Changing Nature of Work

Human impacts on the environment are largely driven by economic forces. If a more ecologically sustainable world is to be achieved, significant changes must be made to the current growth- and consumption-dependent economic system. The "Frontier Issues in Economic Thought" series was designed to assist the growing number of economists and others who are responding to the need for new thinking about economics in the face of environmental and social forces that are reshaping the world. This volume examines the causes and effects of the rapid transformation of the world of work. It provides concise summaries of the key writings on work and workplace issues, extending the frontiers of labour economics to include the often overlooked social and psychological dimensions of work. The book begins with a foreword by former US Secretary of Labour Robert Reich that presents labour in contemporary perspective. An introductory overview provides a brief history of the changing nature of work and situates current problems in the context of longer-term developments. Following that are eight topical sections that feature three- to five-page summaries for each of the ten to twelve most important articles or book chapters on a subject. Sections cover: new directions in labour economics; social and psychological dimensions of work and unemployment; globalization and labour; new technologies and organizational change; flexibility and internal labour markets; new patterns of industrial relations; family, gender, paid and unpaid work; and difference and diversity in the workplace. The book offers a roadmap for scholars on the vast and diverse literature concerning labour issues, and affords students a quick overview of that rapidly changing field.