Crisis at Work - by J Potter (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book explores how work can be precarious and intrinsically alienating. We know little about how this condition and how changing work and career impacts the lives of men and women, and less about the way individuals understand themselves in the face of institutions and organisations from which they feel marginalised. Based on the narratives of individuals who have experienced extraordinary work-life changes, Crisis at Work explores identity as an integral feature of the self-work relationship. It examines how we negotiate our identities, the trade-offs we make, and how we achieve greater meaning and fulfilment when our productive lives fail to sustain and fulfil. Reflecting a growing fracture between what we value, believe in, and are committed to, and the degree to which work and career - as social institutions - have become incapable of assuaging those desires, Potter examines how individuals attempt to assemble lives they find rich and rewarding, and how work is negotiated within the constraints and possibilities of the contemporary moment. "--

Book Synopsis

This book explores how we make sense of ourselves when work is precarious and intrinsically alienating. We know little about how this experience of work impacts the lives of men and women, and less about the way individuals understand themselves in the face of institutions and organizations from which they feel marginalized. Based on the narratives of men and women who underwent extraordinary work life changes, Crisis at Work examines how we negotiate greater meaning and fulfilment when our productive lives fail to sustain and satisfy. Reflecting a growing fracture between what we value, believe in, and are committed to and the degree to which work and career have become incapable of assuaging those desires, Potter examines how individuals attempt to assemble working-lives they find rich and rewarding and how that work is negotiated within the constraints and possibilities of the contemporary moment.

Review Quotes

"This book explores how individuals experience and negotiate their identity during periods of dramatic career transition. ... The book brings significant complexity to debates about 'the end of work' by offering an in-depth empirical exploration of the construction and challenges of alternative life and work trajectories. ... the book's fascinating insights into how individuals negotiate work transitions will hopefully stimulate more much-needed research on how the contemporary shift in work conditions relates to selfhood." (Maria Adamson, Work, employment and society, Vol. 31 (4), 2017)

"Jesse Potter's new book Crisis at Work is an attempt to gauge the saliency of some of these wilder claims by studying a series of people experiencing significant upheaval in their working careers. ... Potter's introductory scene setting material is a useful summation of current debates in the field and as a whole it provides a snapshot of work orientation among a narrow group of middle-class workers confronting change." (Tim Strangleman, British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 67 (1), January, 2016)

About the Author

Jesse Potter is Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology in the Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.