2. WHAT IS WORK
• The idea of paid work using tools of any sort is a modern social construction
• We tend to associate work with pay
• We sell out labor for a fixed sum
• We tend to separate work from other parts of our lives
• Work hours and/or days are defined
• Our workspaces are separate from where we live (generally speaking)
• We commute to a place where work is done or have a dedicated place to work
• It is largely a result of industrialization
3. TYPES OF
SOCIETIES
These are generalizations. You can still find each type of society in
existence today.
Gerhard Lenski examined the development of society in terms of
technology. Accordingly, he looked at four different societies based on
their method of sustenance:
Hunters and
Gatherers-
40,000-10,000
years ago
Horticultural- up
to 5,000 years
ago
Agrarian- up
until the late 18th
century
Industrial- from
the 1800’s
Post-Industrial-
today
4. HUNTING AND
GATHERING
SOCIETIES
Smaller societies- often just large families
Nomadic- they moved around following food sources
Everyone worked- there was more work equality in that
everyone contributed to getting food
•Although in general, men tended to hunt more
There was no surplus- get food, eat food
•The idea of surplus has huge implications in later societies
There was more time allowed for leisure
5. HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETIES
Plants and animals were
domesticated
People tended to stay in areas
Metal tools were used as
opposed to stone
Increased production allowed
for a surplus. This led to
A specialization of jobs:
warriors and gardeners
The beginning of a hierarchy
Surpluses mean resources to
fight for and control
6. AGRARIAN
SOCIETIES
The use of a plow and animals to work allowed for an increased
production of food
This allows for people to do things other than food production
Jobs became more specialized, social hierarchies increased
Upper classes owned land and people
For most, home and work were not separate
For high classes, there was a marked differentiation between work and
leisure. The upper class stayed away from manual work.
7. GENERAL TRENDS
AS SOCIETY
DEVELOPS
Increased surplus of food
Specialization of jobs
Class divisions with upper classes not working
Ownership of land
Increases in population
Move from nomadic to settled societies
Labor looked down on and not valued
Education not associated with work- only for rich who studied religion,
philosophy or other non-work-related subjects
8. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
• The most significant work-related development up until the digital revolution we
are currently going through.
• The industrial revolution changed all aspects of society as we know it
• In sociology, the history of societies are often delineated into before and after the
industrial revolution
• Sometimes called ‘industrial capitalist societies’
• Steam engine one of the most significant developments
9. EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
ON WORK
From farming to factories
From hand tools and animals
to machine tools
Complex division of labor
From seasonal work to
permanent work
From traditional to rational
markets
•The term rational will be explained
later. For now, it means efficient
Work becomes virtuous
instead of a necessary evil
Purpose shifts from
livelihood to profits
10. OTHER RELATED EFFECTS OF
INDUSTRIALIZATION
• Fast growth of cities
• Breakdown of the family unit
• Men moved from the countryside to work in
factories
• Shift from wealthy owning land to owning factories
• The beginning of consumerism due to increased
production
• Transportation (trains and steamboats)
• The development of the organization (bureaucracy)
• The term ‘bureaucracy’ will appear in a later lecture.
For now, it is the opposite of what we think today: it
is efficiency.
11. THE MEANING OF WORK
• Max Weber’s book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism looked at the
contributions of the Puritan (or Calvinist) work ethic
• Work was looked at as something to keep one busy to stay moral
• Idle hands are the Devil’s workshop
• At the same time, frivolous spending was discouraged
• The result was an accumulation of money
• The term ‘protestant work ethic’ eventually became a secular idea and was thus termed
simply ’work ethic’
12.
13. KARL MARX AND
CONFLICT
THEORY
Industrial Capitalism promised a better life
• There will be more food, clothes, etc., and they will be more affordable
• The machines will do more work and we can work less
• Standards of living will increase
However, instead of the serfs working the land of the lords, the
workers (proletariats) worked in the factories of the rich
(bourgeoisie)
None of the promises were fulfilled. Instead, the rich still
controlled everything and the masses just “subsisted”
The Conflict Perspective looks at society through this lens.
• Example: gambling outside a casino (or certain venues) is illegal because the
rich make the laws. They want to profit from it.
14. MARXISM
(COMMUNISM)
AND CAPITALISM
• Property (including production) would be owned by the people (via the
State)
• Work would have meaning rather than simply doing the same task over
and over so someone else can get richer.
• Needs would be provided by that State. All would be cared for and
everyone would work to their ability
Marx proposed a political and economic system in which:
• Property is privately owned
• People are incentivized to work harder to earn more money or have a
better position
• Profits become more important than just meeting needs
Capitalism is an economic system where:
15. TRADE UNIONS
• Trade unions were a result of
industrialization but why are they
on the decline?
• People are vested in companies
through stocks, etc.
• Increased vacation time and
other benefits standard
• OSHA and other safety
mechanisms are important
• We don’t have those types of
jobs as much (we are a service
economy, not production-
based)
• Neoliberalism (discussed later)
16. WOMEN IN INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM
(1800-1840)
• Women had an important role in factories
• Why were women employed in factories:
• Physical strength not crucial to operate machinery
• Women considered more docile and compliant
• They could be hired for less pay
• Many men did not want to give up their independence with a job like that
• Wars created demographic shifts
• Women were doing work in the pre-industrial period (not just cleaning and raising children), so it
was a natural transition
17. WOMEN IN
INDUSTRIAL
CAPITALISM (1850-
1890)
Men begin to resent the perceived loss of authority in the home
New laws prevented children from working (as they had been). Who
will take care of these children?
Unions restricted women
Society moved to seeing men as the breadwinner and women as the
stay at home child-raiser
Middle class women and above didn’t have to work. One salary was
enough. Besides, the pay was so low for women so why bother.
18. CONCLUDING POINTS
Industrial Capitalism was a major
shift in work which separated work
from other parts of life (like home,
family, etc.)
An importance was placed on work
that was capitalistic, industrial, and
paternalistic. Unpaid work, like that
in the home, was undervalued.
We are uncertain about the effects
of factors such as globalization,
deindustrialization, and the digital
revolution have on the nature of
both paid and unpaid work
