Changing Contours of Work : Jobs and Opportunities in the New Economy

by Stephen Sweet

• ISBN13: 9781412990868
• ISBN10: 1412990866
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-12
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

In the highly-anticipated second edition of Changing Contours of Work: Jobs and Opportunities in the New Economy, authors Sweet and Meiskins once again provide a rich analysis of the American workplace in the larger context of an integrated global economy. Through engaging vignettes and rich data, this text frames the development of jobs and employment opportunities in an international comparative perspective, revealing the historical transformations of work and identifying the profound effects that these changes have had on lives, jobs, and life chances. This text brings into focus the many complexities of class, race, and gender inequalities in the modern-day workplace, as well as details the consequences of job insecurity and work schedules mismatched to family needs. Throughout, strategic recommendations are offered that could help make the new economy work for us all.

Table of Contents

List of Exhibits	p. ix
About the Authors	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
Mapping the Contours of Work	p. 1
Scenes From the New Economy	p. 3
Culture and Work	p. 7
Structure and Work	p. 12
Class Structures	p. 13
Job Markets and Job Demands	p. 14
Demography and the New Labor Force	p. 17
Agency and Careers	p. 19
Conclusion	p. 21
New Products, New Ways of Working, and the New Economy	p. 23
A Postindustrial Society?	p. 24
The End of Mass Production?	p. 26
New Skills?	p. 30
Interactive Service Work	p. 30
High-Tech Work	p. 33
New Cultures of Control?	p. 35
The End of Organized Labor?	p. 40
A New Global Economy?	p. 45
Conclusion	p. 47
Economic Inequality, Social Mobility, and the New Economy	p. 49
Are Economic Divides Narrowing or Widening in the United States?	p. 50
Are Career Pathways Opening or Closing?	p. 56
Missing Rungs in the Ladder	p. 58
Entry Points: Securing the Good Job in Young Adulthood	p. 61
Is the Global Economy Becoming More Flat or Bumpy?	p. 63
Conclusion	p. 72
Whose Jobs Are Secure?	p. 75
Risk and Work: Historical and Comparative Views	p. 76
How Insecure Are Workers in the New Economy?	p. 81
The Costs of Job Loss and Insecurity	p. 87
Responding to Insecurity: Old and New Careers	p. 91
Conclusion	p. 96
A Fair Day's Work? The Intensity and Scheduling of Jobs in the New Economy	p. 99
Time, Intensity, and Work	p. 100
How Long Are We Working? Comparative Frameworks	p. 103
Working Long, Working Hard	p. 110
Why Are Americans Working So Much?	p. 112
Nonstandard Schedules: Jobs in a 24/7 Economy	p. 116
How Americans Deal With Overwork	p. 119
Conclusion	p. 122
Gender Chasms in the New Economy	p. 125
When Did Home Work Become Nonwork?	p. 126
Women's Participation in the Paid Labor Force in America	p. 129
Gender Inequalities in Compensation	p. 132
Socialization, Career Selection, and Career Paths	p. 134
Interpersonal Discrimination in the Workplace	p. 141
Structural Dimensions of Gender Discrimination	p. 148
The Devaluation of Women's Work	p. 148
How Job Designs Discriminate	p. 150
Strategies to Bridge the Care Gaps: International Comparisons	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 159
Race, Ethnicity, and Work: Legacies of the Past, Problems in the Present	p. 161
Histories of Race, Ethnicity, and Work	p. 162
African American Exceptionality	p. 162
The Immigrant Experience	p. 164
The Magnitude of Racial Inequality in the New Economy	p. 167
Intergenerational Transmission of Resources	p. 170
Race, Ethnicity, and Economic Capital	p. 171
Race, Ethnicity, and Human Capital	p. 172
Race, Ethnicity, and Social Capital	p. 174
Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Capital	p. 176
Geographic Distribution of Race and Work Opportunity	p. 178
Racial Prejudice and Discrimination	p. 181
Racialized Jobs	p. 184
Race, Ethnicity, and Work; Social Policy	p. 185
Affirmative Action	p. 185
Immigration Policy	p. 187
Conclusion	p. 192
Reshaping the Contours of the New Economy	p. 195
Opportunity Chasms	p. 195
Class Chasms	p. 195
Gender Chasms	p. 197
Racial and Ethnic Chasms	p. 198
International Chasms	p. 199
The Agents of Change	p. 201
The Role of Individuals	p. 201
The Role of Activist Groups	p. 203
The Role of Organized Labour	p. 205
The Role of Employers	p. 209
The Role of Government	p. 213
The Role of International Organizations	p. 218
Conclusion	p. 222
Appendix: Legislative and Regulatory Timeline of Worker Rights and Protections in the United States	p. 225
References	p. 231
Index	p. 265
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