
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
2.1 Historical background 2.1 Historical background
-
2.2 The process of economic globalization 2.2 The process of economic globalization
-
2.3 Digitization, automation, and artificial intelligence 2.3 Digitization, automation, and artificial intelligence
-
2.4 The growth of nonstandard employment 2.4 The growth of nonstandard employment
-
2.4.1 Precarious employment and ‘gig work’ 2.4.1 Precarious employment and ‘gig work’
-
-
2.5 Tensions between economy and ecology 2.5 Tensions between economy and ecology
-
2.6 Summary 2.6 Summary
-
2.7 Relevant questions 2.7 Relevant questions
-
Recommended reading Recommended reading
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 The changing nature of work and employment in modern societies
Get access-
Published:January 2024
Cite
Abstract
This chapter highlights major trends in the development of modern working conditions. Starting from a very precarious situation during early industrialization, working people’s lives gradually improved with the advent of welfare state policies and occupational safety and health legislation and services. Technological and economic progress contributed to advances in the quality of work and employment, supported by worker participation through trade unions. During the twentieth century, the growth of service occupations and professions shifted the labour market from the secondary to the tertiary sector, resulting in a decrease of heavy physical work and an increase of sedentary work, often associated with exposure to psycho-mental and socio-emotional demands. Towards the end of the last century, the double process of technological digitization/automation and economic globalization induced far-reaching changes. New occupations emerged in a world of work characterized by transnational flows of capital, trade, and workforce, by increased economic competition, and by growing job instability. As a result, a segmented labour market separates a well-trained, privileged working population from a low-skilled disadvantaged population. The chapter then discusses tensions arising between economic growth and sustainable development of living environments. Threats of irreversible climate change due to toxic effects of a carbon-based economy motivate governments to implement international agreements on measures of economic sustainability. At the same time, critical limitations of the concept of ‘economic growth’ underlying the global development become visible, calling for new solutions.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
March 2024 | 4 |
April 2024 | 7 |
May 2024 | 3 |
June 2024 | 5 |
July 2024 | 2 |
August 2024 | 2 |
October 2024 | 4 |
November 2024 | 1 |
December 2024 | 4 |
January 2025 | 2 |
February 2025 | 4 |
March 2025 | 7 |
April 2025 | 7 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.