Showing papers in "Work, Employment & Society in 2019"
TL;DR: It is shown that algorithmic control is central to the operation of online labour platforms and can result in low pay, social isolation, working unsocial and irregular hours, overwork, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.
Abstract: This article evaluates the job quality of work in the remote gig economy. Such work consists of the remote provision of a wide variety of digital services mediated by online labour platforms. Focusing on workers in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the article draws on semi-structured interviews in six countries (N = 107) and a cross-regional survey (N = 679) to detail the manner in which remote gig work is shaped by platform-based algorithmic control. Despite varying country contexts and types of work, we show that algorithmic control is central to the operation of online labour platforms. Algorithmic management techniques tend to offer workers high levels of flexibility, autonomy, task variety and complexity. However, these mechanisms of control can also result in low pay, social isolation, working unsocial and irregular hours, overwork, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.
640 citations
TL;DR: Despite growing interest in the gig economy among academics, policy makers and media commentators, the area is replete with different terminology, definitional constructs and contested claims about it.
Abstract: Despite growing interest in the gig economy among academics, policy makers and media commentators, the area is replete with different terminology, definitional constructs and contested claims about...
223 citations
TL;DR: The authors found a significant, though small, increase in work extension, and evidence that it was significantly associated with time pressure in 2015, but not in 2000, while work extension increased total work hours, which was concentrated entirely in time working with a mobile device.
Abstract: It is commonly claimed that ubiquitous connectivity erodes the boundaries that once separated work from other aspects of life. Mobile devices in particular enable people to perform work-related activities anytime anywhere. Surprisingly, however, we know little about how people nationwide organise their daily working time over a period that has witnessed rapid technological change. Using the United Kingdom Time Use Surveys 2000 and 2015, covering this period of technological change, we studied work extension practices, and the links between work extension, total work hours and subjective time pressure. We found a significant, though small, increase in work extension, and evidence that it was significantly associated with time pressure in 2015, but not in 2000. Additionally, work extension increased total work hours, which was concentrated entirely in time working with a mobile device. We discuss our results in light of some taken-for-granted narratives about mobile devices allowing work to colonise life.
57 citations
TL;DR: Work intensity in NHS ambulance services in England is explored in this paper, where the authors describe the work intensity in ambulance service in England, describing the change in working life in public sector professions and becoming increasingly demanding.
Abstract: Working life in public sector professions is undergoing significant change and becoming increasingly demanding. This article explores work intensity in NHS ambulance services in England, describing...
56 citations
TL;DR: The potential role of artificial intelligence in improving organizations' performance and productivity has been promoted regularly and vociferously since the 1960s as mentioned in this paper, and artificial intelligence is today today the state-of-the-art in many fields.
Abstract: The potential role of artificial intelligence in improving organisations’ performance and productivity has been promoted regularly and vociferously since the 1960s. Artificial intelligence is today...
49 citations
TL;DR: A range of policy tools have been used to activate the unemployed to look for work as discussed by the authors, framing unemployment as a consequence of personal shortcoming, these policies incentivise the unemployed people to seek work.
Abstract: Contemporary governments employ a range of policy tools to ‘activate’ the unemployed to look for work. Framing unemployment as a consequence of personal shortcoming, these policies incentivise the ...
39 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the theoretical and empirical challenges that arise when researching trade union strategies towards migrant workers are discussed and the theoretical foundations for these challenges are discussed. By bringing together the debates on migration and inter...
Abstract: This article reflects on the theoretical and empirical challenges that arise when researching trade union strategies towards migrant workers. By bringing together the debates on migration and inter...
33 citations
TL;DR: To get a job as a seafarer in the global maritime industry, thousands of male Filipino youths work for free as utility men for manning agencies that supply seafarers to ship operators around the world.
Abstract: To get a job as a seafarer in the global maritime industry, thousands of male Filipino youths work for free as ‘utility men’ for manning agencies that supply seafarers to ship operators around the ...
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it has been argued that sociologists can make an important contribution to the understanding of why workers report feeling satisfied with their work, particularly where job quality is concerned.
Abstract: It has been argued in this journal that sociologists can make an important contribution to the understanding of why workers report feeling satisfied with their work, particularly where job quality ...
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative and ethnographic study of aesthetic evaluation practices in Dutch welfare offices is presented, which is best conceptualized as a continuous, everyday, backstage labour for labour: a daily calibration for work contexts in flux.
Abstract: Recent legislation in the Netherlands takes conditional welfare to a new level. Local welfare offices can now give benefit sanctions to welfare clients that ‘obstruct employment’ by their appearance. Through a qualitative and ethnographic study of aesthetic evaluation practices in Dutch welfare offices it is argued that: (1) an everyday aesthetic labour is pivotal in post-Fordist labour markets; (2) in times of precarization, this is so for unemployed as well as formally employed populations; (3) welfare clients are expected to give an aesthetic performance of work-readiness and adaptability; and (4) case managers use aesthetics as a pedagogy to achieve this readiness and adaptability. Aesthetic labour, it is then argued, is best conceptualized as a continuous, everyday, backstage labour for labour: a daily calibration for work contexts in flux.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the role of immigration regulations as a frame of reference for migrant employment before obtaining permanent residency status is addressed, drawing on interviews with non-EU migrants and applying it to non-US migrants.
Abstract: This article addresses the role of immigration regulations as a frame of reference for migrant employment before obtaining permanent residency status. Drawing on interviews with non-EU migrants and...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors extended existing sociological theory by analysing the market-making and rule-breaking roles of client and subcontractor firms through qualitative data, and found that client organizations construct different types and temporalities of marketized cost pressures, that clients and subcontractors exploit their power advantage over labour to evade institutional rules and that labour process and reputational concerns impose a degree of moderation towards socially desirable outcomes.
Abstract: Marketization of the employment relationship is a key causal factor explaining the adverse impact of subcontracting low-wage services on employment conditions. This article extends existing sociological theory by analysing the market-making and rule-breaking roles of client and subcontractor firms through qualitative data. It finds that client organizations construct different types and temporalities of marketized cost pressures, that clients and subcontractors exploit their power advantage over labour to evade institutional rules and that labour process and reputational concerns impose a degree of moderation towards socially desirable outcomes. The theoretical framework ‘unpacks’ marketization by distinguishing the interplay between contracts, regulation and labour process requirements as shaped by clients and subcontractors. In the UK cleaning sector, the potentially positive effects of client and subcontractor actions on employment conditions are marginal, focused on non-pay aspects and introduced prim...
TL;DR: In this article, the conditions under which employers grant immigrants access to jobs corresponding to their foreign education are analyzed. But they do not consider the impact of foreign education on the quality of the jobs.
Abstract: This article analyses the conditions under which employers grant immigrants access to jobs corresponding to their foreign education. It is often observed that employers prefer native-educated emplo...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the work and career of law firm partners in the context of a financialized organizational regime, highlighting the effects of performance measures and metrics on the ways part...
Abstract: This article explores the work and career of law firm partners in the context of a financialized organizational regime, highlighting the effects of performance measures and metrics on the ways part...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe changes associated with increased bureaucratisation and surveillance in the regulation and management of the 21st century shipping industry, drawing upon 303 "real-life" vignette-based interviews.
Abstract: This article describes changes associated with increased bureaucratisation and surveillance in the regulation and management of the 21st century shipping industry. Drawing upon 303 ‘real-life’ vignette-based interviews, it describes how these transformations are experienced by contemporary navigating officers, and engineers, working on commercial cargo vessels. The article draws attention to the dysfunctional effects of distrust in organisations, describing how lost trust and associated fears impact on the decision-making process of officers thereby inducing a degree of organisational paralysis. This finding may be of particular significance to employers who have introduced punishment-centred bureaucratisation in order to improve organisational efficiency and who are concurrently undermining it.
TL;DR: Transnational workers on large-scale construction projects are often poorly included in national industrial relations systems, which results in employment relations becoming trapped in vicious circ... as discussed by the authors, which leads to employment relations become trapped in a vicious cycle.
Abstract: Transnational workers on large-scale construction projects are often poorly included in national industrial relations systems, which results in employment relations becoming trapped in vicious circ...
TL;DR: In this article, a multi-method case study of the probation service of England and Wales is presented to explore the perspectives of practitioners and their union on how restructuring/privatization affect them.
Abstract: This article utilizes a multi-method case study of the probation service of England and Wales to explore the perspectives of practitioners and their union on how restructuring/privatization affecte...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the interlinkages between the labour process and global value chains and draw on the renewed growth in UK apparel manufacturing, specifically within the fast fashion value chain.
Abstract: This article focuses on the interlinkages between the labour process and global value chains. It draws on the renewed growth in UK apparel manufacturing, specifically within the fast fashion value ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative case study of travel journalism in the USA explores how freelancers produce on speculation because publications do not contractually guarantee pay or advanced resources for travel, and explores how they produce on speculations.
Abstract: This qualitative case study of travel journalism in the USA explores how freelancers produce on speculation because publications do not contractually guarantee pay or advanced resources for travel....
TL;DR: In the light of its surprising absence in extant literature in the domain of the sociology of work, specifically within the journal Work, Employment and Society, this article represents a ‘call to arms’ for research focused upon professional misconduct in healthcare.
Abstract: In the light of its surprising absence in extant literature in the domain of the sociology of work, specifically within the journal Work, Employment and Society, this article represents a ‘call to arms’ for research focused upon professional misconduct in healthcare. Specifically, interrogation of four dimensions of professional misconduct in healthcare is called for: a broader definition of professional misconduct; antecedents of professional misconduct that recognize the effect of context; professional response to regulation of misconduct; and the hierarchical and affective challenge to frontline professionals blowing the whistle on professional misconduct.
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between restructuring and work-based identity among older workers, exploring occupational identity, occupational community and their roles in navigating trans-orientation in navigating the transition process.
Abstract: The article examines the relationship between restructuring and work-based identity among older workers, exploring occupational identity, occupational community and their roles in navigating transi...
TL;DR: On the Front Line as mentioned in this paper explores the necessary and yet undesirable work undertaken by a third-generation independent funeral director, Peter, in his narrative account of the realities of funera...
Abstract: This ‘On the Front Line’ article explores the necessary and yet undesirable work undertaken by a third-generation, independent funeral director. Peter’s narrative account of the realities of funera...
TL;DR: Digital Humanities (DH) has emerged as a new academic employment field in the past 20 years or so as mentioned in this paper and its place within the academy remains contested, differently realized and materialized in different ways.
Abstract: Digital Humanities (DH) has emerged as a new academic employment field in the past 20 years or so. Its place within the academy remains contested, differently realized and materialized in different ...
TL;DR: The authors identified where migrants work and examined the partial correlation between workplace wages and whether migrants are employed at a workplacement in the UK, using nationally representative workplace data for Britain, identifying where migrants worked and examining whether migrants were employed at workpl...
Abstract: Using nationally representative workplace data for Britain, we identify where migrants work and examine the partial correlation between workplace wages and whether migrants are employed at a workpl...
TL;DR: This paper argued that ethnic minorities have a cultural predisposition towards self-employment, but this is generally not the preferred option for minority groups, and they argue that ethnic minority groups are more likely to seek self-training than self-management.
Abstract: It is sometimes argued that ethnic minorities have a cultural predisposition towards self-employment. However, this is generally not the preferred option for minority groups. We argue that ethnic m...
TL;DR: In this paper, the intersection of parental responsibilities and paid work represents a privileged site from which to explore the process of precarisati cation, and parents in precarious employment are explored.
Abstract: This research is about parents in precarious employment, as the intersection of parental responsibilities and paid work represents a privileged site from which to explore the process of precarisati...
TL;DR: In recent years sociological research on labour in Argentina has re-flourished. This revival has seen a turn towards the Anglo-Saxon and international traditions of workplace and trade union studie...
Abstract: In recent years sociological research on labour in Argentina has re-flourished. This revival has seen a turn towards the Anglo-Saxon and international traditions of workplace and trade union studie...
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between unemployment and the loss of social support put forward by social exclusion theory is analyzed. But the authors focus on the long-term unemployment affec...
Abstract: Taking as a starting point the relationship between unemployment and the loss of social support put forward by social exclusion theory, this article aims to analyse how long-term unemployment affec...
TL;DR: As European countries have mandated quotas for women’s representation on boards, and as women have increasingly entered the ranks of management, a persistent gender gap in managerial pay remains.
Abstract: As European countries have mandated quotas for women’s representation on boards, and as women have increasingly entered the ranks of management, a persistent gender gap in managerial pay remains. D...