Labor Sociology Research Articles

Sociology of professions – situation and prospects (round table)

The «round table» discussed the problems of sociology of professions and the prospects for a relatively new section in the journal «Sociological Studies» in the year of the anniversary of the journal. The discussion focuses on the analysis of the subject and object of this discipline, its theoretical and methodological foundations, issues of modern problems of the discipline, the most promising research areas, the specifics of its existence in Russian sociology. The most significant aspects of the sociology of professions subject area are related to the professional activity, the interaction of professionals and professional communities with the state, society, and the market. Attention is paid to the analysis of the discipline origins, the adaptation of its conceptual and methodological approaches: developments in the national sociology of labour, employment and management, studies of the intelligentsia, approaches of sociology, anthropology, ethnography of professions, and other disciplines played an important role. Contradictions in the development of sociology of professions theoretical and methodological explanatory models, as well as research directions, are also shown. It is noted that despite the long-term crisis of the discipline, its potential in the study of modern processes in the field of labor and employment, social policy, and the formation of professional communities is still high. Participants: Roman N. ABRAMOV, Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof. of Sociology Department, Leading Researcher of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, HSE University; Leading Researcher Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow (rabramov@hse.ru, socioportal@yandex.ru); Elena R. IARSKAIA-SMIRNOVA, Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Рrof., Head of International Laboratory of Social Integration Research, HSE University, Moscow (elena.iarskaia@gmail.com; eiarskaia@hse.ru); Valeriy A.MANSUROV, Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Chief Researcher, Head of the Sector of Sociology of Professions and Professional Groups, Institute of Sociology of FСТAS, Moscow (mansurov@isras.ru); Aleksandra A. MOSKOVSKAYA, Cand. Sci. (Econ.), Director, Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Studies, HSE University, Moscow (amoskovskaya@hse.ru); Irina P. POPOVA, Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow (irina_popova@list.ru); Natalya N. STARTSEVA, Cand. Sci. (Soc.), Assoc. Prof., Ural State University of Railway Transport, Yekaterinburg (NStarceva@usurt.ru); Olesya V. YURCHENKO, Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), PhD, Senior Researcher of the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow (olesya@mail.ru). All – Russia.

Changes in the problem and subject field of labor sociology against the backdrop of the time challenges (Based on publications in the journal “Sociological Studies” over 50 years)

Trends in the problem and subject field of labor sociology were identified by referring to the Sociological Studies journal publications for 1974–2023. An array of 351 articles on labor sociology was selected for qualitative and quantitative content analysis. Eleven problematic subject areas of research were identified by the criterion of the leading target of the article’s text. Fourtime frames in Russian society and economic development over the past 50 years have been distinguished to identify the time challenges that vary in content. Each period was provided with a brief description of the content of the research problem and subject areas, as well as interpretations thereof with due consideration of the time challenges. Analysis of the publications permitted to reveal that by the criteria of how frequent and stable the sociologists’ referrals to the selected areas have been, the core, the margins, and the mobile realm may be identified in the Russian sociology of labor. The core is formed by the areas related to the studies of labor attitudes, labor incentives, labor values, employee behavior, and job satisfaction. The areas – whose principal object of study is labor itself, along with its role and significance in both the society and the employees’ values as well as social problems of work at the enterprise – are adjacent to the core. The margins are formed by rare areas of research such as the workers’ capacity to act, manifestations of independence and involvement in the organization’s affairs, problems of the socioeconomic standing of workers and degree of labor protection, labor culture, shortage and reproduction of workers. The mobile realm of labor sociology is composed by the areas treated generally depending on the context of time and the aggravation of particular problem situations (labor organization, labor relations, precarity of labor, etc). We observed adequate coverage of the critical time challenges in publications in all those time frames; however, that coverage was reactive and appeared to lack forward-looking ideas that are ahead of theory and practice.

LABOR VALUES IN THE PERCEPTION OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION IN THE CONDITIONS OF DIGITALIZATION

The purpose of the article is to explore the perception of work values as a marker of identity by the millennial generation in the context of the global digitalization of society. The millennial generation, being a significant part of the country’s economically active population, demonstrates its understanding of decent work, expressed in work preferences and value orientations, which, in turn, serves to determine the identity of this age group. Digitalization has contributed to the development and diversification of the employment sector by offering alternative forms, which has greatly changed the understanding of decent work. Based on data from a sociological study of formalized interviews among representatives of the millennial generation (n = 300), the key components of work values and their influence on the professional activity of representatives of the generation being studied were identified. The desire of millennials for career growth and professional self-improvement as the main labor value has been established; we can talk about a balance between external and internal labor orientations. It was revealed that an integral part of decent work for them is the presence of an expanded social package, including voluntary health insurance (VHI), and flexible work schedules. Millennials demonstrate high adaptability to changing conditions of the labor market and openness to innovation in organizing the labor process, which is manifested in a preference for remote forms of employment, opportunities for retraining and development. In the future, it is possible to study the attitudes towards work of millennials and centennials from a comparative perspective. The results of the article are of interest to those specializing in the field of sociology of labor and sociology of youth. The sociological research data can be used in the practical organization of labor activities to optimize personnel management and create a corporate culture that meets the needs of the new generation of workers.

Work in a changing world: transformations in the labor sphere and the focus of new research (round table)

On the eve of the anniversary of the journal, issues of studying labor and labor relations in our country are discussed, including their coverage in the journal. Specialists in the field of labor sociology give varying assessments not only of the previous period of the discipline’s development, but also evaluate its prospects, discussing the undeservedly forgotten names of predecessors and their ideas. The peculiarity of the national sociology of labor development is noted, which, despite the lackibg independent theories as well as ideas ahead of practice, over the past fifty years has always adequately responded to the challenges and demands of its time, fulfilling social orders. Methodological questions are raised about the difficulties of studying social and labor relations, lack of conceptual elaboration of the conceptual apparatus, and the measurements difficulties in the labor sphere are discussed. Important aspects of prospective research in this direction are discussed.

The Ruse of Recognition: Black Labor in the Afterlife of Slavery

Given the abolitionism professed by successive labor leaders in the years following the U.S. Civil War, why did the cause of interracial solidarity fail to gain traction in postbellum organized labor? Drawing on archival and secondary data on the encounter of Black and White labor from Reconstruction to the turn of the twentieth century, we trace the failure of interracial solidarity to the labor movement’s refusal to reckon institutionally with what Hartman calls the “nonevent of emancipation” and the “afterlife of slavery” for Black populations. Enslaved artisans dominated the skilled trades before the war, and White unions emerged correspondingly to exclude Black labor. When, after the Civil War, the formerly enslaved began to argue that they were being excluded from unions, White labor used emancipation as an anti-Black discursive technology to deny those claims. White labor also employed violence to exclude Black people from the labor movement. By addressing the research puzzle in this way, we offer a novel synthesis of Black studies and the sparse but important body of work on the sociology of slavery to reframe the mainstream approach to interracial solidarity in the sociology of labor and labor movements.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Class Inequalities within the British Documentary Film Industry

While there is a considerable amount of scholarship and grey literature about social exclusions within the UK cultural industries, the sociology of cultural labour has paid little attention to documentary film-making as a relatively elitist occupation that is maintained by systemic inequalities. Based on semi-structured interviews with several independent documentary film-makers about their own labouring subjectivities, and qualitative analysis of relevant academic literature and cultural policies, this article critically explores how class inequalities are understood, reproduced, negotiated or resisted within contemporary British documentary film-making. The research findings demonstrate that documentarians from socially disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to face significant obstacles in the film-making sector than their privileged counterparts. While the majority of respondents are aware of structural disadvantages, champion more inclusive forms of creativity and are committed to improving discriminatory working conditions, a small number of participants believe that the social relations of documentary film production are meritocratic, can be characterised by their celebration of neoliberal values and a willingness to defend the industry's employment practices. The article concludes with a series of recommendations for creative organisations, government and policymakers.

Conflicting demands and emotional labour: Balancing and swapping at the front line of the welfare state

This article combines insights from the sociology of emotional labour with works on conflicting demands facing employees to analyse how frontline staff conduct emotional labour in contexts marked by multifaceted demands facing them. It demonstrates the usefulness of this combination through an analysis of group interviews with frontline staff within Danish job centres, who are currently explicitly instructed to display sincere belief in the job prospects of clients, while also representing a disciplining activation system marked by conditionality. The article contributes to existing literature through an elaboration of two concepts – ‘balancing’ and ‘swapping’ – describing forms of emotional labour conducted by frontline staff in a work setting characterized by conflicting demands. The former is about striking a balance between the wants of the client and the wants of the system while sustaining clients’ feelings of motivation. The latter is about enabling oneself to encounter clients in ways which are personalized and informal, within the contours of a system marked by bureaucratic logics and language.

Vybrané aspekty veřejné sociologie

This article explores the concept of public sociology, its origins, theoretical foundations, and its intersections with Czech social thought. The suppression of sociology as a whole during the communist regime is discussed as a backdrop to the emergence of public sociology. The foundational definition of public sociology by Michael Burawoy is introduced, along with his key work „For Public Sociology“ (Burawoy 2005a), which sparked discussions and established a prominent direction in sociological thinking. Burawoy‘s division of sociological labour and his eleven theses are highlighted, focusing on the first three theses. The development and reception of public sociology are discussed, including its expansion into fields like ethnography, international relations, and philosophy. The significance of comparing public sociology in different national contexts is noted. Various figures of Czech social thought, including Rádl, Mertl, and Fajfr but also F. Peroutka, are presented as potential contributors to public sociology. The tension between traditional and organic public sociology, as well as its connections to political and philosophical ideas, are analyzed. The relevance of public sociology in bridging the gap between academia and society is underlined. The interplay between professionalism, neutrality, and engagement in sociological work is examined, reflecting Burawoy‘s arguments. Overall, the article provides insights into the theoretical underpinnings of public sociology, its historical context, and its potential contributions to contemporary sociological discourse.

The TA Time Bind: The Arrhythmic Dilemmas of Research and Teaching

The labor of teaching assistants (TAs), as full-time students and part-time teachers, faces a “time bind.” Although research and teaching together compose graduate school for TAs, through this ethnography of TAing I argue these domains tend toward arrhythmia. Research and teaching engage distinct work rhythms that persistently interrupt one another, rendering individualized, improvisational coordination an organizing principle of TAing. Coordination is complicated by the commitment to research and teaching as meaningful projects. The autonomy to develop a projection of good teaching “responsibilizes” TAs, channeling surplus effort to teaching. I highlight preparatory work like lesson planning as a crucial site through which to understand the competing coordinative and projective pressures of TAing. I close by outlining some implications of arrhythmia for contemporary US higher education and for the sociology of labor.

Work and welfare transformations in the climate crisis: A research pathway towards an ecological, just transition

In this introduction to the special issue of Sociologia del lavoro, devoted to labour transformations and welfare policies in the context of the ecological crisis, the authors review the state of the debate, focusing on three emerging concepts: climate justice, just transition and sustainable welfare. They provide an analysis of the academic and non-academic contexts in which these concepts have emerged and the kinds of programmatic questions that they raise for the study of labour transformations, social movements and welfare policies. After discussing how the collected contributions operationalise the three concepts in different empirical and research contexts, the article outlines some critical gaps that warrant being addressed or explored further and propose a few methodological and analytical pointers that are useful for the continuation of the debate and, thus, the growth of a field of analysis that is destined to occupy a major space in the sociology of labour.

The New Labor Activism, a New Labor Sociology

This symposium issue of Work and Occupations on “The New Labor Activism” develops a new generation of labor sociology research for comprehending and sustaining the contemporary labor mobilization in the U.S., the largest labor mobilization since the 1930s. The symposium responds to the question raised in the June, 2022 report of the Worker Empowerment Research Network about the sustainability of the new labor activism. The symposium essays focus on the themes of “history,” “intersectionality,” “worker agency,” and “hierarchy” and continue the post-World War II transition of the field from a union-centered toward a worker-centered labor sociology.

ПОВЫШЕНИЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ЭКОНОМИКИ РОССИИ КАК КЛЮЧЕВАЯ ТЕМА V ГАСТЕВСКИХ ЧТЕНИЙ 2022 Г.

In today’s unstable, rapidly changing world, scientists are making a significant contribution to the search for ways to improve the efficiency of the Russian economy. At the regular 5th Gastev Conference, studies by scientists and practitioners from different cities of Russia were presented. Gastev Conference traditionally attract researchers from a wide variety of fields in scientific knowledge. The topics of the reports concerned historical and cultural concepts, sociology of labor, legal, economic and managerial approaches, improving the effectiveness of marketing and the high- performance sports

"CONTROL" AND "CONSENSUS" REVISITED: TWO PATHS TO A NATIVE POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY OF LABOR

Resumo Neste artigo exploro as possibilidades abertas pelas contribuições de Luc Boltanski e coautores e de Pierre Dardot e Christian Laval para o repertório analítico da sociologia do trabalho brasileira, tratando-as no interior do debate sobre o “processo de trabalho”, de grande relevo na sociologia nacional e internacional dos anos 1970 e 1980. O caminho construído foi o de utilizar as categorias de “controle” e de “consentimento”, típicas daquele debate, enquanto chaves de análise das contribuições contemporâneas. O artigo persegue um duplo objetivo: 1) explicitar como os autores comentados podem contribuir para tornar cada uma das noções mais afiadas para a análise do processo de trabalho contemporâneo, na medida em que seus argumentos sobre a produção de acordos (Boltanski e coautores) e sobre a “subsunção subjetiva” do trabalho ao capital (Dardot e Laval) podem ser lidos como desdobramentos de tais categorias; e 2) apontar as sociologias políticas que derivam da adoção do “controle” ou do “consentimento” como elemento central da análise do processo de trabalho.

Sociological analysis of the dynamics of socio-psychological well-being of medical workers in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic

The article presents the results of a sociological survey of medical workers conducted in 2022 by the staff of the Karaganda Medical University and Karaganda State University. Buketova E.A. Labor peculiarities and socio-psychological well-being of medical workers have always been in the focus of such a direction of modern science as the sociology of labor and professions, since medicine is the most important socially significant sphere of society. The object of the study were doctors, medical staff of hospitals and polyclinics, college and university students with experience in covid hospitals. The purpose of the study is to analyze the process of dynamics of changes in the structure of the ethos of medical workers under the influence of work experience in a pandemic and to study the socio-psychological well-being, the level of satisfaction with various aspects of work and life on the basis of a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach (sociological questionnaires, for the development of which the author's certificate was obtained by the research team, using the Google platform in online format, content analysis of statements of medical workers, psychological testing). According to the survey, according to the estimates of medical workers in the conditions of a pandemic, the role and importance of medicine in modern states has increased significantly, issues of the quality of medical services and the system of incentives for work have become particularly acute. In these conditions of increasing external and internal challenges in relation to this important profession, the issues of preserving and reproducing the professional ethos of medical workers become closely related to solving the problem of preserving the optimal socio-psychological well-being of medical workers, the level of satisfaction with working conditions and results. The study of this issue makes it possible to prepare for possible repetitions of such situations, to assess them in real time, to coordinate the work of medical workers in extreme conditions of the development of a medical and social situation in the necessary way.  Keywords: ethos, professional values and norms, COVID-19, healthcare, medicine, medical workers, socio-psychological well-being, anxiety level, corporate culture.

Is Russian Sociology of Labor Ready to Respond to New Challenges? (Analytical Review of Two Scientific Conferences)

This article provides an analytical review of two major conferences on sociology of labor, held in December of 2021 and March of 2022. The central problem was the precarity of work and the situation of employees given conditions of unstable employment caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The thematic continuity of the events made it possible to realize the persistence and scale of the precarity phenomenon both as a topic of sociological knowledge and as a social problem. In particular, it is shown that precarious work, being intrinsic to an increasing number of people of various professions, warps not only the social role of the employee, but also undermines the role of work as the value- and meaning-forming framework of human life. The empirical data presented by the speakers proved that precarious employment is becoming a new form of exploitation, since it means a relatively low price of labor, a decline in an employee’s qualifications, a limited number of social guarantees, vulnerability in crisis situations. Remote work, something that has become widespread during the pandemic, has brought about not only certain advantages for both the employee and the company (efficiency, saving time and other resources, advanced training in the field of information technology), but also new forms of exploitation (extending the work day, using personal and familial resources for work, etc.). The article closes with conclusions regarding the potential demand for the theoretical, methodological and applied aspects of the scientific discussions held when it comes to counteracting the precarization of employment and labor relations.

Budimir Gvidonovich Tukumtsev: the unusual name – the unusual fate (coincided with the 95th anniversary of his birth)

Budimir Gvidonovich Tukumtsev would have turned 95 years old on the 1st of January 2022. This man is a legend of the Russian social science, due to the fact, that he has made an invaluable contribution to the formation of the labour sociology in our country. The purpose of this article is to familiarize the readers with the personal qualities and the main stages of the life path, as well as with the academic interests of a famous scientist. Conclusions are drawn regarding the reasons for the wide recognition in the scientific community sphere and success within the scope of teaching and scientific activities.

Learning the post-Fordist feeling rules: Young women’s work orientations and negotiations of the work ethic

Even though flexibility, insecurity and precarity characterise much of today’s work, the promise of self-realisation through work remains as powerful as ever. Following Weeks’ work on the post-Fordist work ethic and Hochschild’s research on feeling rules, this article analyses how young women negotiate the post-Fordist work ethic and its emotional obligations. Drawing on interviews with 39 young women studying in the care and media fields in Finland, the article proposes the conceptualisation of post-Fordist feeling rules as a way to capture how young women become workers by managing contemporary work’s emotional requirements and contradictions. This article adds to the sociology of youth and labour in the post-Fordist era by foregrounding the role of feelings in the production of youth as workers and unpacking the post-Fordist work ethic’s gendered, industry-specific and emotional dimensions.

The Fitting Process

Amid a general trend toward the informalization of employment, the globalizing sector of high-end hospitality services creates a limited number of formal employment opportunities for manual workers in specific locations with large pools of potential recruits. This paper examines the hiring criteria and recruitment process for waiting staff positions at an international luxury hotel in coastal Vietnam. Data collected through interviews and observation suggest that particularly young, taller-than-average, fair-complexioned candidates with foreign-language skills and the financial resources to compensate local brokers through traditional gift-giving rituals are more likely to get formal jobs. Aspiring formal employees perform work on their bodies and outfit to meet these requirements—a process we call “fitting.” The paper makes a contribution to the sociology of labor markets and to the understanding of access to formal employment in the context of globalization.

Sociology of Labour and Human Resource Management

Sociology of Labour and Human Resource Management

Ukrainian Sociology of Perestroikatimes: Reconstruction of Restoration Processes

The article is devoted to the stages and specifics of the formation of Ukrainian sociology in the period of perestroika. In particular, it is determined that in the era of “perestroika”, domestic sociology consisted of four conventional segments: scientific-academic, scientific-university, factory, and party-ideological. Each of them had its own structural and organizational construction and was characterized by a specific dominant area of activity: theoretical and academic sociology, applied (in the field of social planning, sociology of labor, management), sociology of education and ideological activities. The article notes that, although formally domestic sociology has become an independent, legitimized at the state level scientific discipline, focused on socio-cultural problems of the population, only after the country gained independence in 1991, it inherited the experience of previous generations of sociologists and relied on it, while being inextricably linked with the historical transformations that took place in the course of the national revival. The fact that for a long time Ukrainian sociology was formed as a part of the general Soviet sociology has a negative consequence; in particular, there is still no understanding of this science by the society. Thus, the lack of objective information about the real capability of sociological science, public ignorance of the value of sociological knowledge (including the example of foreign experience of developed countries) led to a distorted perception of the general concept of “sociology”, the emergence of widespread stereotypes about sociology as public opinion polls on certain issues.