The Sociology of Work

Steven Vallas is Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University. William Finlay is Professor and Department Head of Sociology at the University of Georgia. Amy Wharton is Professor of Sociology at Washington State University and editor of the journal, Social Problems.

• PART I: INTRODUCTION ; 1. THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK: AN INVITATION ; The Primacy-of-Production Thesis ; The Sociology of Work: Core Principles ; Conclusion ; 2. THEORETICAL TRADITIONS IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK ; Classical Perspectives on Work and Society ; Contemporary Perspectives on Work and Society ; Perspectives on Work: Present Realities and Future Perspectives ; 3. STUDYING WORKERS AND WORK: RESEARCH METHODS IN THE FIELD ; Methods for Studying Work and Workers ; Experiments ; Summary and Conclusion ; PART II: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORK ; 4. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND BEYOND: CULTURE, WORK, AND SOCIAL CHANGE ; Understanding the Industrial Revolution ; The Meaning of Work in Preindustrial Societies ; The Rise of the Factory System ; Gender, Family, and the Factory System: The Rise of the Male Breadwinner Norm ; Conclusion ; 5. THE SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: MASS PRODUCTION AND LABOR MANAGEMENT ; The Rise of Mass Production ; How Workers Responded to Mass Production ; The Invention of Personnel Management ; The Hawthorne Research: The Discovery of the Work Group ; Summary ; PART III: OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURES ; 6. BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS AND THE HIDDEN WORLD OF WORK ; The Skills of Blue-Collar Workers ; How Work Gets Done: Informal Work Practices ; Good Citizenship in the Workplace ; Summary ; 7. MANAGERS: CAREERS AT WORK ; The Managerial Occupation ; What Do Managers Do? ; Managers' Careers ; Gender and Racial Differences in Access to Power and Authority ; The Future of Management ; Summary ; 8. THE PROFESSIONS: POWER AND STATUS IN THE WORKPLACE ; Characteristics of the Professions ; Controlling Professional Work: The Professional Ethic ; Professional Careers ; Summary ; 9. SERVICE JOBS: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH CUSTOMERS ; Defining Service ; Service Industries and Service Occupations ; Characteristics of Service Jobs ; Control, Routinization, and Technology in Service Work ; Doing Deference: Personal Service Work ; Conclusion: Beyond the Service Economy ; PART IV: INEQUALITIES ; 10. UNIONS IN AMERICA: THE STRUGGLES OF THE LABOR MOVEMENT ; The Glory Years of Industrial Unionism: 1933-1945 ; The Decline of Unions After World War II ; The Costs of Union Decline ; The Future of Unions ; Summary ; 11. GENDER AND WORK ; The Rise in Women's Labor Force Participation ; The Sex Segregation of Jobs and Occupations ; Maintaining Barriers Between "Women's" and "Men's" Jobs ; The Gender Pay Gap and the Worth of Jobs ; The Future of Gender Inequality at Work ; Conclusion ; 12. MANAGING DIVERSITY: RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVISIONS AT WORK ; Race, Ethnicity, and the Sociology of Work ; Government Efforts to Uproot Racial and Ethnic Disparities ; Conclusion ; 13. IMMIGRANT WORKERS: MARGINAL WORK, NETWORKS, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP ; Migration of the Poor: Mexicans, Central Americans, and Filipinos ; Immigrant Hiring: Networks and Gateways ; Immigrants and Entrepreneurship ; Summary ; PART V: THE FUTURE OF WORK: KEY ISSUES AND SOCIAL CHOICES ; 14. WORK AND FAMILY ; The Rise of Domesticity ; Work Time, Family Time, and Work-Family Conflict ; Cross-National Differences in Work and Family ; The Growth of Nonstandard Employment Contracts and the "24/7" Economy ; Conclusion ; 15. THE NEW AMERICAN WORKPLACE ; Trends in Occupational Growth: Some Evidence ; The Changing Employment Relationship ; The Participatory Management Movement ; Conclusion ; 16. GLOBALIZATION AND THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE ; Dimensions of Globalization ; The Meaning of Globalization for the American Worker ; Conclusions: Shaping Globalization

"The Sociology of Work is an outstanding alternative to standard textbook fare. The book focuses on several core concepts that distinguish the sociological study of work from other ways of studying social life. It incorporates the latest research in an accessible way without talking down to students. The emphasis on the historical development of work is ideal for my course, and the writing style is much more engaging than [the] standard text. . . . Theauthors' writing style is a major strength of the book. They have clearly gone out of their way to communicate complex material in a straightforward and engaging manner." --Kevin Leicht, University of Iowa"The book provides a more in-depth treatment of relevant empirical research, has better historical coverage, and has a more engaging writing style [than the competition]."--Michael Miller, University of Texas, San Antonio"This extraordinary textbook appeals through its comprehensible and engaging style of writing without losing sight of being scientifically well founded... Its unique focus on work-related inequalities... offers new and interesting insights. Given the current debates about precarious work and gender equality this book is an important and up to date contribution which is definitely worth reading." --Work, Employment & Society