Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Competition & Change, 24 (2), 2020, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2020 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Competition & Change page: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/cch on SAGE Journals Online: http://journals.sagepub.com/
Accepted author manuscript, 473 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 1/04/2020 |
---|---|
<mark>Journal</mark> | Competition & Change |
Issue number | 2 |
Volume | 24 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Pages (from-to) | 105-113 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 5/11/19 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
This article introduces readers to the special issue on 'the enactment of neoliberalism in the workplace'. We argue that contemporary developments such as zero-hours contracts, casualization and platform work are part of a neoliberal regime of deregulation and flexibilization that renders employment precarious and work degraded. Thus, the degradation of work that Braverman wrote of should be extended to include aspects of the employment relationship, acknowledging the crucial relationship between the mode of employment and the experience of work. In short, we assert that the quality of work is intimately connected to the quality of employment. The neoliberal agenda is played out in and around organizations through management decisions on employment and work, which, in turn, have significant and complex connections to a range of wider social, economic and political issues, such as poverty and welfare systems. The articles in our special issue explore and analyse several dimensions of the changes taking place and whilst presenting a rather gloomy view of contemporary work and employment they do demonstrate continued scope for resistance.