Changing Contours of Work: Jobs and Opportunities in the New Economy (Sociology for a New Century Series) - Softcover

Sweet, Stephen A.; Meiksins, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1412917441 ISBN 13: 9781412917445

Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc, 2008

Synopsis

The latter part of the 20th century witnessed remarkable transformations in the workplace, including the emergence of new organizational designs, new technologies, new markets, new workers, and the globalization of production.

Changing Contours of Work examines the effects that these (and other) changes have had on workers' lives on and off the job and the ability to make ends meet. Using a historical lens, this book reconsiders the notion of a new economy revealing important changes that have transpired, but also enduring practices that developed in the old economy that continue to shape the opportunity divides that exist today.

By framing the development of jobs and opportunity in an international comparative perspective, Sweet and Meiksins show the roads taken, and those not taken, and the impact these choices have had on the structure opportunity in American society. Their analysis reveals various opportunity chasms, and the continued importance of class, gender, race, nationality in the shaping life chances. As workers struggle to make a living, they do so in an economy being built on risk and overwork. The recommendation offered in this book of value to consumers, activist groups, employers, and governments - offers clear guidance on the strategies of making the new economy work for all.

About this title

Review:

"Changing Contours of Work, by Sweet and Meiksins, represents a truly excellent and synthetic sociological guide for understanding the historical and contemporary interplay of work, inequality, and human dignity. Moving beyond simplistic conceptions of “old” versus “new” economy, the authors demonstrate, through careful aggregate analyses and carefully selected anecdotes, the ways in which old and new work forms continue to intersect, how various status groups continue to be differentially impacted, and why so many workers in the current era face job insecurity, overwork, and maltreatment. The well-articulated position of the authors regarding sorely needed challenges to these trends, and where such challenges might arise, are equally important and deserving of attention from social scientists, students, and policymakers alike"                                                           

                                       - Vincent J. Roscigno, Professor at Ohio State University and author of  
                                          The Voice of Southern Labor (U Minn Press) and The Face of
                                          Discrimination: How Race and Gender Impact Work and Home Lives 
                                          (Rowman & Littlefield).
(Vincent J. Roscigno 2007-10-29)

"Changing Contours challenges the widespread notion of postindustrial, offers a careful analysis of demographics as they intersect a changing labor market, and devotes an entire chapter to a broad discussion of working time. This is a book that students will find informative, and possibly unsettling, but in the end they'll find hope in the possibilities for agency and change"                                                                                                                                                                                                                        - Cynthia Negrey, University of Louisville (Cynthia Negrey 2007-10-29)

"This volume provides a solid, concise overview of the current state of work, mostly based on US patterns but with some comparative information."
(J.P. Jacobsen CHOICE 2008-09-18)

"Changing Contours of Work: Jobs and Opportunities in the New Economy provides numerous insights into the new world of work and is a prolific source of material for class discussion, further research, and written assignments." (Michael P. Bochenek TEACHING SOCIOLOGY 2008-12-19)

About the Author:

Peter Meiksins is a Professor of Sociology at Cleveland State University. He is the author of many articles on the sociology of work, including studies of the work experiences of engineers and part-time work in professional technical occupations and essays on labor process theory, professional work in comparative perspective, and contemporary labor relations. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including Work and Occupations, Theory and Society, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Work, Employment and Society, and Sociological Quarterly. He is the author of Putting Work in Its Place: A Quiet Revolution (with Peter Whalley) and of Engineering Labour: Technical Workers in Comparative Perspective (with Chris Smith); he is co-editor of Rethinking the Labor Process (with Mark Wardell and Tom Steiger) and Rising From the Ashes: Labor in the Age of Global Capitalism (with Ellen Wood and Michael Yates). In 1996, together with Peter Whalley, he received a major grant from the Sloan Foundation to study “Flexible Work for Technical Professionals.” His current research, again with Peter Whalley, concerns the sociology of design work (a study of the work of graphic designers, industrial designers and interior designers). This research has been supported by a Fund For the Advancement of the Discipline Grant from the American Sociological Foundation.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1412917441
• ISBN 13: 9781412917445
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264