Chapter 12: Jobs, Occupations, and Professions

division of labor

specialization of individuals into different tasks in an economic system or organization

labor market

the process through which workers and employers find each other, no single labor market, different occupations have their own

changes in manufacturing jobs and professional services between 1910 and 2015

manufacturing jobs declined (32% to less than 9%)

professional services increased (3% to 29%)

how has these occupations changed

skilled labor force

service and sales/clerical jobs

professional occupations

declined

increased

increased

post-industrial society

economic growth is not generated by producing goods but by knowledge and professional expertise

gig economy

jobs like Uber, Lyft, TaskRabbit, DoorDash, etc.

1 in 6 workers in the US

describe changes to self-employment

traditional self employment decreased but others have increased including

• professional frelancers

• low-income, marginal informal self-employment (ex: in-home childcare)

companies are outsourcing their labor

labor process

how jobs are organized and controlled by managers and bosses from above

Fredrick Taylor

introduced principles of “scientific management” that inspired modern managerial organization of the labor process

sought to make the labor process more efficient by studying each minute movement of workers

Harry Braverman

to maximize profits, capitalist firms are continually driven to reduce employees’ ability to control what they do on the job

deskilling

deskilling

jobs are made simpler and workers become interchangeable

skill-based technological change hypothesis

argues that technological changes since 1970s increased demand for high-skilled workers and wages they could command

telecommuting

white-collar workers performing their jobs from home

how has union popularity changed

unions are getting less popular (35% in 1950 to 10% now)

two key factors to how employees do in the US

role of unions - some nations have stronger regulations protecting unions, gives workers greater power to negotiate

government regulations - can do some things unions can do (ex: regulating hours, overtime pay)

how does the US compare with government regulations to other nations

relatively weak

worst provisions for maternity leave