On the Definition of Work

Presentation toCentre for Work and Life

Chris ProvisSchool of Management, UniSA

27 Feb 2009

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‘Work’: preliminary

• frequent connotations: unpleasant, paid

• clearly not necessary conditions– last weekend I was working in the garden

• ‘work’ because it was productive?– of what?

Social Context of ‘Work’• often institutionalised• Can institutional participants give definition?• Ferguson: enough that ‘those doing the

activity should have the decisive say as to whether their activity counts as work’

• Hall: must be ‘considered work by the individual involved’

• but clear problems from possible mistake

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Varying social contexts• institutionalised contexts vary widely

– e.g. residential aged care, panelbeating,university research

– Do they have anything in common?

• Parry et al: – ‘areas as diverse as prostitution, voluntary work,

fathering and community work’– understanding needed of ‘what constitutes work’

• But do we need to find a common element?

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Significance of the issue:law

• e.g. contract of service

• ‘obedience to orders in doing work, …’(Kitto J, in Attorney-General for NSW v Perpetual Trustee Co Ltd [1952])

• definition affects legal entitlements

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Significance of the issue:labour economics and policy• employment statistics :

‘a person must have been engaged in some economic activity (work)’ [sic] (ABS, Labour Statistics: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2006)

• definition affects investment, public policy

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Significance of the issue:feminist theory and public policy

• domestic activities as work, mostly unpaid, mainly by women

• role in theories of exploitation• but contentious: ‘Is a mother playing with her

baby working or engaged in play?’(Ferguson, ‘Feminist perspectives on class and work’,Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2004)

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Significance of the issue: sociological theory• definitions of social structure

– e.g. Marx, role of labour in class definition, etc– where ‘labour’ = ‘work’

(Marx & Engels, Selected Works, Moscow 1969: see index)

• or whether managerial functions are ‘work’(cf Mintzberg, The Nature of Managerial Work, 1980)

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Significance of the issue:psychological theory• ‘central place in shaping individuals’ identities’

(Fouad & Bynner, American Psychologist, 2008)

• ‘can be essential for psychological health’(Blustein, American Psychologist, 2008)

• ‘functions to meet needs for survival, relatedness and self-determination’(Blustein, American Psychologist, 2008)

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Significance of the issue:religious practice

• distinction between work and non-work– ritual significance for many religions

• historical significance: religious attitudes to work tied to wider social practices(e.g. Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,[1904–5] 1930)

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Summary so far

idea of ‘work’

1. is difficult, vague, ill-defined

2. plays key role in theory

3. plays key role in social arrangements

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Is there a common factor?Not:• effort (neither necessary nor sufficient)• ‘productive’ (too hard to define)• necessarily for others (too restrictive)• only physical, cognitive or emotional• only individual or collaborative• etc

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Is work a ‘cluster concept’?• Wittgenstein: e.g. ‘game’

– instances united by ‘family resemblance’

• then perhaps replace by precise concept?– as in science: e.g. mass, velocity, etc– or in law: e.g. vessel

• adopt definition that gives most fruitful and useful concept

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Essentially contested concept• precision suiting one area may not suit all• one area uses or contests another’s idea• definitions of work challenge institutions• what notion will be ‘most fruitful and useful’ is

just what is in contention– e.g. line between work and family life

• analogy with ‘democracy’– the term may not be useful for theory or policy

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Do without the concept?• in theorising ‘exploitation’, use ideas like

‘benefit’, ‘informed consent’, etc• in assessing tax, replace ‘work’ with ‘personal

exertion’• in fostering investment, think about worth to

individuals and communities• in social relations, think about functions of an

activity in market exchange• etc

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Loose end• people’s attitudes are affected by whether

something is generally considered ‘work’– analogy with ‘democracy’– rhetorical, ideological function

• but theory and policy ought not be driven by rhetoric and ideology

• attitudes can follow clear theory and policy

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