Empty labor : idleness and workplace resistance / Roland Paulsen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paulsen, Roland, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Work ethic.

Labor productivity.

Labor productivity--Research.

Organizational behavior.

Slackers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 217 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

While most people work ever-longer hours, international statistics suggest that the average time spent on non-work activities per employee is around two hours a day. How is this possible, and what are the reasons behind employees withdrawing from work? In this thought-provoking book, Roland Paulsen examines organizational misbehavior, specifically the phenomenon of 'empty labor', defined as the time during which employees engage in private activities during the working day. This study explores a variety of explanations, from under-employment to workplace resistance. Building on a rich selection of interview material and extensive empirical research, it uses both qualitative and quantitative data to present a concrete analysis of the different ways empty labor unfolds in the modern workplace. This book offers new perspectives on subjectivity, rationality and work simulation and will be of particular interest to academic researchers and graduate students in organizational sociology, organization studies, and human resource management.

Contents:

List of figures

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Power at work

Subjectivity at work

Mapping out empty labor

How to succeed at work without really trying

The time-appropriating subject

The organization of idleness

Resistance incorporated?

Conclusion

Appendix: methodological notes

Bibliography

Index.

1. Introduction: The theoretical problem

The empirical problem

The (ir)rational institution

Aims and scope

Disposition.

2. Power at work: The denial of the subject

The appendage of the machine

The imprint of false consciousness

The subject as object.

3. Subjectivity at work: Subjectivity as resistance

Barrier reefs of resistance

Workplace resistance : from Romanticism to functionalism.

4. Mapping out empty labor: Potential output

Work obligations

Slacking

Enduring

Coping

Soldiering.

5. How to succeed at work without really trying: Pick the right job

Exploit the uncertainties

Manage the risks

Collaborate

Redefine your work.

6. Time-appropriating subject: Adjustment

Withdrawal

Direct dissent

Framed dissent.

7. Organization of idleness

Cultures of fun

Collective soldiering, management misbehavior, or hidden rewards?

Boreout

Explaining enduring.

8. Resistance incorporated?: Profitable incorporation

Mental incorporation

Simulative incorporation.

9. Conclusion.

Appendix: The interviewees

Interview study versus ethnography

Interviewing beyond radical skepticism

Procedure

Analysis.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-98644-9

1-316-01165-8

1-139-99107-8

1-316-01389-8

1-107-66393-8

1-316-00265-9

1-107-58890-1

1-316-00715-4

1-316-00489-9

1-316-00939-4

OCLC:

889674440