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G
The Evolution of Work
There is nothing better for a man, than that he eat and drink,
and tell himself that his labor is good.
ECCLESIASTES 2:24 (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)
Every morning at six I drove myself out of bed, did not shave,
sometimes washed, hurried up to the Place dItalie and fought for a
place on the Metro. By seven I was in the desolation of the cold, filthy
kitchen, with the potato skins and bones and fishtails littered on the
floor, and a pile of plates, stuck together in their grease, waiting from
overnight. I could not start on the plates yet, because the water was
cold, and I had to fetch milk and make coffee, for the others arrived at
eight and expected to find coffee ready. Also, there were always several
copper saucepans to clean. Those copper saucepans are the bane of a
plongeurs life. They have to be scoured with sand and bunches of
chain, ten minutes to each one, and then polished on the outside with
Brasso. Fortunately, the art of making them has been lost and they are
gradually vanishing from French kitchens.
(GEORGE ORWELL, DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON,
PP. 107108. COPYRIGHT 1933 BY GEORGE ORWELL AND RENEWED
1961 BY SONIA PITT-RIVERS. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF
HARCOURT, INC.)
hese two quotations point out the contradictory nature of work: it is both a
salvation and a curse. Work creates prosperity and meaning in life, but it can
also contribute to poverty and alienation. This chapter will review changes in the
nature of work across time so that you can better understand its possibilities and
limitations. This entire book is an effort to sort out the varied experiences of
workers in order to make sense of work in modern society.
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
First, what is work? Work is the creation of material goods or services, which
may be directly consumed by the worker or sold to someone else. Work thus
includes not only paid labor but also self-employed labor and unpaid labor,
including production of goods and services done in the home.
NATURE OF WORK
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Copyright 2008 Thomson Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.
PART I
FOUNDATIONS
that prepare them to become members of a particular profession. The professions are discussed in
greater detail in Chapter 11.
Meaning and Dignity in Work Peoples ways of
thinking about the role of work in their lives also
change over time. In primitive societies people did
not experience work as an activity separate from the
broader round of daily events. In agricultural societies work was seen as an inevitable burden, made
even heavier by the abuses of greedy landlords, bad
weather, and variable market prices. Capitalism saw
the emergence of a work ethic that identified work
with piety and grace. Many fear that the work ethic
grounded on frugality and unquestioning effort
has been lost in contemporary society. Perhaps it
has. But if so, it has been replaced by a vision of
work as a route of upward social mobility (Ospina,
1996). These different visions of the meaning of
work become parts of social ideologiessystems of
ideas that justify the economic and political arrangements of a society as appropriate and desirable. In
all settings, however, workers desire autonomy
and respect in order to experience dignity in their daily
lives at work (Hodson, 2001). For further discussion
of the importance of meaning at work see Chapter 3.
Globalization An increasing share of economic
exchange occurs between nations. In addition,
large corporations located in industrially advanced
nations typically have many branch plants and joint
ventures outside their home nation. The world
economy is thus characterized by dense networks
of economic links between nations and between
transnational corporations. These new realities
increase world competition, pushing down prices
for many commodities. But they also allow corporations to transfer production to areas with
lower-priced labor, thus placing the workers of
each nation in ever sharper competition with each
other and creating downward pressures on wages,
health and safety protections, and environmental
protections (Chase-Dunn, Kawano, and Brewer,
2000). The realization of a truly integrated global
economy beginning in the late twentieth century is
possibly the most significant transformation in the
Individual workers often seem reduced in importance in the large-scale, bureaucratic world of modern organizations. Their individual contributions
seem interchangeable or even expendable. This reality can lead to a sense of alienation from work, in
which people feel detached from their activity, from
one another, and, eventually, from their own selves.
The modern organization of work also has positive consequences for individuals. Many individuals
receive a share of the expanded productivity of modern industry. Industrial societies produce a much
wider range of material goods and services than preindustrial societies; these goods include more and
better food, as well as many items that would have
been considered luxuries in previous societies or were
completely unavailable, such as central heating and
television. Improved services include better medical
care and higher education. For many people, work
experiences also continue to be a primary source of
fulfillment and self-realization (Hochschild, 1997).
Consequences of Work for Society
Self-Interest The very nature of society has been
fundamentally altered by the changing organization
of work. The most significant change is the transformation from rural society, based on deeply felt
bonds of commonality, to urban society, based on more
fragmented, fluid, and changing relationships, often
grounded in self-interest. Traditional rural societies
placed a high value on conformity and on maintaining solidarity in the face of external threats. These
values were necessary because of the harshness and
vulnerability of peasant life. In industrial societies the
relationships between people are based on distinct
yet interdependent contributions rather than on
commonly shared abilities and positions (Durkheim,
1966 [1897]). Modern societies thus make greater
allowances for, and may even encourage, diversity
and competition among their members.
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Traditional worlds
emphasis on:
Modern worlds
emphasis on:
Individual and
immediate family
Urban life
Factory and largescale bureaucratic
work organization
Business and
industrial interests
Democracy
Reason
Science
Reformation,
Enlightenment,
French and
Industrial
Revolutions
1600
F I G U R E 1.1 Traditional
Societies versus Modern
Societies
SOURCE: Tony J. Watson, 1980. Sociology, Work and Industry. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, p.8. Reprinted by
permission of International Thomson
Publishing Services. Ltd.,
Science-based
social thought,
including
sociology
Church-mediated
social thought
1500
1700
1800
1900
2000
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
Social Stratification
THEORIZING WORK
Writing several decades after Marx, Emile Durkheim likewise saw industrial society as being
exploitative and abusive. He believed that economic life in modern society was in a state of
normlessness (anomie) because of its unrelenting
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According to Weber, the essence of modern capitalism is the rational calculation of profit and loss.
This formal rational calculation replaces earlier less
rational motives, such as those based on allegiance to
traditional values or traditional authority (Weber,
1946). To Weber, capitalism is the science of applying formal rationality to economic life.
Weber believed that the coercive organization
of economic life typical of slave and feudal societies,
and of the early stages of capitalism, was not a viable
basis for organizing modern society. Formal rationality, as manifest in bureaucratic rules and procedures,
however, did provide a workable, though flawed,
solution for how to organize the modern industrial
economy. Only bureaucratic forms of organization
can engage in the long-term planning and integration
necessary for a modern economy and society. As a
result of its technical efficiency, the extension of
bureaucracy to more and more spheres of economic
and political life seemed inevitable to Weber.
Bureaucratic principles thus displace coercion,
favoritism, and nepotism as less efficient foundations
for economic life (Perrow, 1986). But, according to
Weber, these same bureaucratic principles also lead
to a depersonalization of social life. Along with
Durkheim, Weber believed that the solution to the
problems of modern industrial capitalism lie in
the reintroduction of moral values. Weber and
Durkheim differ, however, in the proposed source
of new values. Durkheim saw these new values as
emerging from occupational groups. Weber saw
new values as emerging from charismatic leaders.
Socio-Technical and Interactionist Theories
Two contemporary theoretical traditions also provide important foundations for understanding the
modern world of work: the socio-technical school
and the interactionist school. The socio-technical
school rests on the observation that the specific,
detailed social and technical arrangements at work
set the stage for meaning, satisfaction, and productivity. Such issues as being treated with civility and
having positive relations with coworkers can create
the preconditions for an effective and humane
working experience. While these issues are of
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
somewhat smaller scope than the issues of exploitation, normlessness, and bureaucracy that motivated
early theorists, they can still be extremely important
in the day-to-day experience of work. The insights
of the socio-technical school are widely used today
in designing work and form the basis for much of
organizational psychology. We discuss the sociotechnical and human relations approaches in greater
detail in Chapter 7 on technology and organization.
The interactionist school developed from studies of social life in natural settings in the early
decades of the twentieth century. Various social
activities were studied, with the workplace playing a pivotal role. These studies observed that
people creatively made meaning out of their interactions with others through the use of symbols,
such as styles of speech and manner of dress. These
meanings then guided their behaviors and interactions with each other. Applied to the workplace,
these insights gave rise to two principal lines
of study. One line investigates various occupational
subcultures and studies how people draw meaning
out of their work, even work that might be considered tedious, mundane, or even meaningless
to outsiders (Trice, 1993). The second line of
inquiry investigates how the rules and norms that
guide work arise as a negotiated order. This line of
inquiry rests on the observation that rules are not
simply imposed from the top, but are constantly
negotiated and renegotiated in application by
those responsible for carrying them out. The
interactionist approach has provided the theoretical underpinning to a wealth of ethnographic
studies of work life as it is actually lived and
experienced (Fine, 1999). These studies, and other
approaches to understanding work and the workplace, are described in greater detail in Chapter 2.
Classic and contemporary theories of work provide a solid foundation for understanding the nature,
problems, and joys of work in modern society. However, the nature of work is constantly changing
seemingly at an ever-accelerating pace. Classic and
even contemporary theoretical models of work are
thus constantly being challenged by changes in the
nature of work. This constantly changing terrain is
part of what makes the study of work so exciting.
A HISTORY OF WORK
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11
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PART I
B O X 1.1
FOUNDATIONS
The Maidu were one of the principal tribes of the Sacramento Valley and adjacent sierras. Their country followed the eastern banks of the Sacramento River and
encompassed the modern city of Sacramento, California.
The collection and preparation of acorns for food were
among the most important industries of the Maidu, in
common with most of the Central California tribes. At
the time in the autumn when the acorns are ripe, everyone is busy. The men and the larger boys climb the trees
and, by the aid of long poles, beat the branches, knocking off the acorns. The women and the smaller children
gather these in burden baskets, and carry them to the
village, storing them in granaries or in the large storage
baskets in the houses. . . . In addition, eels were speared,
split and dried. In preparing them for food, they were
usually cut into small pieces, and stewed. Salmon were
split, and dried by hanging them over a pole. When
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13
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PART I
B O X 1.2
FOUNDATIONS
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15
production during the period of classical civilization. Slaves possessed neither the opportunity nor
the motivation to be innovative at work. Such
advances would await the development of free trades
and free labor in the Middle Ages. Box 1.3 describes
the harsh conditions of slaves working in Roman
mines.
In Rome, free craft workers eventually formed
guilds to regulate the standards of their trade and
provide religious and social services for their members. During the decline of the Roman Empire and
throughout much of the Middle Ages, in an effort
to stabilize production, the authorities forbade leaving a guild or refusing to follow in ones fathers
trade (Lilley, 2002). The Venetian government,
for instance, strictly prohibited the emigration of
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
SOURCE: CALVIN AND HOBBES 1989 Watterson. Dist. by UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
In many ways feudal society was simply an extension of agricultural society. The majority of people
still tilled the land in the same traditional ways.
However, the way in which agricultural surplus
was extracted changed. In simple agricultural
society and in imperial societies, peasants had given
up a portion of their crops as tax to feed the rulers,
priests, and warriors, or they were forced to work
as slaves. In feudal society landlords extracted surplus both as a share of the peasants crops and in the
form of forced labor on the landlords land. The
latter imposition was called corvee labor, and peasants
working under the feudal system were called serfs.
Forced labor averaged three days per week. The
burden was lessened to the extent that the labor
could be performed by any member of the peasants
family, but it was increased to the extent that
requirements were greatest at planting and harvest
when the peasants most needed to tend their own
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17
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
Settled
agricultural
societies
Nomadic
hunting and
gathering
societies
300,000 B.C.
Feudal
system
Classical
civilizations
8000
2000
Factory
system
Merchant
capitalism
A.D.
800
1400
Postindustrial
society
Mass
production
1750
1920
Globalization
1960
2000
of other artisans in their guild. These ideals of equality and solidarity would later help inspire the revolutionary demands of the artisans and the peasants as
they sought to overthrow feudal society and install a
society based on freely producing craft labor.
Merchant Capitalism
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villages. By having cloth woven in the countryside, the merchants managed to escape the
control of the guilds. (Tilly and Scott, 1978:14)
In essence, craft workers became subcontractors
for merchants and were paid a piece rate for their
work. The system also brought many non-guild
workers into production because the merchant capitalist would put out simple tasks, such as preparing
and softening leather or cleaning and carding wool,
to less-skilled workers, whose labor was cheaper.
These workers included seasonally underemployed
peasants, recent immigrants from rural areas, widows,
young women waiting to marry, and wives of underemployed husbands (Gullickson, 2002). Apprentices
and journeymen who could not find employment as
artisans because of the encroachment on craft markets
by the merchant capitalists were also recruited into
the putting-out system. In rural areas this system was
called cottage industry. In urban areas it was called
sweatshop production because the work typically took
place in the often hot, cramped, and dirty attics of
peoples homes.
Putting-out arrangements were the earliest form
of the system of wage labor typical of industrial
production throughout the world today. The system
was successful because it undercut the pricing structure of guild regulations. The artisan made a full
range of goods in his trade and wanted to be paid
accordingly. A tailor, for example, would want to
make a fair days wage for his labor, regardless of
whether he worked that day on petticoats, shirts, or
jackets. However, some tasks, such as making petticoats, did not require the full range of the artisans
skills and could be done reasonably well by less
skilled workers. The merchant would put out such
work to a seasonally underemployed peasant or to a
journeyman tailor unable to set up his own shop, and
would pay this worker less than an artisan expected
to receive as a living wage. On this basis, the merchant capitalists undercut the artisans prices and
encroached further and further into their markets.
Guild Resistance to Merchant Capitalism The
guilds resisted the putting-out system by implementing civic laws regulating the number of journeymen or apprentices that one person could
19
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PART I
B O X 1.4
FOUNDATIONS
The transition from merchant capitalism and puttingout industry to industrial capitalism was a violent
one. Known as the Industrial Revolution, it
involved the forcible movement of large numbers
of peasants off the land and into factories. In the
words of Karl Marx, it is a history written in
letters of fire and blood. The Industrial Revolution took place first in England, significantly
because the English were deeply involved in
the expanding woolen trade with Flanders (todays
Belgium). Englands role in the woolen trade set
the stage for the forcible removal of peasants from
the land and their replacement by grazing sheep.
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21
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
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23
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PART I
B O X 1.5
FOUNDATIONS
The first petitioner who testified was Eliza R. Hemingway. Her employment is weavingworks by the
piece. . . . She complained of the hours for labor being
too many, and the time for meals too limited. In the
summer season, the work is commenced at 5 oclock,
a.m., and continued til 7 oclock, p.m., with half an
hour for breakfast and three quarters of an hour for
dinner. During eight months of the year but half an
hour is allowed for dinner. The air in the room she
considered not to be wholesome. There were 293 small
lamps and 61 large lamps lighted in the room in which
she worked, when evening work is required. . . . About
130 females, 11 men, and 12 children (between the ages
of 11 and 14) work in the room with her. The children
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25
By the early years of the twentieth century, industrial capitalism was displaced by monopoly capitalism
(Jacoby, 2004). The greatly expanded size of companies at this time provided them with immense
power over competitors, suppliers, and consumers.
Large companies could utilize more efficient types
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
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27
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
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29
by their skill. There are the brilliant and the geniuses, their status sometimes debated (the only way
he made the list of 100 brightest scientists is if he
mailed coupons from the back of cereal boxes) and
sometimes acknowledged (Peter is brilliant. There is
no question about that; he is a crackerjack engineer);
and there are journeymen (and the occasional journey
women), who might be solid citizensno rah rah.
SOURCE: Excerpted from Gideon Kunda, Engineering Culture, Philadelphia,
Temple University Press, pp. 3940.
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
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B O X 1.7
31
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PART I
FOUNDATIONS
The Future
SUMMARY
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33
KEY CONCEPTS
division of labor
social relations of
production
bureaucracy
ideology
economies of scale
social stratification
feudal society
artisan
guilds
merchant capitalism
putting-out system
Protestant work ethic
Industrial Revolution
enclosure movement
indentured labor
assembly line
class structure
postindustrial society
service industries
MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES
Print
Carleton S. Coon (editor). 1977. A Reader in Cultural
Anthropology. Huntington, New York: Krieger. A
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34
PART I
FOUNDATIONS
Internet
American Sociological Association (ASA). www.asanet.org
Official web site of the professional association for
sociologists in the United States. The latest news,
research, and events in American sociology.
Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association.
www.csaa.ca The latest news, research, and events in
Canadian sociology.
Organizations, Occupation and Work section of the
ASA. www.northpark.edu/sociology/oow The ASA
section focusing specifically on issues concerning
work.
Jobs and Employment Practices. www.workindex.com
Human resources information on hiring, compensation, benefits, employment law, training, and
retirement. Valuable for employees, employers, and
human resources professionals.
Economic History. www.eh.net Information and services
for students and researchers interested in economic
history.
RECOMMENDED FILM
The Good Earth (1937). A profound and moving depiction of the challenges of peasant life in pre-Second
World War China. Based on a novel of the same
title by Pearl Buck.
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