Download The Sociology of Work and Leisure

The Sociology of Work and
Leisure
Revision Session
Work and leisure are difficult to define…
• Work: What we do because we have to
(usually for money)
• Leisure: What we choose to do in our free
time
• Non-Work: Activities we do that are
neither work nor leisure
• The problem is what is work for some,
might be leisure for others (eg Cooking,
Childcare etc)
Where do we work?
• There are two very different economies
that exist:
– The formal economy includes all employment
that is legal and taxed.
– The informal economy has two elements:
• Hidden economy – this is non-taxed work and
sometimes illegal.
• Domestic/Voluntary (or community) economy –
work is done for love or duty and is unpaid.
Sectors of work
• The Primary sector is involved with the
collection of raw materials: farming, mining and
fishing.
• The Secondary sector is involved with making
things: factories and workshops.
• The Tertiary or Service sector is concerned
with providing a service: eg salespeople,
teachers, lawyers, nurses, shop workers, office
workers.
• In recent years mining and manufacture have
declined, whilst there has been a huge
increase in service sector jobs
Changes in work
• In the Eighteenth and
Nineteenth centuries a process
of industrialisation took place
and Britain became know as
“The Workshop of the World”
• Britain was once important for
primary industry: mining, steel
and docks.
• This work has died away and
now people are involved in
service work: call centres,
supermarkets and fast food
outlets.
Changing Technology
• As technology has improved,
machines have been used
more and more in manufacture
and industry
• The machines began to replace
the workers and goods were
produced quicker and cheaper.
• As the machines improved
mass production became
possible – producing large
quantities of a product in a
factory using assembly lines
Assembly Lines
‘… each man and each
machine do only one
thing ... the thing is to
keep everything in
motion and take the
work to the man not the
man to the work’
Henry Ford 1925
Fordism
• Mass Production and the use of assembly
lines led to the division of labour –
workers only knew how to do their own
particular task, and might not know what
was happening in the rest of the factory.
• This meant that the work was repetitive,
and the workers would have no sense of
pride in the finished product
• Traditional skills were lost
• Also management closely monitored
aspects of work
Alienation
• This lead to alienation
• People do not feel part of the workplace
and take no pride in their work.
• People work for money and not because
they take pride in what they do.
This has also led to:
• Deskilling:
• Deskilling occurs where traditional skills
are replaced by jobs that require few skills.
• Reskilling:
• Reskilling occurs when workers are
retrained in order to acquire new skills in
order to use new technology. These jobs
are usually well-paid.
• Mechanisation
• consists of replacing
workers with machines.
This is more common within
the manufacturing sector
(e.g. car-making).
• Automation
• occurs where robots and
automated machinery
perform work on the
production line. Again, this
is more common in the
manufacturing sector.
• Computerisation
• occurs where computers
have taken a far greater
role in the workplace, such
as in the retail sector.
New Technology
Post-Fordism
• Sociologists claim that most firms adopt a
post-Fordist structure. This consists of
work that has become less repetitive due
to the impact of computerisation. Firms
also require a well trained and flexible
labour force. The level of choice available
to the consumer is greater than that
offered by the Fordist method.
The workforce has also changed to fit in with the
changes in what jobs are available. Workers have
been divided into two types
• Core workers posses the skills and educational
qualifications demanded within the UK economy.
The position of core workers within a firm is
relatively secure, and their level of pay is usually
high.
• The periphery workforce consists of those with
few academic qualifications. They are a ‘buffer’
against fluctuations in consumer demand. As
such, the employment status of the periphery
workforce is usually temporary. The level of pay
for those in the periphery workforce is
considerably lower than that of core workers.
New work patterns
Newer work patterns are developing:
• Women more
• Flexi-work where people work shifts or
choose their time.
• Short-term so people move from one job
to another
• ‘McJobs’ where people do not make
decisions but follow a script: ‘have a nice
day!’
More unemployment
Unemployed people are likely to be:
• Unskilled and unqualified
• Older than average or younger
• Male
• Ethnic minority
• Experiencing depression and ill health
The Consequences of Unemployment
Individual
• Loss of Income
• Loss of Status
• Loss of self-respect
The family
• Poverty → Particularly affects children
• Stress → Places relationships under strain
The community
• Decline in sense of community → Decay in buildings and local services
→ Closure of local shops/businesses
→ People leaving the area
• Scape-goating and Racism
• Higher levels of crime and anti-social behaviour
Society
• Lower tax revenues and increased spending on social security → reduction
in government spending in other areas → decline in NHS, social services,
police etc.
• Decline in position of workers
• Formation of an underclass
• Increase in crime
• Increase in social problems
Gender
Women are often:
• Low paid
• Part time
• Doing two jobs
• Working in female
type services: caring,
cooking and cleaning
• The Glass Ceiling is
still a problem
Men are often:
• Higher paid
• Full time or not
working at all
• Working in male jobs:
heavy work,
construction and
machinery
The Glass Ceiling
• Doesn’t just affect women
• Ethnic minorities are affected by this too,
also due to discrimination