Chapter 1: Introductions to the Study of Work

What is Work?
 Traditional, and economic definitions focus on activity that produces a good or service
for the market
- Excludes much activity we generally view as work
o Ex. Washing car and cleaning living space
 Defining work is more complex than it appears
 Paid work: an activity that a person receives payment for performing

What About Unpaid Work?

Dictionary Definition
 “Exertion of energy, physical or mental; effort directed to some purpose or end”
- This would encompass paid work + unpaid work
- Might be too broad
Marxian Definition
 An activity that produces a “use value” – a good, or service useful to us; what is
produced has value
- Example: doing dishes
Tilly and Tilly (1998)
 Work is “human effort that adds use value to goods and services”
- Encompasses paid work and domestic work (ex. Doing laundry)
- Unpaid work is essential to our daily and generational survival
o Volunteer work is essential to our society

In What Ways is Work Important?

 Income
 Social interaction and social relationships
 Health and well-being
 Prestige/stigma
 Identity
 Attitudes, outlook

Sociologists Are Interested in Work as A Social Activity

 Work contributes something to society
 People work with others and within social institutions
- Ex. Work is embedded in systems of social relations
 Work produces “social outcome” for works – income, identity, status, social relations
and impact on health
- Can give you money, status
- Impacts health and well-being
- It can define you
o One can be embarrassed if their job is not good
 - You spend a lot of energy at work, and you rest for more energy to work again

What Sociologists Study:

 The link between work and social outcomes, especially, social inequality, health and
well-being
 Dramatic transformations occurring at work and what people do
- Government, globalization and people
 Impact of working on people, as work dominates most people’s days
- How people react and cope with work
- Effects how you sleep, when you sleep, your leisure activities, relationships
 The ways in which people shape work
- Unions and technology
 Social characteristics of workers
- Who works where? How much? For how long?
 Organization of work
- Content of work
- How this relates to other social institutions
 Overall, institutions, processes, interactions and outcomes are what sociologists are
interested in

Work Serves An…

1. Economic role: individual and social
- Work contributes to economic growth
- Workers produce goods and services, and in turn receive a wage
- As production and employment with a business grows, so does the variety of goods
and services offered
2. Social role: identity, fulfillment, satisfaction, social interaction, status
 The meanings attached to work vary
- Instrumental attitudes: means to an end
o A thing not valued or important but is useful in achieving an aim
 You don’t like your job, but you’re doing it because you need
experience
o Provide an individual with more rewards than punishments
- Emotional attitudes: work a source of satisfaction, meaning
o You like your job
o Not focused on what it gives you, but you feel satisfaction

What Makes Work Enjoyable?

 Friendly coworkers, sense of accomplishment, flexible hours, health benefits, feeling
valued, good management and great pay

What Makes Work Not Enjoyable?

  Rude boss, long hours, making less than minimum wage, unsafe working conditions, lack
of respect, commuting, segregation in many forms

How Sociologists Research Work

1. Quantitative Methodologies
- Uncover trends in employment, unemployment, distribution of people across
occupations
2. Qualitative – Interviews
- To understand how people experience work
3. Qualitative – Ethnography
- Working a job can provide new insights through critically reflecting on lived
experience
4. Qualitative – Content Analysis
- Examine regulations, rules, policies, written reports on work and organizations
5. Case Study Analysis
- Blend methods to look at a case (occupation, workplace) in more depth to
understand organization and experience together
6. Experimental Methods
- Various real-world, and occasional lab experiments can shed light on how people
make decisions about who to hire, or how to present themselves on the job market
7. Social-Historical Methods
- Understand the changing nature of work, by studying work and workers in the past