Quality of working life: comments on recent publications in english

Abstract

'Quality of working life' and 'humanisation of work' refer to a growing cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary 'domain' of research, development, experimentation and discussion on the place of work in life as a whole, on the nature and relation of men to machines, and on the internal and external environment of work in its physiological, social, technological, economic and political aspects. These activities are inevitably multi-disciplinary and use concepts of many kinds. The paper offers examples, with brief comments, of eleven overlapping sources of recent and relevant publications in English: (i) from social philosophers and commentators; (ii) from economists and others, on the impact of technological developments; (iii) field studies by social anthropologists; (iv) ergonomics and allied disciplines; (v) sociologists and psychologists with interests in industry; (vi) engineers and technologists; (vii) research groups concerned with work-reorganisation and allied matters; (viii) analyses of actual and potential legislation; (ix) industrial executives and management associations; (x) labour union writers; (xi) policy statements by governmental and para-governmental agencies. There are concluding comments on situations and factors which foster or hinder diffusion of successful developments in this field.