Abstract
Christoph Hermann’s book considers the issue of work time. He is concerned with the lack of progress – particularly since the 1970s – in achieving shorter work time within capitalist societies. His book highlights the obstacles, social as well as economic, to work time reduction, and stresses the need, at a political level, for collective struggle to overcome these obstacles.
A strong feature of the book is its coverage of different perspectives and ideas from across the social sciences. The book takes a ‘political economy’ perspective, in that ‘it combines theoretical reflections with historical enquiries and a thorough examination of the present situation’ (p. 2). The argument and line of critique is particularly influenced by Marxian political economy. Specifically, there is a focus on the contested nature of work time and on the role of workers’ collective protest and resistance in securing shorter work time.
There are four parts to the book. The first part deals with theories of work time. It covers theories from economics as well as sociology. It also addresses perspectives from Marxist and feminist thought. The coverage of material is impressive and insightful. The second part considers the effects of changes in production – the move from Fordism to post-Fordism and lean production, and the rise of the service economy – on work time. It is stressed how changes in production have been driven by the quest for greater surplus labour time and have involved conflict between capital and labour. A chapter also considers the evolution and distribution of unpaid domestic work. The third part of the book deals with historical struggles over work time, including the contestations that resulted in the establishment of an eight-hour working day after the First World War and a 40-hour working week in the decades following the Great Depression. It also covers modern struggles for shorter work time, including the introduction and implementation of a 35-hour working week in France. The discussion considers how flexibility granted to employers over the determination of work hours has allowed them to overcome any legal limits on work time. The fourth part looks at the impacts of neoliberalism on work time. Neoliberalism has been characterized by the erosion of collective work time regulations and the move to forms of flexible and individualized contracting together with workfare policies. The result has been an extension and polarization of work time. The final chapter addresses the nature and role of work time under capitalism and makes the case for a 30-hour working week.
The book is extensive in its scope. This can lead to some problems of presentation; for example, the diverse material covered is not always well integrated and sometimes the reader is left to piece together the narrative. The links between the parts on theory and history are implicit rather than explicit. Some of the evidence and examples used in the book could also have been brought more up-to-date – often, the data presented stop before the onset of the global economic crisis (or even earlier). The impacts of the recent crisis and its aftermath on the length and distribution of work time could have been considered more directly and extensively.
The book is evidently critical of capitalism (and more directly of the capitalist class) for imposing longer hours of work on workers. But then the power of capital is occasionally obscured by reference to ‘markets’ (p. 184) as driving the tendency towards longer work hours. There are some allusions to policies that could aid the quest for shorter work time, but these are presented in just two pages at the end of the book (pp. 198–9). The book lacks a clear conclusion that draws together its key arguments and establishes its main contribution.
It is argued that ‘solidarity’ (p. 184) is needed to achieve shorter work time, together with a more equal distribution of paid and unpaid work. But it is not made clear how ‘solidarity’ is to be achieved and sustained in practice. Ironically, the fragmentation and polarization of work time highlighted in the book may itself be a barrier to the formation of greater solidarity among the working class. Perhaps, however, the only effective way to win the struggle for less work is to abolish capitalism. This radical political message remains implicit within the book. Some readers may wish it had been made more explicit.
The book, overall, will appeal to researchers in economics and sociology who are interested in learning more about the theory and history of work time. It is recommended as an illuminating reference point in an important debate on the barriers to, and prospects for, shorter work time. Those who invest time in reading it will profit from the experience. This reviewer certainly profited from reading it.