ABSTRACT Gender norms that dictate the societal behaviour of different genders hinder the labour force participation of women. The Indian state of Kerala presents a striking juxtaposition: despite being lauded for its advancements in gender and human development, the state continues to struggle with low female labour force participation, with only about one-third of the females participating in the labour force in Kerala. Against this context, the study investigates the relationship between gender norms and labour force participation in Kerala, as the state mirrors trends observed at the national level. The study uses primary data obtained through a questionnaire survey from 783 educated young individuals aged between 18 and 45 in Kerala. The primary data reveal that nearly 40% of the respondents hold a conservative view on gender norms concerning gender stereotypes and employment. The empirical estimates from multinomial logistic regression reveal that the labour force participation of individuals is associated with gender norms. The study emphasises the need for targeted policies aimed at expanding affordable childcare services and encouraging shared caregiving responsibilities within families to promote the labour force participation of women.

ABSTRACT The larger fraction of Indian population resides in its rural areas. The saturation point of agriculture has pushed most of these people out from the sector. As an axiom of developmental theory, the industrial sector is expected to employ the agrarian surplus labour. Industrialisation, however, is often considered to be a counterpart of urbanisation. The process of employment transition is expected to lead to rural–urban migration. The Indian population has been growing at a much higher rate than what the industry of capable of absorbing. At the same time, it is not possible for urban India to accommodate most of the rural population. As a solution to these multiple problems, the present study is an attempt to validate a case for the endorsement of rural industry in India. Using the Annual Survey of Industries data, the study takes a comparative approach towards the rural and urban industrialisation. The empirical evaluation validates an immediate need to endorse the rural Indian industry in order to help India develop sustainably in a time-bound manner utilising its human resource efficiently.

ABSTRACT This article subjects the work ethic that is discussed from the Weberian perspective, which attributes positive meanings to it in Türkiye, to a Marxist critique, and it aims to show how work is moralised for the working class during the different periods. The paper claims that this moralisation practice aligns the working class with the interests of the ruling class. In parallel with this aim and claim, document analysis is employed, which is a dimension of the qualitative research method. To demonstrate transformations in work ethic, a variety of sources have been used, including changes in labour policies, regulations related to working life, studies addressing moral transformations, and career planning course curricula that have become widespread in universities in recent years. Research and analysis reveal that the main themes are the Ahi work ethic based on contented teachings; working for the nation and homeland in line with modernisation and Westernisation; the sense of belonging to work created by the welfare state model; and the narratives of entrepreneurship, flexibility, and being one’s own boss, which are characteristic of the neoliberal era. In this sense, the paper invites scholars to evaluate work ethic from a different perspective.

ABSTRACT Using the context of critical mineral production, this article presents a research agenda for a reconceptualisation of mining labour – that is, the labour processes, workforces and spaces of work comprising the mining industry – in geography and industrial relations scholarship. Existing studies typically adopt a singular understanding of the workforce as comprising blue-collar trades and operator roles involved in the extraction of ore at mine sites. Thinking geographically about mining in the context of critical mineral production questions this approach. It spotlights the work of the professional science and research segments of the workforce, which takes place prior to or after the stage of ore extraction, in places often beyond the mine site, as also instrumental to the industry. The article thus advocates for a geographical approach which offers an expanded view of mining labour that more accurately represents the realities of the industry.

ABSTRACT This study examines the concept of job desperation among American employees, exploring the factors that contribute to it and its consequences, with a focus on understanding vocational behaviour. Based on a survey of 509 US employees, the research utilises the job desperation scale and additional measures to investigate its causes and outcomes. The findings indicate that dissatisfaction with salaries does not significantly predict job desperation. Instead, the study reveals a more profound psychological dimension, underscoring the growing importance of recognition and intrinsic value in work, particularly within a ‘liquid’ society. By addressing the psychological underpinnings of job desperation, this study offers a fresh perspective on workforce challenges in the modern US labour market. However, the sample’s specificity to US employees limits generalisability. Future research could expand on this by exploring cross-cultural perspectives and investigating diverse employment contexts.

ABSTRACT Studies of the implementation of flexible working arrangements have consistently underlined the importance for employees of supportive managers and the variability in access associated with high levels of managerial discretion. Less attention has been paid to the experiences of managers themselves and their perceptions of implementation barriers. This research examined managers’ allocation of part-time roles to allied health professionals returning to work after maternity leave in public hospitals in Queensland, Australia. In this context, where managerial discretion is constrained by government mandated provisions that are recognised as workplace entitlements, the issues most frequently reported by managers were increased managerial workloads and difficulties balancing employee requests with service delivery imperatives. Implementing part-time work was largely perceived as a disruption to the organisation of work. In part, this reflects embedded occupational practices that impede flexibility in allied health professions; it also underlines the limits to organisational support for effective implementation despite formal promotion of flexible working arrangements. A deeper understanding of these barriers is needed if flexible working arrangements are to be effectively implemented.

ABSTRACT Tea garden workers in Sylhet, Bangladesh, face severe socioeconomic challenges rooted in meagre income, undermining their quality of life and perpetuating generational poverty. This study explored the structural causes and consequences that hinder their development and sustain this cycle. Using a qualitative design and thematic analysis, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 25 tea workers of diverse genders and roles, along with key informant interviews and non-participant observation. Findings show that workers experience systemic deprivation, marked by low wages, limited job alternatives, and lack of assets. They are denied land rights, healthcare, and basic services like safe water and sanitation. High illiteracy among workers restricts children’s educational prospects. Coping strategies include revolving debt, skipping meals, underfeeding, traditional treatments, and child labour in gardens. Frequent borrowing from government and NGOs traps them in a recurring “debt cycle” and “poverty trap.” Addressing these structural barriers and ensuring access to essential resources are vital to breaking generational poverty. The study concludes that comprehensive, targeted policies and interventions are essential to build a more equitable and sustainable future for this marginalised group.

ABSTRACT This article aims to explore how the transition from traditional to industrial modes of production takes place in the weaving sector in Gaziantep, Turkey. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with weaving masters, a factory owner, a manager, and a designer. We integrate institutional logics and practice architecture theory, using it as both an empirical and theoretical lens to analyse how production space, including working relations, conditions, job satisfaction, and the production tools’ transformation occur and is experienced in practice. We argue that the transition to industrial production is a negotiated process through which a hybrid production space is created where different logics coexist. Practice architectures occasionally preserve the practice memory associated with cultural patterns, perpetuating traditional discourses, actions, and relationships, while at other practices aligning them with market logic. The analysis shows that while production space, tools, conditions, and job satisfaction are reshaped by market and bureaucratic logic; recruitment, job learning, skills, and control remain informed by traditional ways through family, institutional and community logic. In this sense, we move beyond linear narratives of industrialisation and consider transformation as a hybrid process enabling and constraining what is done, said, and related through interconnected material-economic, cultural-discursive, and social-political arrangements.

ABSTRACT This article uncovers an underexplored phenomenon observed in managerial – employee exchanges within the service sector: emotional exploitation. Drawing on ethnographic insights from the public house industry, it explores how managers deploy emotion-inducing tactics to seduce lower-echelon workers into accepting unfavourable working conditions. Crucially, such consent is not always manufactured by management; processes of self-seduction - where workers consent through self-persuasion – also play a central role. Emotional exploitation, this paper argues, is a routine feature of pub work, shaped by fluctuating emotional intensities, surplus or shortages of staff, and the affective pull of collegial relationships. It further examines how low-paid workers both heed and resist the mechanisms of (self-)seduction. In doing so, it extends analysis of emotional labour within labour control strategies, adds to the theory of manufacturing consent, and deepens the understanding of the commodification of emotion under capitalism – highlighting how (self-)seduction further alienates workers from aspects of the self.