Working lives : work in Britain since 1945 / Arthur McIvor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McIvor, Arthur, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Labor--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Labor.

Labor--Social aspects--Great Britain.

Labor--Social aspects.

History.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

339 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

Summary:

In the wake of economic depression, employment and equality in the workplace have never been more important. In this accessible study, Arthur McIvor investigates meanings of work, and how, why and to what degree working lives have been transformed in Britain since the Second World War. The book presents a range of research data and primary material, including oral testimonies, letting workers speak for themselves and express what work signifies to them. Covering key themes such as gender, race, class, disability and health, it is an ideal resource for students of History, Social Sciences, Human Resource Management and Business Studies, and anyone with an interest in the history of work. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Employment Patterns and Inequalities 9

The transformation of employment 9

Getting work and getting on: the role of social class 16

The gendering of the labour force 20

Race, ethnicity and the labour market 25

Disability and the labour market 27

First experiences: children in the labour market 37

Retirement 38

Increasing insecurity: flexible, part-time and non-standard work 40

2 The Meanings of Work 43

'I work for the money': work, wages and livelihood 47

'La petite misere': marginalization, degradation and alienation at work 50

Identification with and commitment to work 58

'Death of work'? The meaning of work since 1980 68

Conclusion 74

3 A Man's World? 77

Masculinities at work 78

Manly work: traditional industrial masculinities and the hegemonic 'hard man' 82

Femininity, the household and work, 1945-80 92

Changing gender identities 103

Conclusion 113

4 The Colour Bar 116

White migrants 117

Wail; minority ethnic migrants 123

Challenging racial discrimination in employment 141

Conclusion 146

5 Bodie.s 149

Employment and the body 150

The body in the mid-twentieth century workplace, 1945-70 154

Inhaling death: asbestos and coal 157

Masculinity and risk-taking at work 161

Trade unions and the body 165

Dangerous trades 167

Responsibility and blame 174

Trends in occupational health and safety, 1950-2010 178

The Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 180

Occupational disease 'epidemics' 184

Disabled bodies and shattered lives 187

Occupational health in the post-Fordist workplace: the new epidemic of workplace stress 194

Conclusion 199

6 Representation and Resistance 201

Industrial relations, workplace power and the trade unions, 1945-79 203

Deregulation, power and resistance in the UK workplace since 1980 227

Conclusion 238

7 Loss 240

Measuring unemployment 241

Jobless in the era of 'full employment', 1945-75 245

The return to mass unemployment 250

The poverty of unemployment: financial impacts 252

Status and identity 255

Women and unemployment 261

Unemployment and health 264

Retirement 266

Conclusion 269.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781403987662

1403987661

9781403987679

140398767X

OCLC:

855351586