiment conducted in t...

Underemployment and well-being in the UK before and after the Great Recession

Abstract: Since the start of the economic crisis in 2008 there has been widespread concern with changes in the level and composition of unemployment. The phenomenon of underemployment has, however, received markedly less attention, although it too increased in extent following the start of the crisis. This article considers the consequences of underemployment for the subjective well-being of UK employees. Drawing on data from the 2006 and 2012 Employment and Skills Surveys, the article assesses how the Great Recession affected relationships between different dimensions of underemployment and well-being. The findings demonstrate that the negative well-being consequences of workers’ dissatisfaction with opportunities to make use of their abilities became more substantial, as did the consequences of being ‘hours constrained’ and having an unsatisfactory workload. The article also shows that the economic crisis had a negative impact on the well-being of employees who work very long hours.

Working retirees in Europe: individual and societal determinants

Abstract: One of the solutions that could be used to resource the needs of ageing populations is the encouragement of individuals to extend working lives beyond retirement, often referred to as ‘bridge employment’. Although previous studies provide important insights into individual determinants of bridge employment, there is scant research on the extent to which differences across countries and between genders exist and how these might be explained by economic and societal differences in the pension context. The determinants of participation in bridge employment are investigated among male and female retirees in 16 European countries. Multilevel models are estimated based on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe project. It was found that where there is high expenditure on pensions there is a lower likelihood of retirees participating in bridge jobs, while strong norms that support working past retirement are positively associated with bridge employment.

Public sector austerity cuts in Britain and the changing discourse of work–life balance:

Abstract: The relative importance of economic and other motives for employers to provide support for work- life balance (WLB) is debated within different literatures. However, discourses of WLB can be sensitive to changing economic contexts. This article draws on in-depth interviews with senior HR professionals in British public sector organisations to examine shifting discourses of WLB in an austerity context. Three main discourses were identified: WLB practices as organisationally embedded amid financial pressures, WLB practices as a strategy for managing financial pressures and WLB as a personal responsibility. Despite a discourse of mutual benefits to employee and employer underpinning all three discourses, there is a distinct shift towards greater emphasis on economic rather than institutional interests of employers during austerity, accompanied by discursive processes of fixing, stretching, shrinking and bending understandings of WLB. The reconstructed meaning of WLB raises concerns about its continued relevance to its original espoused purpose.

Exploring the work–life challenges and dilemmas faced by managers and professionals who live alone:

Abstract: This article aims to question the dominant understanding of work–life balance or conflict as primarily a ‘work–family’ issue. It does this by exploring the experiences of managers and professionals who live alone and do not have children – a group of employees traditionally overlooked in work–life policy and research but, significantly, a group on the rise within the working age population. Semi-structured interviews with 36 solo-living managers and professionals were carried out in the UK, spanning a range of occupations. In addition to previously identified work–life issues, four themes emerged that were pressing for and specific to solo-living managers and professionals. These are articulated here as challenges and dilemmas relating to: assumptions about work and non-work time; the legitimacy of their work–life balance; lack of support connected to financial and emotional well-being; and work-based vulnerabilities.

‘When the stomach is full we look for respect’: perceptions of ‘good work’ in the urban informal sectors of three developing countries

Abstract: There is growing interest in the ability of the informal sector to provide gainful work in much of the developing world. However, the literature on work in the informal sector remains dominated by resource- and rights-based approaches, which fail to consider the features of work valued by informal workers themselves. This article investigates perceptions of ‘good work’ based on focus group discussions with informal workers in the capitals of Uganda, Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka. Using the capability approach as a framework, it reveals that informal workers value a combination of instrumental features of work, such as income and working hours, and intrinsic aspects, such as relationships and recognition. The article’s findings contribute to debates on quality of work in formal and informal contexts by illustrating the role of social and environmental conversion factors, including gender and class relations, in mediating the relationship between work and well-being.

Beyond the Symbolic: A Relational Approach to Dirty Work through a Study of Refuse Collectors and Street Cleaners

Abstract: Drawing on a relational approach and based on an ethnographic study of street cleaners and refuse collectors, we redress a tendency towards an over-emphasis on the discursive by exploring the co-constitution of the material and symbolic dynamics of dirt. We show how esteem-enhancing strategies that draw on the symbolic can be both supported and undermined by the physicality of dirt, and how relations of power are rooted in subordinating material conditions. Through employing Hardy and Thomas’s (2015) taxonomy of objects, practice, bodies and space, we develop a fuller understanding of how the symbolic and material are fundamentally entwined within dirty work, and suggest that a neglect of the latter might foster a false optimism regarding worker experiences.

"Rusty, invisible and threatening": ageing, capital and employability

Abstract: Levels of mature-age unemployment and under-employment are increasing in Australia, with older jobseekers spending longer unemployed than younger jobseekers. This article focuses on two key explanations of the difficulties confronting older jobseekers: human capital theory, which focuses on the obsolescence of older workers’ job skills, and ageism in employment. Drawing upon narrative interviews with older Australians, it critically engages with both these understandings. Using a Bourdieusian analysis, it shows how ageing intersects with the deployment of different forms of capital that are valued within particular labour market fields to shape older workers’ ‘employability’. By examining how class, gender and age intersect to structure experiences of marginalization, it questions conventional analyses that see older workers as discriminated against simply because they are older.

Macho, mobile and resilient? How workers with impairments are doubly disabled in project-based film and television work

Abstract: Inequalities in the creative industries are known to be persistent and systemic. The model of production in UK film and television (UKF&TV) is argued to exclude on the basis of gender, race and class. This article considers a social category that has been overlooked in these debates: disability. It argues that workers with impairments are ‘doubly disabled’ – in both the labour markets and labour processes of UKF&TV. It concludes that disability cannot simply be incorporated in an additive way in order to understand the exclusion of these workers, but that they face qualitatively different sources of disadvantage compared with other minorities in UKF&TV workplaces. This has negative implications for workers with impairments in other labour markets, as project and network-based freelance work, a contributor to disadvantage, is seen as both increasingly normative and paradigmatic.

Would you think about doing sex for money? Structure and agency in deciding to sell sex in Canada

Abstract: Entry into sex work is not typically considered as an occupational choice comparable to entry into other jobs. In the sex work literature, initiation is often thought to occur through predisposing ...

‘Disappearing workers’: Foxconn in Europe and the changing role of temporary work agencies

Abstract: This article investigates the role of temporary work agencies (TWAs) at Foxconn’s assembly plants in the Czech Republic. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, it shows TWAs’ comprehensive management of migrant labour: recruitment and selection in the countries of origin; cross-border transportation, work and living arrangements in the country of destination; and return to the countries of origin during periods of low production. The article asks whether the distinctiveness of this specific mode of labour management can be understood adequately within the framework of existing theories on the temporary staffing industry. In approaching the staffing industry through the lens of migration labour analysis, the article reveals two key findings. Firstly, TWAs are creating new labour markets but do so by eroding workers’ rights and enabling new modalities of exploitation. Secondly, the diversification of TWAs’ roles and operations has transformed TWAs from intermediaries between capital and labour to enterprises in...

The social norm of unemployment in relation to mental health and medical care use: the role of regional unemployment levels and of displaced workers

Abstract: The relationships between unemployment, mental health (care) and medication use among 50–65 year-old men (N = 11,789) and women (N = 15,118) are studied in Europe. Inspired by the social norm theor...

Speaking up, leaving or keeping silent: racialized employees in the Swedish elderly care sector

Abstract: When encountering problems and dissatisfaction in the workplace, employees may choose between three strategies: voice; exit; or silence. Using survey data and interview material from a study of emp ...

Moral economy, intermediaries and intensified competition in the labour market for function musicians:

Abstract: This article examines the labour market for ‘function’ musicians in London. It shows how the market encompasses a chain of relationships between clients, intermediaries and musicians, considering h...

'Justice for Janitors' goes Dutch: The Limits and Possibilities of Unions' Adoption of Organising in a Context of Regulated Social Partnership

Abstract: Organizing has been adopted as a strategy for union renewal in the Netherlands, where the dominant repertoire has been consensus-based social dialogue. Certain Dutch unions have developed strategies inspired by the US ‘organizing model’ and have been relatively successful in recruiting and mobilizing under-represented workers. Despite some tensions emerging, the introduction of organizing resulted in the greater representation of workers in sectors such as cleaning, which has to an extent complemented social dialogue-based strategies. At the same time, the narrative and tactics of organizing have stimulated internal debate on union purpose and identity and indirectly contributed to a process of reform and democratization within parts of the union movement. The research demonstrates the pragmatic features of organizing as a strategy for union renewal in a context of regulated social partnership, but also points towards the potential for organizing to encourage shifts in the dominant sources of union legiti...

Pay Equity After the Equality Act 2010: Does Sexual Orientation Still Matter?

Abstract: Using nationally-representative linked employer-employee data for Britain I find bisexual men earn around 31% less per hour than heterosexual men, a differential that falls to 20% having controlled for demographic, job and workplace characteristics. The gap is apparent within workplaces and within detailed occupational classifications. There is no wage differential between gay and heterosexual men. Among women, on the other hand, there is no wage gap between bisexuals and heterosexuals. However, lesbians are paid nearly 30% less than heterosexual women, unless they are employed in a workplace with an equal opportunities policy which explicitly refers to sexual orientation, whereupon there is no wage gap. Although I find evidence consistent with workplace sorting by sexual orientation this does not affect the size of the sexual orientation wage gaps. Tests designed to identify the potential effects of employer taste-based discrimination, statistical discrimination and co-worker discrimination are inconclusive.

‘The whole week comes down to the team sheet’: a footballer’s view of insecure work:

Abstract: This ‘On the front line’ article focuses on the work and employment situation for an insecure, individualized sports worker whose main job task is fundamentally and publically collaborative. The narrative offers a realistic and nuanced understanding of the material conditions of work for a journeyman footballer and defies sociological ideas associated with attachment and identification to work, which are frequently and implicitly connected to this profession. So while physical and skilful dimensions are commonly foregrounded, the testimony of (now retired) professional footballer James Schumacker lays bare not only the uncertainties and instability of this job, but also specifically the constant tension between securing fixed-term employment and being selected for first team games: making the ‘team sheet’.

Informal and uncertain: employment relations through the broken mirror of Russian social sciences

Abstract: Twenty five years of intense market reforms have not contributed to Russia developing a coherent and effective set of institutions regulating employment relations. The world of work instead has grown into a wilderness of highly differentiated, shadowy arrangements ruled by employers’ arbitrariness (Bizyukov 2011, 2013). By contrast, scholarship contributing to the sociology of work and employment remains underdeveloped, theoretically timid and highly fragmentary. Several reasons have been put forward to explain Russian scholars’ lack of interest in this field. The rejection of the pseudo-scientific Marxism of the Soviet era still casts a long shadow on labour-related research. Post-Socialist transformations have generated such wide-ranging and chaotic change that scholars struggle to collect reliable data and make sense of it. Researchers face new constraints such as unreliable statistics, access restrictions to privatised companies as well as historical limitations in qualitative research design. Furthermore, the post-Soviet scholar is facing challenging questions regarding the status of wage labour. Questions surrounding acceptable levels of unemployment or the fairness of now privately arranged wages or working time have proved controversial for a generation of scholars moving from a perspective where institutions regulating the employment relationship are assumed as centrally planned and universally provided by the state. The monographs selected for this review are the most representative of the state of the art in the field, presenting comprehensive accounts of features and trends in the world of work but also displaying the limitations of prevailing scholarship.

An old model of social class? Job characteristics and the NS-SEC schema:

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between the job characteristics underlying the Goldthorpe model of social class (work monitoring difficulty and human asset specificity) and those underlying theories of technological change (routine and analytical tasks) highlighted as key drivers for growing inequality. Analysis of the 2012 British Skills and Employment Survey demonstrate monitoring difficulty and asset specificity predict National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) membership and employment relations in ways expected by the Goldthorpe model, but the role of asset specificity is partially confounded by analytical tasks. It concludes that while the Goldthorpe model continues to provide a useful descriptive tool of inequality-producing processes and employment relations in the labour market, examining underlying job characteristics directly is a promising avenue for future research in explaining dynamics in the evolution of occupational inequalities over time.

A floor to exploitation? Social economy organizations at the edge of a restructuring economy

Abstract: Despite research documenting social economy organizations (SEOs) as important labour market intermediaries in the informal economy, the impact of these organizations on employment outcomes experienced by workers engaged in these labour markets is relatively unknown. This article analyses the impact of day labour worker centres on employment outcomes experienced in the informal day labour economy of the United States. Using data from the National Day Labour Survey, findings indicate that these organizations improve working conditions for day labourers and suggest the potential for SEOs to regulate employment processes within the informal economy. However increasing the regulatory capacity of SEOs will require addressing larger political and socioeconomic contexts in which the informal economy is embedded.

Linguistic barriers and bridges: constructing social capital in ethnically diverse low-skill workplaces

Abstract: The influence of language on social capital in low-skill and ethnically diverse workplaces has thus far received very limited attention within the sociology of work. As the ethnically diverse workplace is an important social space for the construction of social relations bridging different social groups, the sociology of work needs to develop a better understanding of the way in which linguistic diversity influences the formation of social capital (i.e. resources such as the trust and reciprocity inherent in social relations in such workplaces). Drawing on theories about intergroup contact and intercultural communication, this article analyses interviews with 31 employees from two highly ethnically diverse Danish workplaces. The article shows how linguistic barriers such as different levels of majority language competence and their consequent misunderstandings breed mistrust and hostility, while communication related to collaboration and ‘small talk’ may provide linguistic bridges to social capital formation.

In debt to the time-bank: the manipulation of working time in Indian garment factories and ‘working dead horse’

Abstract: In this article we focus on the creation of debt relations between workers and their workplace as a tool of managerial control in the garment factories of Bangalore, India. The currency of indebtedness in this case is working time and our focus is the manipulation of hours of work at the base of the international, buyer-driven, garment supply chain. In illuminating debt relations and worker dependency as an element of managers’ repertoire of control, we compare a system known as ‘comp-off’ in contemporary Indian factories with the historical precedent of a system known as ‘working dead horse’ in Britain. Our comparison illuminates how value is extracted from workers and how old control systems are updated within the labour process, in a feminized sector where workers’ associational power is weak and social downgrading is one means by which employers can offload risk, maximize flexibility and secure their position at the local level

His or her work-life Balance? Experiences of self-employed immigrant parents

Abstract: The question of how to achieve ‘work–life balance’ has been a central debate for several decades Hitherto, this subject has primarily been explored in organizational contexts; less is known in the context of self-employment This article advances our understanding of work–life balance by analysing the everyday stories of self-employed immigrant parents in Norway In this study, work–life balance is constructed in contrasting ways between mothers and fathers on the individual level and simultaneously in binary and potentially competing ways on the couple level Hence, through an analysis of the participants’ work and family availabilities, this study sheds light on how gender relations may be shaped at the micro level within the Nordic dual-earner family model