Historical Patterns of Workplace Organization: From Mechanical to Electronic Control and Beyond

Abstract

This article examines social changes in the organization of work brought about by the shift from mechanical to electronic technology. Whereas mechanical technology fixed work in time and place, the electronic is lifting those constraints and initiating new processes. Two of the most notable are the decomposition of the labor force, including the decoupling of work from the employing organization, and the substitution of electronic for bureaucratic control. These shifts are redirecting structural and normative features of the workplace, institutionalized during the mechanical era, toward direct market control. Longstanding work expectations concerning work schedules, job security and predictable career progression are being challenged. The workplace is increasingly anomic and workers increasingly vulnerable.