Catherwood LibraryILR School

Stephen Sweet and Peter Meiksins

A comparative review of the historical transformations in workOpening with engaging vignettes of four workers, Jamal (a low-wage worker), Eileen (a high-powered professional), Dan (a displaced autoworker), and Chi-Ying (a young, Chinese, employee), Changing Contours of Work: Jobs and Opportunities in the New Economy frames the development of jobs and employment opportunities in an international comparative perspective, revealing the historical transformations of work and examining the often profound effects that these changes have had on employee satisfaction. This text provides a rich analysis of the overtime-laden American workplace in the larger context of an integrated global economy and offers strategic recommendations for making the new economy work for us all. Key Features • Provides international comparative perspectives on work and work prospects throughout the text, such as specific policies already in place in Europe that can lead to improved existences for workers and their families • Considers the structure of today’s work environment and its implications for fulfillment on and off the job • Highlights the impact of socialization, social networks, and structural forms of discrimination • Addresses inequalities and divides, such as race, ethnicity, gender, and class, illuminating the forces that separate workers from opportunity • Engages students with vignettes, bringing to life the problem of opportunity chasms addressed in each chapter [from publisher web site]