The Sociological Study of Work

Abstract

The slogan of the 1933 World Fair was ‘Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms’. Within the social sciences the conceptualisation of the changing nature of work has often corresponded with this mechanistic notion. Scientists and technologists are seen as making independent discoveries which constantly renew the productive apparatus, while managers put the results to their most efficient use, and workers react and adapt to the changes. Meanwhile industrial sociologists theorise about the best combination of conditions for productivity, progress and harmonious relations.