The Politics of Working Life

How does the politics of working life shape modern organizations? Is our desire for meaningful, secure work increasingly at odds with corporate behavior in a globalized economy? Does the rise of performance management culture represent an intensification of work, or create opportunities for the freewheeling individual career? This timely and engaging book, by leading authorities in the field, adopts the standpoint of the 'questioning observer'. It is for those who need an informed account of work that is accessible without being superficial. The book is unique in its multi-dimensional approach, weaving together analysis of individual work experience, political processes in organizations, and the wider context of the social structuring of markets. The book identifies central questions about working experience and answers them in a direct and lively manner. It has a strong analytical foundation based on a political economy framework, giving particular weight to the contradictory character of organizations. Here contradictions turn on the competing demands placed on organizations and the different political projects of groups within them. This perspective integrates the chapters and permits numerous scholarly debates to be addressed - including those on identity projects, gender and work, power and participation, escalation in decision-making, and the meaning of corporate social responsibility. This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate classes in Organizational Behavior, Business Strategy and the Sociology of Work and Employment. It will also appeal to the general reader interested in grappling with the complexity of the changing environment of work.

Business & Money

Edwards, Paul

Wajcman, Judy

Business Culture

Oxford University Press

The technologically tethered, iPhone-addicted figure is an image we can easily conjure. Most of us complain that there aren't enough hours in the day and too many e-mails in our thumb-accessible inboxes. This widespread perception that life is faster than it used to be is now ingrained in our culture, and smartphones and the Internet are continually being blamed. But isn't the sole purpose of the smartphone to give us such quick access to people and information that we'll be free to do other things? Isn't technology supposed to make our lives easier? In Pressed for Time, Judy Wajcman explains why we immediately interpret our experiences with digital technology as inexorably accelerating everyday life. She argues that we are not mere hostages to communication devices, and the sense of always being rushed is the result of the priorities and parameters we ourselves set rather than the machines that help us set them. Indeed, being busy and having action-packed lives has become valorized by our productivity driven culture. Wajcman offers a bracing historical perspective, exploring the commodification of clock time, and how the speed of the industrial age became identified with progress. She also delves into the ways time-use differs for diverse groups in modern societies, showing how changes in work patterns, family arrangements, and parenting all affect time stress. Bringing together empirical research on time use and theoretical debates about dramatic digital developments, this accessible and engaging book will leave readers better versed in how to use technology to navigate life's fast lane.

Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism

Computers & Technology

Computer Science

University of Chicago Press

History

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Feminism Confronts Technology

In the first major study of its kind, Judy Wajcman challenges the common assumption that technology is gender neutral and analyzes its influence on the lives of women.
Does technology liberate women and encourage equality, or are the new technologies reinforcing sexual divisions in society? Does the problem lie in men's monopoly of technology, or is technology itself in some sense inherently patriarchal? To answer these questions, Judy Wajcman explores what the impact of technology is on the lives of women today.
Popular stereotypes depict women as technologically incompetent or invisible in technical spheres. Wajcman argues that the identification between men and machines is not immutable but is the result of ideological and cultural processes. She surveys sociological and feminist literature on technology, highlighting the male bias in the way technology is defined as well as developed.
Over the last two decades feminists have identified men's monopoly on technology as an important source of their power, women's lack of technological skills as an important element in their dependence on men. During this period, women's efforts to control their fertility have extended from abortion and contraception to mobilizing around the new reproductive technologies. At the same time there has been a proliferation of new technologies in the home and in the workplace. The political struggles emerging around reproductive technology, as well as the technologies affecting domestic work, paid labor, and the built environment, are the focus of this book.

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Penn State University Press

Managing like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management

"Why can’t a man be more like a woman?" seems to be the catchphrase of modern management gurus. They claim to be revaluing feminine "soft" skills as qualities necessary for corporate success. This book looks behind the rhetoric and investigates the gender relations of senior management in a post–equal opportunities world.The proportion of women managers has risen dramatically in the last twenty years, yet there are still very few women getting to the top. Based on a major study of five multinational corporations with model equality policies, this book takes a critical look at women's and men's experience in a changing corporate climate. Wajcman brings to bear feminist theories on equality and difference in employment, together with organizational analysis, in her assessment of whether women really do bring a distinct feminine style of management to tomorrow’s organizations. The main focus is on the processes of masculine organizational culture that sexualize women and exclude them from senior management.But how comfortable are men with the masculinity of management? This book presents fascinating material on the private lives of managers and looks at the interconnections between home and work for men as well as women. The author reveals how relations between the sexes are negotiated in the corridors of power and at the kitchen sink.

Management & Leadership

"Why can’t a man be more like a woman?" seems to be the catchphrase of modern management gurus. They claim to be revaluing feminine "soft" skills as qualities necessary for corporate success. This book looks behind the rhetoric and investigates the gender relations of senior management in a post–equal opportunities world.
The proportion of women managers has risen dramatically in the last twenty years, yet there are still very few women getting to the top. Based on a major study of five multinational corporations with model equality policies, this book takes a critical look at women's and men's experience in a changing corporate climate. Wajcman brings to bear feminist theories on equality and difference in employment, together with organizational analysis, in her assessment of whether women really do bring a distinct feminine style of management to tomorrow’s organizations. The main focus is on the processes of masculine organizational culture that sexualize women and exclude them from senior management.
But how comfortable are men with the masculinity of management? This book presents fascinating material on the private lives of managers and looks at the interconnections between home and work for men as well as women. The author reveals how relations between the sexes are negotiated in the corridors of power and at the kitchen sink.

In the first major study of its kind, Judy Wajcman challenges the common assumption that technology is gender neutral and analyzes its influence on the lives of women.Does technology liberate women and encourage equality, or are the new technologies reinforcing sexual divisions in society? Does the problem lie in men's monopoly of technology, or is technology itself in some sense inherently patriarchal? To answer these questions, Judy Wajcman explores what the impact of technology is on the lives of women today.Popular stereotypes depict women as technologically incompetent or invisible in technical spheres. Wajcman argues that the identification between men and machines is not immutable but is the result of ideological and cultural processes. She surveys sociological and feminist literature on technology, highlighting the male bias in the way technology is defined as well as developed.Over the last two decades feminists have identified men's monopoly on technology as an important source of their power, women's lack of technological skills as an important element in their dependence on men. During this period, women's efforts to control their fertility have extended from abortion and contraception to mobilizing around the new reproductive technologies. At the same time there has been a proliferation of new technologies in the home and in the workplace. The political struggles emerging around reproductive technology, as well as the technologies affecting domestic work, paid labor, and the built environment, are the focus of this book. Judy Wajcman is a Professor at the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, and a Centennial Professor at the Gender Institute, London School of Economics. Among her other publications is Managing Like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management (Penn State, 1998).

Polity

Managing Like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management

"Why can't a man be more like a woman?" seems to be the catchcry of modern management gurus. They claim to be revaluing feminine "soft" skills as qualities necessary for corporate success. This book looks behind the rhetoric and investigates the gender relations of senior management in a post-equal opportunities world. 
The proportion of women managers has risen dramatically in the last twenty years, yet there are still very few women "getting to the top". Based on a major study of five multinational corporations with model equality policies, this book takes a critical look at women's and men's experience in a changing corporate climate. Wajcman brings to bear feminist theories on equality and difference in employment, together with organisational analysis, in her assessment of whether women really do bring a distinct feminine style of management to tomorrow's organisations. The main focus is on the process of masculine organizational culture that sexualizes women and excludes them from senior management. But how comfortable are men with the masculinity of management? This book presents fascinating material on the private lives of managers and looks at the interconnections between home and work for men as well as women. The author reveals how relations between the sexes are negotiated in the corridors of power and at the kitchen sink. The book will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in the fields of sociology, gender studies and management.

Polity Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wajcman, Judy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wajcman, Judy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wajcman, Judy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Politics of Working Life

Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism

Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism

Feminism Confronts Technology

Feminism Confronts Technology

Managing like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management

Managing like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management

Feminism Confronts Technology

Managing Like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management

Managing Like a Man: Women and Men in Corporate Management