1. Chapter 12
Work And The Workplace

2. The Importance of Work Source of income
Source of pride and accomplishment
Source of identity and self esteem
Provides meaning to life and and is a major part of our adult identity

3. Structural Changes In the U.S. Economy
The Industrial Revolution
The Information Revolution
Deindustrialization
Globalization

4. The Industrial Revolution
The first transformation at the beginning of the nineteenth century
Rural and small towns
Most were employed in the primary sector producing raw materials
Farming
Fishing
Forestry
Mining

5. The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial revolution shifted jobs from the primary sector of the economy to the secondary sector
Transforming raw goods into products
Automobiles
Sewing machines
Furniture

6. The Industrial Revolution
Impact of the industrial revolution
Shift to factory work
Shift of jobs from rural to urban
Immigrants and factory work
Industrialization and prosperity

7. The Information Revolution
The 1950s and the emergence of the tertiary sector
From factory to service work
Not all workers benefited from this shift
Invention of the microchip and the computer
White collar jobs

8. Deindustrialzation
Deindustrialization- decline of industrial production (after 1950)
Plant closings
Decline in factory jobs
Job displacement
Decline in pay and benefits

9. Globalization
Globalization of the economy- expansion of economic activity around the world with little regard for national borders
Multi-national corporations
Shifting jobs to low wage countries

10. Other Problems of the U.S. Workplace
The Dual Labor Market
Two separate labor markets
1. Primary labor market-occupations that provide good pay and extensive benefits to workers
2. Secondary labor market- provides low pay and few benefits to workers

11. Other Problems of the U.S. Workplace
The Dual Labor Market
Primary labor market jobs tend to be
Challenging
Good pay and benefits
More secure
Room for advancement in one’s career

12. Other Problems of the U.S. Workplace
The Dual Labor Market
Examples of primary labor market job categories
Professionals
Managers and executives
Some high skilled jobs in factories

13. Other Problems of the U.S. Workplace
The Dual Labor Market
Secondary labor market-jobs
Boring and routine
Low pay and few benefits
Less secure

14. Problems of the U.S. Workplace
The Dual Labor Market
Examples of secondary labor market job categories
Retail sales
Telemarketing
Building maintenance
Laborers

15. Problems of the U.S. Workplace
Dangers to Workers
In 1970 the federal government established OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Conducts research on workplace hazards

16. Problems of the U.S. Workplace
Dangers to Workers
Toxic Substances Control Act (1976)
Guidelines for handling chemicals in the workplace
Test for harmful chemicals

17. Problems of the U.S. Workplace
Dangers to Workers
Jobs and injuries
Jobs that have the highest risk of death
Mining
Agriculture
Construction
Jobs and health
Job related violence

18. Workplace Alienation Alienation: Marx’s View
Alienation-experience of isolation and misery from powerlessness in the workplace
Work as a natural act
Alienation stems from the social nature of work under capitalism
Capitalism distorts the social nature of work

19. Workplace Alienation Alienation: Weber’s View
Alienation- depersonalization of the workplace and of society in general due to modern society’s rational focus on efficiency
Weber-the cause of alienation is the rational nature of the organization of work
Individuals have become detached from the social and creative aspect of work
Work has become highly impersonal

20. Workplace Alienation Alienation: Weber’s View
Rationalization of society led to the industrial revolution
Defined as the historical change from tradition to rationality and efficiency as the typical way people think about the world

21. McDonaldization and the Rise of “McJobs”
George Ritzer and McDonaldization
McDonaldization- defining work in four principles
1. Efficiency
2. Predictability
3. Uniformity
4. Automation
Workers become automatons

22. MacDonaldization and the Rise of “McJobs”
Characteristics of the McJobs:
Work that involves simple tasks
Work that provides little
satisfaction
Work that is predictable and
repetitive
Work that has become
machine driven
Work that is dehumanizing to the worker

23. The “Temping”of the Workplace
Deindustrialization and the growth in part-time workers
Low pay
No benefits
Little control over their work

24. Unemployment Reasons for Unemployment
About four to five percent unemployment may be normal
New to the work force entering for the first time
In between jobs
Economic downturn

25. Who is at Risk for Unemployment?
Less educated
Racial and ethnic minorities
Young

26. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
Institutional discrimination – bias built into the operation of the economy, education and other social institutions
Secondary labor market
Under representation of women and minorities in higher education

27. Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
The Glass Ceiling-
Barriers (often invisible) that prevent minorities from moving up in an organization

28. Workplace Segregation
Workplace is segregated by race and gender
Minorities concentrated in the least desirable jobs
Union Decline
Labor unions- worker organizations that seek to improve wages and working conditions through various strategies, including collective bargaining and strikes

29. Union Decline Labor unions are a recent development
U.S. Government and the labor movement of the 1930’s
Railway Labor Act
Norris-La Guardia Act
National Labor Relations Act

30. Union Decline Union membership grew from 1930 and peaked in the 1970s
Since 1970s decline in union membership until just recently
Function of structural change a shift from factory jobs to the non-union service sector

31. New Information Technology: The Brave New Workplace
Telecommuting- linking employees to the office using information technology, including telephones,fax machines, and
Function of the information revolution
Telecommuting blurs the distinction between home and work
Telecommuting and gender discrimination and work
Worker isolation

32. Workplace Isolation
Computer technology reduces the need for face to face interaction
Workers are connected by information networks
Social and physical separation and isolation of workers and clients from one another

33. Controlling Employees
Computer technology and controlling the behavior of workers
Keeping an eye on the employee
“Deskilling” Work
Technology and the loss of skills necessary to perform one’s job
Machines replace human skill

34. Structural-Functional Analysis: Finding a New Equilibrium
Stresses the interrelatedness of social institutions
Impact of technology on established social patterns
How information technology is shaping the nature of work and other social institutions

35. Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: The Meaning of Work
Stresses the social construction of work
Meanings that people attach to work and work relationships

36. Social-Conflict Analysis: Work and Inequality
Focus is on how inequality impacts work in society
Work reflects the interest of the upper-class

37. Conservatives: Look at the Market
Free-market with a minimum of government regulation
Downturns are temporary and people will be allocated to where the jobs are
Individuals should take responsibility for their economic and job well-being

38. Liberals: Look to Government
Free market with government regulation to insure all interests are taken care of
Government aid for education and job training

39. Radicals: Basic Change is Needed
The free-market is the source of economic and worker related problems
The end of capitalism and the emergence of socialism as the answer to economic and worker related woes