1st Edition

Dimensions of Dignity at Work

Edited By Sharon Bolton Copyright 2007
    284 Pages
    by Routledge

    284 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    Part 1 Defining Dignity; Chapter 1 Dignity in and at work, Sharon C. Bolton; Chapter 2 What dignity at work means, Andrew Sayer; Chapter 3 Dirt, work and dignity, Stephen Ackroyd; Part 2 Dignity, Work and the Political Economy; Chapter 4 Respect at work, David Coats; Chapter 5 Is good work productive work?, John Philpott; Chapter 6 The informal economy and dignified work, Niall Cooper, Catherine May; Part 3 Dignity in Workplace Practice; Chapter 7 The consequences of management competence for working with dignity, Randy Hodson; Chapter 8 Best companies, best practice and dignity at work, Sharon C. Bolton, Gemma Wibberley; Chapter 9 Information technology at work, Bill Doolin, Laurie McLeod; Chapter 10 Preparing for dignity, Charlotte Rayner; Chapter 11 Is that something we used to do in the 1970s?, Terry Wallace; Chapter 12 The dignity of difference?, Anastasia von Mende, Maeve Houlihan; Chapter 13 Short stories from industry;

    Biography

    Sharon C. Bolton