Synopses & Reviews
‘Sharon Bolton began this book with an investigation into why dignity at work matters, and her questions, why dignity? why now?, are tremendously fruitful. An important message to emerge from this book is that dignity and its absence are characteristics of humans working together; neither is inevitable, and our choices can make one more likely than the other’.
Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary
Dimensions of Dignity at Work covers every aspect of the dignity argument; it is clearly written and thought-provoking and develops a wider definition of the subject. It encourages a move away from a simplistic view that is only about removing bullying and harassment and addresses core issues involved in understanding the concept of dignity at work.
This ground breaking work investigates the concept of dignity and what it means to our working lives: how are we perceived and valued as people in the workplace. The chapters address key issues:
•What is dignity in and at work
•How is it being experienced differently by different groups of people?
•Do patterns emerge from empirical studies to suggest enduring divisions of dignity
•To what extent has dignity come under pressure and what are the consequences of a breakdown in dignity at work
•How can we ensure that opportunities are available for the creation, maintenance and/or restoration of dignity at work
•What role does management practice play in the creation and maintenance of dignified workplaces?
A multi-contributor edited collection at the forefront of growing interest in this area, it is essential reading for practitioners, academics, students of business and management and sociology, policy makers and publicly funded research bodies and organizations committed to promoting the welfare of people in work.
Sharon Bolton is Professor of Organizational Analysis at Strathclyde University Business School.
Synopsis
What is dignity in and at work?
How is it experienced differently by different groups of working people?
Are there enduring divisions of dignity: unequal access to what is accepted to be a fundamental human right?
How can we ensure that continued opportunities are available for the creation, maintenance and restoration of dignity at work?
This edited collection of papers investigates the concept of dignity and what it means to people in their working lives: how we are perceived and valued as people in the workplace.
Contributors to over a century of social and organizational analysis have talked about dignity at work, but the discussion has tended to take place under headings such as citizenship, satisfaction, mutuality, pride in work, responsible autonomy and ontological security, or to focus on mismanagement, over-long hours, a poor working environment, workplace bullying and harassment as the central facilitator of indignity at work.
Dignity in and at work is a far more complex phenomenon than these representations would suggest. Neither is it enough to suggest that equal opportunity, work life balance and anti-bullying policies restore dignity to work, valuable interventions though they are in themselves. The papers featured in this edited collection suggest that we see dignity reordered and experienced in different ways depending on our own circumstances and viewpoints.
* Groundbreaking text addressing core issues involved in understanding the concept of dignity at work
* Timely work at the forefront of growing interest in this area
* Broad spectrum of contributors from a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds
About the Author
Sharon Bolton, PhD, is Professor of Organizational Analysis at Strathclyde University Business School Her research interests include the emotional labour process, public sector management, the nursing and teaching labour process, gender and the professions and dignity in and at work.
Sharon Bolton is Professor of Organizational Analysis at Strathclyde University Business School.
Table of Contents
DEFINING DIGNITY Dignity in and at Work: Why It Matters; Dignity, Esteem and Moral Economy of Organizations; Dirt, Work and Dignity; DIGNITY, WORK AND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY Respect at Work: Why Good Work Matters; Is Good Work Productive Work?; Dignified Work and the UK Informal Economy; DIGNITY IN WORKPLACE PRACTICE Organizational Citizenship and Dignity at Work; The Times Top 100 Companies to Work For: Is This the Best 'Best Practice' Can Do?; Information Technology at Work: The Contradictory Consequences for Dignity; Working Together Towards Dignity at Work; 'Is That Something We Used to Do in the 70s?': The Demise of 'Good Work' in the Volvo Corporation.