Rudi R. Volti - An Introduction to the Sociology of Work and Occupations

EDITION

An Introduction to the
SOCIOLOGY
of WORK and
OCCUPATIONS

EDITION

An Introduction to the
SOCIOLOGY
of WORK and
OCCUPATIONS

Rudi Volti

Pitzer College

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Volti, Rudi.

An introduction to the sociology of work and occupations/Rudi Volti.2nd ed.

p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4129-9285-5 (pbk.)

1. WorkHistory. 2. OccupationsForecasting.
3. Globalization. I. Title.

HD6971.V64 2012
306.36dc23 2011031310

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

11 12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

W ork is a central activity in the lives of most people. The jobs people hold and the work they do provide a sense of personal identity, a way of organizing the day, connection to a social network, a reason to get out of the house, a chance to use and develop skills, and of course a steady income. Because it is such an integral part of our lives, we tend to look at the work we do as an individualistic activity. It is up to us to prepare for a job or occupation, present ourselves to prospective employers, perform the required tasks to the best of our ability after we are hired, and receive rewards on the basis of our achievements. Yet, without denying the importance of our own efforts, we also have to recognize that work is a highly social activity. Success or failure at work reflects individual performance, but it also is influenced by the performance of coworkers. The formal and informal social interaction that takes place in the workplace imparts a set of skills, values, and attitudes that heavily influences how the work is done. On a larger scale, the way a society is structured will go a long way toward determining the kind of work that is done, who does it, how they go about doing it, and what they will get for their efforts. In sum, many aspects of working life are shaped by the structure of a societyits age composition; its racial, ethnic, gender, and class divisions; and its distribution of power and authority.

The occupations held, the jobs performed, and working life in general also are crucially affected by a societys degree of technological development. Here, too, social structure is highly relevant because technology is not something external to a society but is itself created and shaped in ways that reflect social arrangements. Individual technologies are not simply neutral tools and techniques; they may reflect, reinforce, or challenge social class divisions, gender roles, and power relationships. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the workplace.

Much of what follows in this book is an elaboration of these general topics and themes. Work is an important topic in its own right, but it takes on a particular salience when it is put into a sociological context. A large part of sociology consists of making connections, and this book represents an effort to connect work and occupations to some key subjects of sociological inquiry: race, ethnicity, gender, social class, education, social networks, and modes of organization.

Most discussions of work and occupations center on the here and now. This is understandable; we need to know what kinds of jobs are being done today, who is doing them, and what is happening in peoples working lives. Yet it is also important to understand how we got to where we are today, and for this reason, some of the chapters to follow contain a fair amount of material drawn from economic and social history, as well as the history of technology. Studying the past helps us understand the present, and more than this, it gives us a broader perspective on where we are today. We all have a tendency to think of the lives we lead and the work we do as the normal state of human affairs, a kind of default option. In reality, life and work in early 21st-century industrial and postindustrial societies represent massive deviations from life as it was led and work as it was done for most of human existence. An understanding of historical change helps us realize that the society in which we live and the work we do represent mere blips in time. The working lives of most men and women were very different a century ago, and we can be sure that they will have undergone many changes a hundred years from now.

Many aspects of our working lives may be viewed as indications of social and economic progress, as few people in the economically developed world toil 12 hours a day for subsistence wages. But as we will see, a survey of the historical evolution of work shows that along with the gains, there have been losses, and these gains and losses have not been shared equally. From the emergence of sedentary agriculture onward, advances in technology and social organization have increased production and productivity. Yet these advances have been accompanied by social and economic changes that have left many people no better off and, in some cases, in a considerably worse position than before. No attempt has been made to present a precise tally of winners and losers here, but the reader should always remember that work and the social arrangements that support it are in a continuous state of flux and that not everyone benefits from the changes that are occurring.

Much of the material presented in this book, especially in the later chapters, centers on work and occupations in the United States. It is hoped, however, that this book will be of interest to readers in other parts of the world, as a considerable amount of material drawn from other places and times has been included. Although this book does not attempt a rigorous comparative analysis of work roles and activities, the material presented in its chapters can serve as the basis for reflecting on how working lives have been shaped by past history and current social arrangements.

There is no ideal way to organize a complex subject. Each chapter of this book focuses on a particular aspect of work and occupations, but it has not always been possible to neatly contain each topic within a single chapter. The themes, topics, and issues covered in this book relate to one another in more than one context, making it necessary to occasionally refer to material presented in other chapters. I hope that the occasional use of the phrase as we saw in Chapter and as we shall see in Chapter will not disrupt the flow of the narrative excessively.