Book review: The Palgrave Handbook of Sociology of Work in Europe
| DOI | 10.1177/1388262720910545 |
| Author | Shikha Gautam |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Author biography
Kristina Koldinsk´
ais an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in
Prague. She works in the Department of Labour Law and Social Security Law. Her main research
interests cover European Social Security Law, gender equality and social assistance law. E-mail:
koldinsk@prf.cuni.cz
Stewart, Paul, Durand, Jean-Pierre and Richea, Maria-Magdalena (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of
Sociology of Work in Europe, London: Palgrave Macmillan (UK), 2019, 440 pages, ISBN: 978-3-319-
93205-7, eBook.
Reviewed by: Shikha Gautam, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.
DOI: 10.1177/1388262720910545
This book deals with the interrelated aspects of work and society and the interplay between labour
and sociology. Work is a lubricant which holds society together as ‘in the Roman period corpo-
ration was a great family and the community of interest took the place of the community of blood’
(Durkheim 1960). Nowadays, however, the structural and operational realities of work have been
substantially transformed and thus has led to an improved understanding of the concept of labour.
Hence, it is expected from scholars to not only provide the pathways for new possibilities in terms
of research and development in labour sociology but also to foster the relationship between the
established theoretical approaches and the prospective research in their respective disciplines. In
11 chapters, the handbook evaluates the sociology of work in different European countries, from its
beginnings to the contemporary period.
The introductory chapter, by Carol Stephenson, Paul Stewart and David Wray, deals with the
sociology of work in the United Kingdom from the end of the Second World War onwards. The
chapter reflects on different theoretical assumptions. First, during the 1950s and 1960s, which were
considered as the ‘golden age’ in the United Kingdom, a great emphasis was put on the traditional
production process led by male workers, largely ignoring the marginal parts of the work force.
Second, the expansion of sociological research efforts into other academic disciplines such as
business and management were considered as a deterioration of the discipline. Third, academic
discourse limited itself to focusing on ‘shop floor culture’, i.e. on the sector of the working class,
who worked in manufacturing departments, and who could be distinguished from the administra-
tive sector (pp. 16-17) and the production process sector. The patterns of work were reshuffled
during the 1970s and 1990s when the attention of academia shifted from blue-collar male workers
to female labour, and to employment in both paid and unpaid sectors. Neo-liberal forces led to
further discursive changes during the 1990s and 2000s: Since then, sociology has been concerned
with the complex interplay of labour and society and with increasing inequality as well as with the
fragility of the work force. The chapter concludes by arguing that it is important in a neo-liberal
work environment to engage with different aspects of labour such as workplace experience,
marginalisation and reproduction, as well as with an understanding of cross-border work.
The second chapterby Guillaume Tiffon and Jean PierreDurand, examines the French tradition of
the sociology of work. George Friedmann and Pierre Naville laid the foundations of the topic inthe
Book reviews 95
To continue reading
Request your trial