Overview

Whether work is essential or not has been an important question in public and academic debate during periods of societal disruption or crisis, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Diving deep into the dialectics of essential work, this volume of Research in the Sociology of Work presents original research that explores notions of essentiality and highlights the experiences of essential workers during the pandemic. Demonstrating a persistent struggle for recognition and dignity, as well as for revaluing and materially rewarding essential work, contributors examine the emotional labour involved in gendered care work, the impact of COVID-19 on residential care work, the politics of essentiality and the intersectional perspectives of essential workers in the United States. The final chapters act as the first of a new recurring section spotlighting ethnography. Raising pressing questions about the essence of work and its place in contemporary society, Essentiality of Work inspires new debates about the centrality of the work experience in modern life for those working as well as those who benefit from that work.

Full Product Details

Author:   Markus Helfen (Hertie School, Germany) ,  Rick Delbridge (Cardiff University, UK) ,  Andreas (Andi) Pekarek (University of Melbourne, Australia) ,  Gretchen Purser (Syracuse University, USA)
Publisher:   Emerald Publishing Limited
Imprint:   Emerald Publishing Limited
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.382kg
ISBN:  

9781836081494

ISBN 10:   1836081499
Pages:   208
Publication Date:   03 October 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Essential Work, Inessential Workers?; Markus Helfen, Rick Delbridge, Andreas (Andi) Pekarek, and Gretchen Purser Chapter 2. Doing Essential ‘Dirty Work’: Making Visible the Emotion Management Skills in Gendered Care Work; Anna Milena Galazka and Sarah Jenkins Chapter 3. Defining Essential: How Custodial Labor Became Synonymous With Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Annie J. Murphy Chapter 4. Fear and Professionalism on the Front Line: Emotion Management of Residential Care Workers Through the Lens of COVID-19 as a ‘Breaching Experiment’; Valeria Pulignano, Mê-Linh Riemann, Carol Stephenson, and Markieta Domecka Chapter 5. The Politics of Essentiality: Praise for Dirty Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic; Nancy Côté, Jean-Louis Denis, Steven Therrien, and Flavia Sofia Ciafre Chapter 6. Essential Workers in the United States: An Intersectional Perspective; Caroline Hanley and Enobong Hannah Branch A Note From the Editors: Introducing the “Spotlight on Ethnography” Chapter 7. Floral Ethics and Aesthetics: Understanding Professional Expertise at Work; Isabelle Zinn Chapter 8. Ethnographic Studies of Essential Work: Jana Costas’ ‘Dramas of Dignity’ and Peter Birke’s ‘Grenzen Aus Glas’ as Two German Exemplars; Markus Helfen Chapter 9. “More Than a Slight Ache:” On the Ethnographic Sensibility and Enduring Relevance of Studs Terkel’s Working; Gretchen Purser

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Author Information

Markus Helfen is Senior Research Fellow in the Hertie School as well as a Private Lecturer at Freie Universität, Germany. Rick Delbridge is Professor of Organizational Analysis at Cardiff Business School and Co-Convenor of the Centre for Innovation Policy Research, Cardiff University, UK. Andreas (Andi) Pekarek is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Gretchen Purser is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, USA.

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