Work, Employment and Society (WES) is hosting a series of three interactive online events linked to the themes of meaningful work in the digital economy on the 4-6 September 2024.
While meaningful work is of interest to work sociologists, there is a lack of consensus on how it is conceptualised and how we might achieve it placing different emphases on its subjective and objective dimensions. The extent to which work is experienced as meaningful is a topic of historical and ongoing interest in the domain of work sociology. When work is experienced as meaningful, due to the sense of purpose it can provide people, or the creativity that some forms of work can involve, work can be experienced as rewarding. When work is not experienced as meaningful, often in Taylorised work environments including the professions, where work is repetitive and low skilled, the experience of work can be deeply alienating. As platformization unfolds across public and private sectors we are starting to see its consequences on our states of mind. As digital technologies are significantly reshaping the character of many jobs while blurring the work/nonwork boundary and introducing the automation and digitalisation of work across multiple sectors and professions - now is an opportune time to revisit the concept of meaningful work.
The first event on 4 September is on the theory of meaningful work, to allow engagement with the different perspectives on how to conceptualise the topic. All speakers in this session will address the topic of how to theorise the concept of ‘meaningful work’, drawing on their published work in this area.
The second event on 5 September, is on meaningfulness and intersectionality, to allow exploration of different experiences of meaningfulness, and to explore the topic from diverse perspectives. Sara Farris will speak about meaningful care work and intersectionality in the context of the growing recruitment of migrant women from the Global South to fill in the labour shortages in care homes. Shoba Arun will speak about the relevance of intersectional experiences for meaningful work outcomes of women from and in the Global South. Jason Arday will speak about meaningful work in relation to intersectionality in education.
The third and final event on 6 September looks at meaningfulness in the context of the platform economy. James Farrar from the Worker Information Exchange will speak about meaningful information and his work around protections against ‘Robofiring’ rights to access our data and understanding how to navigate algorithmic control. Ursula Huws will speak about meaningful care in the context of the rapid rise of health platforms and the consequences for clinical services and clinicians. Valeria Pulignano will speak about meaningful professions, looking at the European experiences of freelance work and the role of skills in navigating platformized professions.
Each event will follow the same format with short presentations by a selection of speakers followed by a facilitated discussion we aim to allow a rich dialogue and exchange of ideas.
Confirmed Speakers
Jason Arday
Shoba Arun
Katie Bailey
James Farrar
Sara Farris
Ursula Huws
Knut Laaser
Marjo Lips-Wiersma
Valeria Pulignano
For details and registration, visit https://britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/wes-online-series-2024-meaningful-work-in-the-digital-economy/