Sociology of Labor

Labor

• Babbage, Charles [1932]
  Economy of Machinery and Manufactures
  A classical text from Charles Babbage on the economic functions of machinery and manufectures.

• Benschop, Albert (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
  • Arbeid - een lastig en omstreden begrip
    A historical and sociological analysis of the concept of labor.

  • Techniek-Arbeid-Organisatie
    Syllabus on the relation between technology, labor and organizations.

  • Kwaliteit van de Arbeid (table of contents)

  • Bibliography on the Concept of Labor

• Benschop, Albert / Bader, Veit (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
  Machtskansen in arbeidsverhoudingen
  Article on power chances in labor relations (in Dutch).

• Benschop, Albert / Koopal, Koos (Universiteit van Amsterdam)
  Bibliography on unemployment, social security and poverty in the Netherlands

• Berkeley Labor Guides
  Bibliographies of books, journals, newspapers, and Internet resources that focus on various issues of working life. There are guides on employee rights, temporary workers, union organizing, globalization, corporate research, alternative forms of ownership, and labor culture. Terence K. Huwe created an introductory guided tour on information resources for labor. It offers a variety of starting points for researchers.

• Black, Bob
  Abolition of Work [Dutch version]
  According to Black work the source of nearly all the misery in the world. "Almost any evil you'd care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working." He wants to crate "a new way of life based on play, in other words, a ludic revolution." The adagium of this anti-work manifesto: "Workers of the world ... RELAX!"

• Blanken, Piet den (Breda, Netherlands)
  Werk, Werk, Werk
  A collection photos. Work is wonderful: you can watch it for hours on the WWW.

• Boes, Andreas [1996] (Germany)
  Zukunft der Arbeit in der "Informationsgesellschaft"
  Article on the Future of labor in the information society.

• Boot, Hans
  Lean Production - het zout van de kapitalistische utopie
  A radical view on lean production. (dutch)

• Brave New Work World
  Life and Work in the Revolutionary New World Economy. A resource on new work issues, including headlines, education, commentaries, and archives of previously published material. Editor: Gary Johnson.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
  The principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.

• Chapman, Sidney J. [1909]
  Hours of Labour
  In: Economic Journal, September, 1901, footnote 1, pp.363-385.
  Chapman's 1909 address on the hours of labour was considered the "classical statement of the theorie of 'hours' in a free market" [J.R. Hicks, Theory of Wages, 1932]. Since that time it virtually vanished from the economic discourse. Why?

• Compensation and Working Conditions
  The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides this electronic publication, a complement to its print counterpart. It includes the same articles, briefs, and tables in roughly the same arrangement with the same purpose. In each issue you will find relevant BLS tables such as the Employment Cost Index, Major Work Stoppages, and the Occupational Compensation Survey. The online edition includes an index of articles published in print since 1996, as well as an archive of past issues.

• Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Groupware (SocioSite)
  Articles, software for people who are working together on a comupter mediated distance.

• Crowther, Samuel [1926]
  Henry Ford: Why I Favor Five Days' Work with Six Days' Pay
  The famous automobile manufacturer explains why he reduced the working week in Ford plants all over the wolrd to forty hours with no cut in pay.

• Dassbach, Carl H.A.
  Where is North American Automobile Production Headed: Low-Wage Lean Production
  In: EJS 1 (1994).

• Disability (SocioSite)
  Information resources from, about and for people with a fysical or mental disability.

• EEGA - Ergonomie Centrum Arbeidsrevalidatie
  Ergonomie Centre for Labour Rehabilitation. (English and Dutch versions)

• Geser, Hans (University of Zürich, Switzerland)
  Computer-Induced Changes in Intellectual and Scientific Work
  Conceptualizes types of sources for the gathering of information. Identifies factors for the functional significance of computer-supported information-handling, such as intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional functions. Aims at developing scenarios rather than predictions and concludes that computers offer a starting point for a new kind of intellectual activity, the imagining of various possible development patterns for alternative future intellectual worlds.

• Gräbe, Hans-Gert (Liepzig, Germany)
  Die bildunspolitische Debatte am 'Ende der Arbeitsgesellschaft'
  A German contribution on the end of the 'labor society'.

• Heeks, Richard / Slamen-McCann, Anne
  Job and Skill Impacts of New Technology in the East Asian Electronics Industry
  Findings from Recent Literature and Annotated Bibliography. A review of recent (post-1985) research literature on job and skill impacts associated with new manufacturing technologies and more globalised production in the East Asian electronics export industry. It describes the unique developmental, technological and cultural framework of the industry, as a result of which it has been largely successful in managing the assimilation of new technology. The paper includes an annotated bibliography of over 80 items.

• Henwood, Doug
  Work and its future
  Left Business Observer 72.

• Hughes, J. (co-editor Eco-Socialist Review)
  AntiWork - Workers Have Nothing to Lose But Work Itself!
  "Every morning I wake up and think about how I'm hurtling towards a certain death... And with that cheery thought, I make a special effort not to do anything I'd regret spending these precious minutes of my life on. Like working at a job I don't believe in."

• Industrial & Organizational Psychology
  Information resources presented by the Mental Help Net.

• International Labor Organization (ILO)
  The UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. The ILO formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommandations setting minimum standards of basic labour rights: freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues.
  Current issues
  • Child Labour
  • Employment
  • Enterprise Forum
  • Gender Equality
  • International Labour Standards and Human Rights
  • Legislative Information
  • Social Security
  • Workers' Activities
  Other ILO sites
  • Central & Eastern European Team (Budapest)
  • Gladnet - Global Applied Disability Research Network for Employment and Training.
  • International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre - ILO-CIS - Includes
    • Asian Pacific Network on Occupational Safety & Health Information
    • African Newsletter on Occupational Health & Safety
  • ILO San Jose Area Office (Costa Rica)
  • ILO Washington Branch Office
  • Turin's International Training Centre
  Publications
  • International Labour Review
  • New and Forthcoming Books
  • ILO CD-ROM Products

• Kearl, Michael (Trinity University, USA)
  Social Psychology of Work and Leisure

• Labour and Business History
  Maintained in Amsterdam by the International Institute of Social History and the Netherlands Economic History Archive.

• LaborNet
  LaborNet works to support human rights and economic justice for workers by providing Internet services, labor news and information, Internet training, and Web site design for unions. From the Institute for Global Communications (IGC).

• LaborPortal
  Offers a collection of special labor guides on alternative forms of ownership, globalization, labor culture, employee rights, temporary workers, and union organizing. Presented by the Institute of Industrial Relations (IIR), Universiteit van California, Berkeley, USA.

• Lerner, Sally
  The Future of Work in North America: Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, Beyond Jobs - Summary

• Leth, James W. [1995]
  Technology and the Work Ethic

• O'Reilly, Jaqueline
  Theoretical Consideration in Cross-National Employment Research
  In: Sociological Research Online, 1 (1).
  A review of a range of theoretical approaches to cross-national employment research in terms of universal, culturalist and intermediary perspectives.

• Regional and Local Development of Work and Labour (RLDWL)

• Reskin, Barbara F.
  Sex Segregation in the Workplace: Trends, Explanations, Remedies

• Rethinking Work - New Ways to Work in a Knowledge Society - Editor: Eric Britton (EcoPlan, Paris). You can also visit the discussion group.

• Rowthorn, Robert / Ramaswamy, Ramana (Working Paper of The International Monetary Fund)
  Deindustrialization: Causes and Implications
  Increased globalization has coincided in the past two decades with a shift in labor demand away from less-skilled workers toward those with more skills. This shift in labor demand has widened the gap in wages between the two groups of workers and has raised income inequality and unemployment, primarily among low-skilled workers. This paper summarizes research on the connection between globalization and labor markets in the advanced economies. The technology-driven shift in labor demand away from less-skilled workers and toward more-skilled workers has resulted in increased wage inequality in some countries, and in lower relative employment among unskilled workers in others.

• RSI - Repetitive Strain Injuries (SocioSite)
  Information resources on RSI, the mouse arm and the carpal tunnel syndroom (CTS)

• Safety Related Internet Resources
  Extensive list of resources on safety issue, compiled by Christie Communications (Canada).

• Schmiede, Rudi [1996]
  Virtuelle Arbeitswelten
  A book on the virtual reality of labor, with articles from Rudi Schmiede, Andrea Baukrowitz, Nicolai Egloff, Andreas Boes, and Helmut Wenzel. Great stuff.. (only in postscript files - so get your 'Acrobat Reader')

• Schwartz, Howard S. (School of Business Administration, Oakland Univ. of Michigan, USA)
  Masculinity and the Meaning of Work: A Response to Manichean Feminism
  In: Administration and Society, 27(2): 249-274. See also the Responses to Criticism.

• SISWO Nieuwsbrief Arbeid & Organisatie (SINOA)
  A Dutch newsletter on labour and organizational research.

• Sociology of Work and Organization - Online Publications - Sociology from Switzerland.

• Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) User Guide
  Presented by the U.S. Department of Labor. There are other classification systems.

• TimeWork Web
  Official home page of the Shorter Work Time Network of Canada. Editor: Tom Walker (Clearinghouse Guide). The mission is explained in the Iowa City Declaration: "Post-industrial society in North America is experiencing a time famine. Yet, while many working people have inadequate time to pursue family, personal, and community life, others have become economically redundant in the continuing waves of corporate downsizing. The maldistribution of work and free time, with attendant inequality of incomes, has created a growing social problem. We believe that this problem may effectively be addressed by a general reduction in working hours." You can also visite a news page from Europe.

• Work and Technology
  Some papers written by sociologists at the University of Lancaster.

• Workindex - Covers a myriad of issues related to human resource management, including benefits, training, technology, law and compensation. You can search for employment by providing links to various online job banks and career centers. Workindex is the product of a collaboration between Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and Human Resource Executive magazine.

• Working Conditions and Human Resource Management
  Articles from the Japan Labor Bulletin on working conditions and Human Resource Management.

• World Labor
  Online resources on world labor and working class internationalism. A selection of internet discussion forums relevant to labor and labor history, and to the labor movement. Editor: Haines Brown (History Dept., C.C.S.U., New Britain, USA).

Labor Market

• Arbeidsmarkt (Intermediair)
  Recent information on the labor market in the Netherlands.

• Benschop, Albert (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
  Wat is een arbeidsmarkt?
  Article on the concept of the labor market.

• Dublin Labour Studies Group
  Covers the study of labour market issues in Ireland. Researchers are drawn from University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Maynooth College and the Economic and Social Research Institute. Contains information about the group details of seminars and publications as well as links to some full text working papers.

• Flexmarkt.nl
  A Dutch site for labor market professionals, offers news, trends and background information on the labor market.

• Heath, Anthony F. / McMahon, Dorren [2000]
  Ethnic Differences in the Labour Market: The Role of Education and Social Class Origins
  Working Paper Number 2000-01, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, UK.
  An exploration of processes of inclusion and exclusion that concentrates on two questions. How far can class origins and qualifications account for ethnic minority disadvantage in Britain? Do they operate in the same way for the ethnic minorities as they do for the white majority? With respect to social inclusion, the results show that class origins and education qualifications can largely account for the overall disadvantages suffered by Irish men who have migrated to Britain, and for about half of the overall Caribbean and Pakistani disadvantage. With respect to social exclusion, social origins and qualifications account for a much smaller proportion of the overall ethnic disadvantages.

• Labor & Employment Working Papers - Worldbank

• Labor Force and Labor Market
  A collection of annotated links from the Cornell University, USA.

• Labour Market and Employment
  Articles from the Japan Labor Bulletin on labor market and employment.

• Labor Market Information - Employment Security Commission of North Carolina.

• Labour Market in Sweden - Svenskt Arbetsliv

• National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS)
  An annotated bibliography, presented by the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State University. You may choose from eight different search options, including author, title, citation source, year, and format of the cited work. An excellent resource for anyone who plans to use research based on NLS data.

• NOA - Nederlands Onderzoekscentrum Arbeidsmarkt en Allochtonen
  Research center Labor Market and Immigrants. Department of labor and organizational pychology, Free University, Amsterdam.

• Slaughter, Matthew J. / Swagel, Phillip (Working Papers of the International Monetary Fund)
  The Effect of Globilization on Wages in the Advanced Economies
  The advanced economies have witnessed a decline in the share of manufacturing employment in the last two decades. Employment in manufacturing now constitutes only a small fraction of civilian employment in most of the traditional (industrial) countries. This paper argues that, contrary to popular perceptions, deindustrialization is not a negative phenomenon, but is the natural consequence of the industrial dynamism in an already developed economy. North-South trade has had very little to do with deindustrialization. Deindustrialization implies that the growth of living standards in the advanced economies is likely to be increasingly influenced by productivity developments in the service sector. Deindustrialization also implies that the role of trade unions is likely to change over time in the advanced economies.

• Stichting Bestuurskundige & Arbeidsmarkt (SBA)
  The main goal of this Dutch association is to improve the information flow regarding the labour market towards students Public Administration. It informs the potential employers on the qualities the Public Administration students have gained in their studies.

• Suen, Wing
  • Labor Economics
    Labor Course Outline: microeconomic view on labor markets.

  • Lecture Notes

  • Labor Market Reading list

  • [1999] Markets with Imperfect Information [pdf]

• Wages
  Wage and employment law in Australia with career and employment oppportunities.

Research Centers

Australia

Centre for Labour Studies - Australia

Labour and Industry Research Unit (LIRU) - University of Queensland, Australia

National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) - Flinders University of South Australia

Austria

Arbeitswissenschaft/Ergonomie
Research unit at the Institut für Betriebswissenschaften der Technischen Universität Wien, Austria.

Canada

Institute for Work in a Global Society (WIGS) - McMaster University, Canada

Germany

Institut für Arbeitswissenschaft (IAW) - RWTH Aachen, Germany.
A leading German institute for the analysis and reconstruction of labour processes.

Soziologie der Arbeit und Geslechterverhältnisse (ISW) - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Sociology of labor and gender.

Israel

Department of Labor Studies - Tel Aviv University, Israel

Japan

Japan Institute of Labor
A profile and Japan Labor Bulletin, a monthly journal which introduces up-to-date labor issues in Japan with articles, special topics and statistical information.

Lithuania

Institute of Labour and Social Research - Lithuanian Academic and Research Network (LITNET)

Netherlands

Amsterdams Instituut voor Arbeidsvraagstukken (AIAS)
The scientist of the University of Amsterdam have gathered their knowledge on labor issues in the "Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies". AIAS is an interdisciplinary research and educational institute that brings together staff from a variety of disciplines.

TNO Arbeid
NIA TNO was created in January 1997 by a merger of the Netherlands Institute for Working Conditions NIA and the Occupational Health Division of TNO. The organisation is active internationally as well as within the Netherlands in a broad but specialised field of work, working conditions, organisation and technology. The philosophy behind the activities is that an efficient and healthy deployment of human resources is crucial to business competitiveness and for an affordable social security system of acceptable quality. (Dutch and English versions).

South Africa

Sociology of Work Unit (SWOP) - University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
A research unit which conducts high quality research in the area of work and industrial relations. It's origins lies in the close working relationship that developed between progressive intellectuals and the emerging labour movement in the eighties. Research activities are concentrated om the employment relationship and include a variety of forms of work, both paid and unpaid. SWOP also attempts to maintain communication and interaction with a broad range of actors within the world of work in particular, with organised labour, business, government and other research organisations.

U.S.A.

Center for the Study of Work Teams - Univ. of North Texas, USA
The mission of the Center is to create learning partnerships which support the design, implementation, and development of collaborative work systems, thereby maximizing individual & organizational effectiveness.

Associations

• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
  Devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental factors arising in or from the workplace that may result in injury, illness, impairment, or affect the well-being of workers and members of the community. Includes the AIHA Journal Online

• European Association of Labour Economists (EALE)
  Promotes the advancement of knowledge in the field of labour economics in Europe and elswhere.

• Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)

• Society of Labor Economists (SOLE)
  A society that seeks to promote the study of labor economics and to make more significant the contribution of labor economics and labor economists. The Society organizes meetings, publicizes work by labor economists, and aspires to provide appropriate recognition to labor economics. (Chicago, USA).

Journals

• AIHA Journal Online [table of content + abstract]
  A journal for the science of occuparional and environmental health and safety. Published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association

• Arbeit [table of contents + abstracts]
  Zeitschrift für Arbeitsforschung, Arbeitsgestaltung und Arbeitspolitik. Publishes theoretical and empirical studies on labor issues.

• Intermediair [full text]
  A Dutch magazine on labor and labor market issues.

• International Labour Review [table of contents + abstracts] - ILO

• Japan Labor Bulletin [full text]
  A monthly journal which introduces up-to-date labor issues in Japan with articles, special topics and statistical information.

Labor Conditions in the Netherlands

• Law on Labor Conditions (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet)
  • Complete text of the Law on Labor Conditions (1998)

  • Arbo Links
    A collection of links on labor conditions all over the world (FNV Bongenoten).

  • ArboNed

  • ArboWijzer
    Searching the Dutch law on labor conditions.

  • ArboUnie

  • Focal Point, The Netherlands - European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
    Extensive Dutch information on occupational safety, health, and corking conditions. Topics include legislation, news, good practices, events, research, discussion, FAQs, training, sector risks, themes and organisations.

• ARBO Site - FNV Bondgenoten, Unit VGWM
  Information on labor conditions and environmental issues in the Netherlands, from an employee perspective. Editor: Jan Verhagen.

• IAVM - Interuniversitaire organisatie voor arbeidshygiëne, veiligheid en milieu
  A Dutch interuniversitary cooperation on labor conditions and environmental issues.

• Wet op de collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst (PWnet)
  Dutch law on collective bargaining.

• Wet op de ondernemingsraden
  Dutch law on industrial democracy.

• Ministerie van Economische Zaken - Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.

• Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid - Dutch Ministry of Labor and Social Security

Labor Related Mailing Lists

• FUTUREWORK
  The future of work and all that is associated with it.
  Send "subscribe FutureWork <first_name> <last_name>" to listserv@csf.colorado.edu

• IERN-L
  International Employee Relations Network.
  Send "subscribe IERN-L <your_name>" to listserv@ube.ubalt.edu

• LABOR-L
  Discussion group for worldwide labour issues, moderated.

• NWAC-L
  The changing nature of work.
  Send "subscribe NWAC-L <first_name> <last_name>" to listserv@psuvm.psu.edu

• UNITED
  Send "subscribe UNITED <your_name>" to UNITED-Request@cougar.com

Editor	dr. Albert Benschop Social & Behavioral Studies University of Amsterdam
Created	July, 1996
Last modified	26th February, 2006