Abstract
In Work Without Boundaries, a group of Swedish working-life researchers analyse a phenomenon they call ‘new work’ and its psychological dynamics at the level of individual action. The book is based on experiences and knowledge gained from a research project carried out in Sweden from 1998 to 2006. The name of the study is a reference to the fact that the forms and institutional settings of new work have changed and that there is a need to see work in a different light compared to the older forms of industrial work. Typical of new working life is the fact that people are more bound with their work and also psychologically more responsible for the results. While defining the nature of new work, the writers simply refer to the point that the rules of work have changed or are changing in working life currently. This is something that creates a new dynamic between an individual’s orientation and institutional structures.
Although the book is written from a psychological perspective, it contains both theoretical and empirical discussion on various questions relating to working-life research, stress research, new bio-psychological research on work well-being and the sociology of work. As stated in the Introduction, a coherent theoretical frame of reference, which would explain the current change in working life and define the nature of new work, is missing in the field of working-life research. It is the goal of this research to create a broad framework explaining the dynamics of working life. The writers define the purpose of their analysis as a synthesis of the various theories, concepts and phenomena related to new work. The idea is also to introduce how the patterns of new work recur in several areas of working-life development.
The book is organized in a logical form starting with an analysis of the above-mentioned themes related to the development of new work. It is essential to note that the general nature of the analysis is also bound with a second structural dimension, as the writers call it. They see three main features of new work as fundamental for the analysis. First, it is essential to see that work is historically subject to a series of alterations which aim at making public organizations and private companies more flexible. Second, the fundamental change in working-life development is the fact that work is individualized and autonomized in modern societies. This has some important psychological effects on the individual’s well-being and behaviour in working life. Third, the writers also underline the point that new work is increasingly heterogeneous and that the contextual factors of work play an important role in our understanding the current forms of new work.
The first chapter of the book analyses the new rules of work from the historical dimension by using examples from both Sweden and other European countries. The individualization of work has been a long trend in working-life development, and the purpose of this development is to make work more flexible by using various tools related to the control of work. Distinguishing this development is the fact that individuals and work groups are seen as purpose-orientated parts of an organization. The various techniques aiming to enhance the productivity of organizations focused first, more or less, on administrative resources, but then expanded to the level of individual action and organizational strategic management. The writers show many examples of this ‘trimming’ that is typical of modern working-life organizations, including the use of working hour, flexible office and performance indicators and the standardization of social relations at the workplace, which refers to the way customers are defined as social relations.
In the second part of the book, the focus is on the dimensions of knowledge demands. Knowledge has always been an elementary part of industrial work, but it is essential to see the difference between four separate dimensions. These are the cognitive (the technical knowledge demands), social (an individual’s relation to other people at the workplace), societal (the social and cultural context of work) and existential dimensions of knowledge (an individual’s relation to herself as a labourer). The analysis pays attention to the historical changes in knowledge demands related to work, and contains many interesting views of the development of working life. As the writers underline, the role of knowledge has changed essentially due to flexible work; it has socialized people into a new pattern of values and social relations in work. The current state of working life reflects ‘a transition phase toward new and more flexible boundaries of work’ (p. 122).
The title of the third part is ‘The Place of Work in Life’. This analysis makes sense of the distinction between private or family life and working life typical in modern Western societies. The writers contextualize historically the distinction between family life and working life. They also show that there are several theoretical models by which to understand the relation between these two social worlds. The main idea, however, is pointing out that family life and leisure time outside of work life are also structured by the demands of the new work based on flexibility and individual responsibility. Considering the conceptual analysis of work and private life, it is essential to note that this relation has been the subject of various models in health and work psychology. Typical of modern societies is that ‘society no longer has a fixed social structure, just a multitude of different perspectives’ (p. 135). Owing to the increasing societal role of consumption in everyday life, the division between private life and work has become fuzzier and more fluid.
The fourth part of the study contains a sharp theoretical analysis of stress research and the new forms of ill health in work. By ill health, the writers refer to the point that flexible organization of work also has negative effects on an individual’s well-being and health. The history of stress disorders is closely bound with industrialization. Common for the stress theory is an assumption that there is an imbalance or conflict between the capacity of individuals and the various demands that we face in working life. The writers introduce various stress models and theories related to work well-being. The idea is to show that there is a societal link between various theories and organizational realities. In this sense, various stress theories can be interpreted as ways of understanding the problems society is facing.
Work Without Boundaries is a well-written and analytic study of seemingly separate developments, with an intention to provide a better interpretation of the underlying currents and mechanisms. The study offers an overall picture of recent developments and explains the relation between structural changes in organizations, people’s subjective experiences and the new forms of ill health. Compared to previous attempts to explain the contextual and historical changes of working-life organizations, this new study succeeds in giving a more detailed and specified view of the ongoing change by analysing critically and synthetically both theoretical and empirical research. This is a useful, valuable and welcome book for sociologists working in the field of organization, health or working-life research. It suggests clearly that there is a need for further research on new ill health and stress reactions due to the new conditions of work.