At home in the workplace: The value of materiality for immaterial labor in Amsterdam

Abstract

In the post-Fordist economy, labor processes are increasingly organized around the valuation of immaterial labor. Even though it has been argued that immaterial labor is becoming less dependent on material space, this article addresses the question how the material organization of immaterial labor creates value in work and shows that immaterial labor is not without a materiality. In fact, new, networked labor socialities are strongly materialized in space. Ethnographic material collected in a coworking space in Amsterdam shows how membership of this space brings professional value to its members by providing them with a network and status. This professional value-creation finds its expression in the creation of a very domestic materiality and familial sociality. In order to benefit from the value of this space, members are required to contribute to this intimate lifestyle and thereby perform ‘immaterial labor’, which in turn adds value to the space itself. The material space in which work is performed thus becomes valuable through its immaterial attributes. However, this value is not accessible to all: the extreme inward domesticity and inclusivity turns into an outward exclusivity.