Middle Working Class Research Articles

The Analysis of Natural Disaster Risk Impact on Labor Market Outcomes: Does It Lead to Middle-Class Workers Decrease?

Indonesia, as a country that is progressing towards an upper middle-income country, is facing a high incidence of disasters. Understanding how disasters impact living standards is still relatively difficult due to the lack of relevant studies in the literature. Therefore, the study aims to analyze the likelihood of individuals who were in areas with a high risk of disaster becoming middle-class workers. In this study, the incidence of disasters is represented by the disaster risk index, which comprises three components, namely the hazard, vulnerability, and capacity components in each province and regency/city based on the definition carried out by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). By using logistics methods, this study found that individuals living in areas with a high risk of disaster tend to have a lower chance of becoming middle-class workers. In overcoming the labor market challenges faced by regions with high disaster risk, careful policy steps are needed that focus on strengthening capacity and reducing the risk of high investment costs. Enhancing disaster-resistant infrastructure and community networks as well as improving access to social protection services and promoting economic recovery are priorities.

Personal Taxes and Firm Skill Hiring: Evidence from 27 Million Job Postings

Using big data on U.S. job postings, we show that firms increase skill requirements when hiring workers in states that cut personal income taxes. We trace a significant driver of this effect to companies’ reallocation of skilled job postings across states based on tax differentials. The tax-induced upskilling is observed within occupations and is more pronounced for high-skill positions within firms. It is accompanied and amplified by concurrent increases in information technology expenditures at local-level establishments. In characterizing the mechanism at play, we show that job upskilling is triggered by tax changes affecting middle- and upper middle-class workers. It is pronounced for high-growth firms, for firms in tradable industries, and in urban areas, but it is mitigated among profitable firms. A narrative-based analysis helps us establish causal inferences. This paper was accepted by Victoria Ivashina, finance. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01211 .

The White Lotus TV Series Season 2: Deconstructing Italians Stereotypes

Modern mass media serve as both a "magic window" into the world and a "door" to new ideas. It is important to look at how the steady growth of media affects the way racial and cultural stereotypes are pushed forward. Stereotypes themselves can influence how people view facts and social events and one of many examples of stereotypes is Italian stereotypes. This study analyzes HBO's popular series, The White Lotus season two, employing Fairclough's model critical discourse analysis to deconstruct Italian stereotypes through the characters' portrayals. This study also examines the sociocultural aspect and physical appearances of the Italian characters portrayed by American television. The findings of this study show the physical portrayal of Italians mostly they have the same features and are known for their fashion sense and attention to appearance. Moreover, Italian characters are portrayed with speak loudly and having the urge to cause some disturbance. The last stereotype is quite expected but debatable, which is the portrayal of Italians being middle-class workers and mafia. This stereotype had some audience feeling disappointed and others pleased enough. Western films' mafia stereotypes could affect how people learn about the culture, and think all Italians are dangerous, poor, and do drugs. Mafias exist and should not define Italian identity, especially in mainstream media.

Stuck between the ideal worker and the bread winner: experiences of motherhood and work during the COVID-19 pandemic in India

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the experiences of middle-class working mothers from the ITES (Information Technology Enabled Service) sector in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their experiences of work from home are studied in the backdrop of the ideal worker model at work and the adult worker model at home. Further, the study aims to identify the need for sustainable, inclusive practices for working mothers in Indian organizations to break the male breadwinner model in middle-class households.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach to collect data from 39 middle-class mothers working in MNCs in four metro cities in India. The semi-structured, in-depth interviews focused on their experiences of motherhood, care and work before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsThe pandemic made it evident that the ideal worker model in organizations and the adult worker model at home were illusions for working mothers. The results indicate a continued obligation of the “ideal worker culture” at organizations, even during the health crisis. It made the working mothers realize that they were chasing both the (ideal worker and adult worker) norms but could never achieve them. Subsequently, the male breadwinner model was reinforced at home due to the matrix of motherhood, care and work during the pandemic. The study concludes by arguing the reconstruction of the ideal worker image to make workplaces more inclusive for working mothers.Originality/valueThe study is placed in the context of Indian middle-class motherhood during the pandemic, a demography less explored in the literature. The paper puts forth various myths constituting the gendered realities of Indian middle-class motherhood. It also discusses sustainable, inclusive workplace practices for mothers from their future workplaces' standpoint, especially in post-pandemic times.

Access Amplified

This article focuses on a 1968 documentary radio series titled Seeds of Discontent and a recently established archival collection that centers on it. Created by Hartford Smith Jr., a Black social worker and professor in Detroit, and distributed by the National Educational Radio Network, Seeds of Discontent started with his concern over mass media’s coverage of riots and the social problems that caused them. Through interviews with college student activists, families living in poverty, teachers frustrated by the failings of the education system, middle-class workers, incarcerated youth, and many others, Smith used the series to explore the roots of social problems facing the United States, with frequent attention to the challenges and experiences of Black people living in Detroit, as well as possible solutions. By speaking to the people affected by social problems instead of the experts usually consulted in mass media, Smith’s ethos of access emphasizes the idea that the distance between media organizations and media professionals and the public whose circumstances and histories are being mediated is limiting, exacerbating the impact of the already-sown seeds of discontent at the core of societal structural issues. More than 50 years later, this commitment to access continued as Smith requested that the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) make his collection broadly accessible. This article outlines Smith’s approach in Seeds of Discontent and the story of the collection as a case study on the possibilities and challenges of access in contemporary archives.

The Politics of Time: The Political Origins of Working-Time Regulation

AbstractTowards the end of the nineteenth century, leisure was reserved for the few. By the end of the twentieth century, however, most workers had a regulated normal working time of 40 or fewer hours per week, annual paid leave, and overtime compensation. In this paper, I investigate which political parties brought forth these changes – which party constellations supported or opposed working-time reforms and argue that sector and class differences drive party preferences. Lower-class and urban middle-class workers demanded regulation as demand for leisure increased with income. In contrast, employers and farmers opposed such reforms. Accordingly, the study argues that socialist and social-liberal parties were inclined to support leisure-securing working-time reforms, whereas conservative and farmer parties opposed them. Due to their linkages with workers and farmers, liberal parties may be divided into a rural constituency that tends to oppose working-time reforms and an urban constituency that supports them. I test these expectations using parliamentary data: 65 roll-call votes from Norway between 1880 and 1940, combined with analysis of major reforms and legislative appeals. Finally, I undertake a generalization test using country-level reform data from 33 democracies between 1880 and 2010. Results generally fall in line with expectations, and the pattern is stable over time.

Higher Education in Post-Neoliberal Times: Building Human Capabilities in the Emergent Period of Uncertainty

This paper argues that the neoliberal consensus about education finance has broken down due to growing economic inequality. First, I use a comparative historical analysis of political alliances to examine patterns of world trade and nations’ policies for economic and educational development since World War II. The United States emphasized STEM-collegiate preparation for all students, while most countries continued the dual emphasis on technical-tertiary and higher education. Educational policy in the US and Pacific region also shifted towards a reliance on markets and student loans resulting in worsening economic inequality in access. Nations with dual technical and academic pathways in secondary and postsecondary education systems expand college enrollment rates more rapidly than the US. They also experience class conflict between the working–middle class and the new technological elite. Next, I examine how education policy shifted from national planning aligned with public funding to market-based incentives for institutional development, further exposing gaps in opportunity within nations. Finally, recognizing the variations in systemic causes of inequality, I argue that governments, education agencies, and civic activists can best promote equity by organizing to address barriers to opportunity for groups left behind in the wake of withering neoliberal education policy.

Youths and their probability to enter middle-class jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia

ABSTRACT While the middle class has historically served as an engine for economic growth, Indonesia’s performance in encouraging the growth of middle-class jobs is still relatively low. This is also the case for youth, which is considered to have a crucial role in economic development. This study examines the possibility for young people to enter middle-class jobs in Indonesia, as well as the socioeconomic factors which may be driving the process. Using the 2015 and 2020 National Labor Force Surveys (Sakernas), our findings show that youth groups have a lower chance of becoming middle-class workers, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, interestingly, the study finds that the chance of some youth subgroups – in particular young males – of becoming middle-class workers during the pandemic is greater than during previous periods. Other characteristics that can increase youth opportunities of becoming middle-class workers are being male, being married, having higher education, and living in an urban area. In addition, there are four dominant sectors in supporting middle-class jobs for youth, namely mining, financial services, industry, and transportation.

Mass Transportation Mode Income Analysis Bus Rapid Transit Transjakarta

Jakarta is the largest metropolitan city in Indonesia, with a current population of 10,609,681 people. The higher population in Jakarta is positively correlated with the higher demand for efficient and effective land transportation services. One of the land-transport provided by the Jakarta government is Bus Rapid Transit. The types of bus services available in Jakarta currently serve short-distance routes, with most users being middle-class workers. The problem faced by this bus service is that special lanes are often used by other road users, thus slowing down the vehicle. Bus Rapid Transit currently available is a local government service to improve the regional economy. This study uses a quantitative approach with correlation and multiple linear regression methods and analytical tools in the form of SPSS to measure the relationship between variables and ArcGIS Pro to analyze spatial data. The results obtained indicate that there are variables that affect the revenue of TransJakarta, where these variables have a simultaneous effect of 99.9% on the revenue of the TransJakarta Bus Rapid Transit. The revenue generated from this sector can be reused to improve facilities and services in the transportation sector and other related fields.

“If Something Were to Happen”: Communicative Practices of Resilience in the Management of Work-Life Precarity

A substantial body of literature considers the experience of precarious work in market economies. Only recently, however, have scholars of work begun to consider the impact of precarity in the workplace on work-life interrelationships. This study contributes to that research and expands its focus beyond the form of precarity represented by job insecurity to other forms of precarity that inhere in the management of work-life interrelationships for working families in industrialized nations. Taking a communication as constitutive of work-life interrelationships perspective, we identify four forms of precarity in middle class working mothers’ accounts of work-life, and then examine how these forms are communicatively managed through classed and gendered discursive and material/technological practices of resilience. Using Weick’s organizational sensemaking model, in particular his notion of “partial inclusion,” we discuss the implications that individuals’ practices of resilience to manage work-life precarity have for the individual-organization relationship among middle class working mothers.

Insider–Outsider Politics and Support for Universal Health Coverage in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

When and why does the public support redistributive policies that seek to provide social risk protection through universal health financing? One central political dilemma in establishing systems of universal health coverage (UHC) in low- and middle-income countries is the small tax base available to contribute to pooled financing of healthcare. Middle-class workers in the formal sector (labor market insiders) may already get health coverage through the state or private insurers, leaving them little incentive to contribute to UHC that will primarily benefit indigent workers in the informal sector (labor market outsiders). Applying the insider–outsider politics framework, we explore attitudes toward UHC using recent data from Afrobarometer surveys in 36 countries in Sub-Saharan and North Africa. We find that, in spite of growing attention to universal coverage among policymakers, support from the average citizen is low, though variable, across countries. Further, in contrast with expectation, economically secure labor market insiders are more willing than labor market outsiders to pay more in taxes to finance health coverage. However, support for more tax financing of health services was dependent on trust in government and perceptions of government efficacy. Trust in the government’s capacity to use tax financing effectively may be a more important determinant of support for UHC than rational self-interest.

PELATIHAN PENGENALAN TEKNOLOGI CLOUD COMPUTING UNTUK MENINGKATKAN LITERASI DIGITAL GURU-GURU di SMK JP1 JAKARTA PUSAT

Cloud computing technology is one of the pillars of Information technology which is the foundation for the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Mastery of this technology is needed by prospective middle-class workers to be easily absorbed by the industry. SMK Jakarta Pusat 1, as a provider of human resources for software engineering skills, needs to update the knowledge and skills of teachers to meet these needs. The PKM team of Informatics Departemen of Universitas Trisakti held a cloud computing workshop to update the knowledge of SMK JP1 teachers. Pre-test and post-test were used to measure the knowledge level of participants. The training materials include various cloud computing services, the utilization of IaaS services, and the installation of e-commerce web applications on Digital Ocean's cloud services. The post-test results showed that the workshop participants could participate well in training. As many as 67% of the training participants gave a positive impression of this activity and expected more intensive training and a longer duration of time. The output of this training in the form of a training module is very relevant and can enrich the Cloud computing practice course at the Trisakti Informatics Engineering Department

‘Home Feeling in the Heart’: Domestic Feeling and Institutional Space in the American Progressive Era

Abstract Writing on either side of the emotional watershed of the 1920s, Jane Addams and Anzia Yezierska documented and fictionalised the domestic institutional spaces of the American Progressive Era, from settlements to charity homes. Writing from the perspectives of settlement administrator and immigrant resident, each found emotions central to the era’s crossing of domestic and public spheres, professionalisation of charity and social work, and encounters between middle-class and labouring-immigrant cultures. Their writings portrayed the institutional home as host to the conflicting expressions of middle-class workers and immigrant occupants, a crucible of emotional cultures. Each argued for the importance of emotional encounters and empathy in institutional domestic space, writing back to the dominant professional constraints on women’s emotional expression in the era. Addams and Yezierska advocated for emotional knowledge and drive, challenging the exile of emotional logic and language from women’s emerging public roles. The value and expression of public emotions – as Yezierska’s fictions suggest – proved possible unevenly, along lines of institutional power.

Experiences and challenges faced by the working population during COVID-19 Lockdown: A qualitative study.

Background:The largest COVID-19 national lockdown was declared on 25 March 2020 in India with a total shutdown of workplaces and transport sectors. A complete lockdown deemed the entire population of the country to stay wherever they were residing at that point of time with no entry or exit movements being permitted thereafter. This unique situation betwixt a menacing health crisis rolled out a scenario uncustomary to the nation`s citizens. The varied responses of the masses to the lockdown need to be captured in order to understand the difficulties and dilemmas faced by them. Hence, this qualitative analysis aimed to capture the immediate challenges and experiences faced by the working population during the first-ever declared nationwide lockdown.Methodology:After obtaining institutional ethical committee clearance, a qualitative study was conducted using grounded theory approach. Using purposive sampling, people representative of the working-class population in Kerala were selected from three districts of the state. Equal representation of males and females were maintained. In-depth interviews were conducted via telephone using an interview guide till data saturation was obtained. The audio recorded data were later transcribed verbatim and translated to English. The transcripts were then manually coded to identify the emerging themes and subthemes and conclusions were drawn after triangulation.Results:The age of the study participants ranged from 32 to 71 years, they were occupied in different vocations and belonged to middle-class families across three districts of Kerala. All of them were aware and were mentally prepared for a national lockdown. They also made arrangements such as purchase of food, drinking water, medicines, etc., for home but also for office as well. Even though most of them were initially excited about the lockdown it was then followed by fear of contracting the disease, worries about loss of work and financial security. The study participants identified the advantages of lockdown as having more time for self & for family, use of the online/digital medium for routine activities and many also appreciated the support provided by the government in the form of food kits and loans. The lockdown was found to have increased the workload especially for women who had to manage not only family but also online work from home.Conclusion:The study was able to capture the different experiences and challenges faced by the middle-class working population. Even though they went through a cascade of initial excitement followed by fear of contracting the disease, it eventually turned into concerns of job and financial insecurities. The united frontline work of various sectors like police, health sector, local self-government, Kudumbashree and voluntary groups collectively aided in building community resilience enabling the southern state of Kerala to overcome the devastating effects of the pandemic and lockdown.

Impacts of the Japanese Middle-Class Work Culture on the Development of the Nation

Japanese are legendary for their workaholic nature which eventually makes Japan be super-aged country. This research aims to identify the drawbacks of their work culture towards their nation. 345 questionnaires were received using convenience sampling in Kanto and Kyushu areas. The recorded Cronbach Alpha of reliability is 0.623, which is an acceptable level. From the descriptive analysis, is it found that the majority of the respondents strongly agree that the job stress makes them neglect their responsibilities, increasing karoshi and karojisatsu, increasing sexless marriages, and declining birth rate. The government should encourage a healthy work-life balance among the Japanese. Keywords: Labor force, Karoshi, Karojisatsu, super-aged nation. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i18.3054

From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England by Arlene Young

From Spinster to Career Woman: Middle-Class Women and Work in Victorian England by Arlene Young

Connotation of leisure and leisure activities among urban Indian middle-class working women

ABSTRACT Little is known about leisure consumption among professional women in emerging economies like India in contrast to extensive research on this topic in the West. This group of professional women, however, is of growing economic and social clout within their countries with increasingly important ramifications for the choices they take, including leisure. This study aims to understand meanings and expressions of leisure among urban Indian middle-class working women. Using a phenomenological approach, 28 urban Indian middle-class women working in Bangalore from varied sectors, belonging to different age groups and at diverse life-stages, were interviewed in-depth between the period of July 2017 and September 2018. The analysis showed that leisure activities among urban Indian middle-class working women strike a delicate balance between individual and social fulfilment. The activities were varied and performed for passion, health and well-being, commitment and fun. Two new meanings of leisure emerged from the study: being with myself and being stress-free. It was seen that this group of working women are actively negotiating a new balance – the work–leisure balance – between demands of their work-life and their own need for personal leisure. These new meanings, reflective of newly empowered gender roles in the changing socio-economic environment of emerging economies, saliently extend our understanding of gendered meaning of leisure.

Work–life balance and gig work: ‘Where are we now’ and ‘where to next’ with the work–life balance agenda?

The article asks ‘where are we’ in the study of work–life balance within Industrial Relations and ‘where to next’ if we are to identify levers for positive change in workplace gender equality as technology brings the potential for smoothing or disrupting how women and men from different class groups work and care. It first shines a classed lens on the mainstream work–life balance agenda to pinpoint limitations in its heavy focus on the time squeezes reported by financially secure middle-class workers and its neglect of money matters. Then, via an enhanced conceptualisation, the article considers the ramifications of the growth in gig work for work–life balance. Gig work is promoted as offering flexibility and autonomy, enabling carers to work and care, but it is performed without the safety nets that are more common in formal employment. It can bring unpredictability in both work-time and income, work intensification and financial hardship that all impact work–life balance. ‘Where to next’ is developing a more inclusive approach that recognises gender, class and other types of diversity in order to lever workplace gender equality for all.

Parsing the 'Me' in #MeToo

India's #MeToo movement began in late-2018, and was largely a platform for some privileged women sharing their accounts of sexual harassment. Beyond issues of access to digital technology, our paper investigates why various sections of India's female and LGBTQ+ population chose not to engage with the #MeToo movement. Focusing on experiences with sexual harassment, we conducted 44 qualitative interviews with middle-class working women, feminist and queer activists, academics, and other stakeholders working against gender-based violence, to understand their perspectives on #MeToo. Our paper explores why some survivors bypass the legal infrastructure to speak out against sexual harassment using #MeToo, while others choose not to participate despite having access to social media platforms. Using the lens of infrastructure, we outline the imbrication of social media movements with existing social norms and legal infrastructures. Further, we highlight how infrastructural politics are connected to patriarchy, colonialism, caste, class, and gender struggles.

Illicit drugs and the decline of the middle class

Abstract Empirical evidence for the U.S. suggests that illicit consumption of opioids increases in association with socio-economic deprivation of the middle-class. To explore the underlying mechanisms, we set up a task-based labor market model with endogenous mental health status and a health care system. The decline of tasks that were historically performed by the middle class and the associated decline in socio-economic status increases the share of mentally distressed middle class workers. Mentally distressed workers can mitigate their hardships by the intake of illicit drugs or by consuming health goods. We argue that explaining the rise in illicit drug use among the U.S. middle class requires an interaction of socio-economic decline and falling opioid prices, i.e. one factor in isolation is insufficient. Our analysis also points to a central role of the health care system. Extending mental health care could motivate the mentally distressed to abstain from illicit drug consumption.