6.3.1
Nature of Work
The Labour Process and the Changing Nature of Work
The Labour Process and the Changing Nature of Work
Work includes paid work, unpaid work and the so-called ‘black economy'. The nature of work has changed significantly since industrialisation.
What is work?
What is work?
- Pahl (1984) and Pahl & Gershuny (1980) identified four distinct forms of work:
- Paid employment in the formal or approved economy, where an individual's earnings are subject to income tax and National Insurance.
- The black economy is where people get paid ‘cash-in-hand’ and therefore don’t pay income tax or National Insurance; this is known as the informal or unofficial economy.
Forms of work
Forms of work
- Unpaid work within the home, such as unpaid labour in the home including cooking, cleaning and childcare.
- Unpaid work outside the home, such as voluntary work, charity work, or helping friends and neighbours.
The changing nature of work
The changing nature of work
- Marx argued that prior to industrialisation, workers have considerable control over the labour process, such as the skills they used to produce goods and services, and the conditions in which they carried out their work.
Industrial societies
Industrial societies
- In capitalist industrial societies, the working class do not own the means of production, so lack control over the things they produce and the processes necessary for their production.
- With the advent of capitalist industrialisation, work became factory based and used technology; work was also divided into a large number of specialised fragmented tasks.
Control
Control
- Employers now controlled workers’ place of work and the times they should be working, as well as how the work was to be done; profits now went to the employers in exchange for a daily wage.
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
Jump to other topics
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
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