An Exploration of the Meaning and Consequences of Workaholism

Although much has been written aboutworkaholism, rigorous research andtheoretical development on the topic is in its infancy.We integrate literature from multiple disciplines andoffer a definition of workaholic behavior. We identify three types ofworkaholic behavior patterns: compulsive-dependent,perfectionist, and achievement-oriented workaholism. Apreliminary model is proposed; it identifies potential linkages between each type of workaholismpattern and important outcomes such as performance, joband life satisfaction, and turnover. Specificpropositions for future research are articulated. Weconclude that, depending on the type of workaholicbehavior pattern, workaholism can be good or bad, andits consequences may be experienced or evaluateddifferently by individuals, organizations, and societyat large. Researchers and managers should avoidmaking judgments about the positive or negative effectsof workaholism until more carefully controlled researchhas been published.     

Gender,labour and the law: the nexus of domestic work,human trafficking and the informal economy in the United Arab Emirates

Based on ethnographic fieldwork with female migrants in the United Arab Emirates, the focus of this article is on the confluence of human trafficking discourses, gendered migration, domestic work and sex work in the UAE. I explore three main findings. First, domestic work and sex work are not mutually exclusive. Second, women choose to enter sex work in preference to domestic work because of poor working conditions in the latter. Third, global policies on human trafficking that seek to restrict female migration have inspired female migrants in the Gulf in search of higher wages and increased autonomy to look for employment in the informal economy. Employing a theoretical lens that emphasizes structural violence, the article chronicles the individual and macro social factors structuring the transition of female migrants from the formal economy of domestic and care work into the informal economy of sex work.     

Lean Production: Denial, Confirmation or Extension of Sociotechnical Systems Design?

This paper makes a comparison between the basicelements of lean production and sociotechnical systemsdesign (STSD) and compares them both with thecharacteristics of the traditional Fordist system of mass production. It argues that lean productioncan hardly be considered as an alternative to massproduction, as its proponents suggest, but is on thecontrary extending the life of mass production methods. However, lean production does appear to containsome building blocks for the innovative productionsystems that are expected to prevail in the 21stcentury. STSD, which has always presented itself as an alternative and possible successor to Fordistmethods, will need to link its traditional concerns forquality of work and flexibility of work organizationswith the new issues of continuous improvement, learning,and innovation.     

Transnational social work: using a wraparound model

In this article, we explore the wraparound approach of service delivery as a model for transnational social work. The wraparound model, used primarily within community‐based children's mental health services and child protection initiatives, has been effective when planning services for clients and their families with complicated needs, whose care has to be provided within a multiple provider context. Most social work is delivered nationally or internationally rather than trans‐nationally. In the article we outline how the model could be structured to meet the particular needs of transmigrants, including the involvement of NGOs and INGOs, and identify key obstacles and limitations.     

Employee Work Attitudes: The Subtle Influence of Gender

Using the construct of job satisfaction, this study examined work attitudes of 286 females and 416 males employed in 27 female-owned and 29 male-owned small businesses in three industries: construction, manufacturing, and distribution. Job satisfaction scores (dependent variables) were analyzed with regard to the interaction of owner employee gender. Demographic and job-related variables were also considered. The gender-moderated results are discussed in terms of methodological implications for conducting research regarding work attitudes.     

A Case Against Making the Control of Clients a Negotiable Contingency for Interdisciplinary Teams

Most discussions of interdisciplinary teamsassume that cross-functional teams are desirable.Critical analyses of the fundamental contradictionsinherent in bringing together professionals with diverse ideologies, interests, contingencies, andtechnologies are rare. Even less common are discussionsof the negative consequences of these contradictions forclients. Based on observations in an institution for youth-in-trouble, this paper argues thatthe control of clients is one key process underlyingconflicts and dilemmas in interdisciplinary teams; itbuilds a case against making the control of clients a negotiable contingency for teams. Given theuniversal nature of control mechanisms, those mostdirectly responsible for control have a superiorbargaining position because, in order to be effective,their control routines must be consistent. Althoughthese workers may yield to other treatment ideologiesregarding particular clients, the overall outcome is theenhancement of their interests. Moreover, the outcome of negotiations may generate confusionfor clients because of inconsistencies in theapplication of control mechanisms. Three strategies tominimize interprofessional negotiations regarding the control of clients are discussed: theformulation of clear boundaries between thoseresponsible for control and those who are not; theestablishment of policies to address conflicts betweencontrol and competing treatments; and, client determinationof differential levels of interprofessional coordinationand cooperation.     

MODELING TIME-COST TRADE-OFFS IN CPM NETWORKS

A new type of PERT/CPM methodology is introduced whereby the individual activities within a project management network are endowed with resistive and capacitive elements. This methodology will enable us to mathematically define a completion time for the various activities and to relate the completion time to relevant cost in the completion of a particular task. It will also allow us to define the work done, and the rate at which work is being done, in an activity as a function of the applied effort and resource outlay. As a consequence, both the resource expenditure and the work done can be tracked within a network as a function of time.     

Rethinking Management and Managerial Work: Capitalism, Control, and Subjectivity

The paper presents an alternative understandingof managerial work based upon a reconstruction of laborprocess theory. Drawing upon contemporary studies ofmanagement practice, the paper explores the relevance of poststructuralism and an attentiveness tosubjectivity to articulate a view of managerial work asthe subject and object of the contradictory organizationand control of capitalist labor processes. This understanding is illustrated by reference toempirical studies of ICI and is supplemented byinterview material drawn from a study of changingmanagement practices in the U.K.     

Gender Relations and Identity at Work: A Case Study of Masculinities and Femininities in an Advertising Agency

The paper explores gender relations and genderidentity, based upon an ethnography of a Swedishadvertising agency. The organization is of specialinterest as it has a strong gender division of labor,where men hold all senior posts, at the same time ascreative advertising work seems to have much moresimilarity with what gender studies describe as"femininity" rather than with forms ofmasculinity. The paper discusses how gender is constructedin an organizational context. Emphasis on workplacesexuality is related to identity work of men in responseto the highly ambiguous and contested context of advertising work. Tendencies toward thefemininization of the work and clientrelationships put some strain on (gender) identity formen, triggering a structuring of gender relations andinteraction at the workplace to restore feelings ofmasculinity. The paper problematizes ideas ofmasculinities and femininities and argues for arethinking of their roles in nonbureaucraticorganizations. Also assumptions about a close connection between domination ofmasculinity and of males are criticallydiscussed.     

Sailing together from different shores: labour markets and inequality on board merchant ships

In this study, we analyse the consequences of the conditions of the labour‐market contracts for working on board merchant ships. More specifically, we examine how seafarers hired on different contracts work together. Seafarers’ conditions of work differ considerably: some, mainly workers in the West, have permanent contracts with a shipping company, are paid a relatively high monthly wage and can go ashore every second month, whereas others performing the same tasks may have to stay at sea for more than six months at a time, and work for less money on temporary contracts. Drawing on the economic sociology of markets and institutional theory, in this article we present the institutional conditions of globalized labour markets for seafarers and analyse unique data derived from observations and interviews on board merchant ships. We argue that the notion of market is a key explanatory factor for how the work is conducted on board. Theoretically, our elaboration on markets allows us to conceptualize and address global and transnational markets.