The professions have undergone massive changes in recent decades, as globalization, information technology, bureaucratization and market competition have begun to envelop even the most prestigious occupations in contemporary societies. Ironically, at a time when expert knowledge has grown increasingly important, the 'golden age' of the professions has receded into the past. Professional autonomy, authority, and ethics are all under siege, and even their claims to exclusive control of knowledge face challenges on multiple fronts. Volume 34 of Research in the Sociology of Work explores how the professions are faring in this changed world, shedding new light on a field that has long been at the center of social science thinking about the economy, the state, and social order. Chapters in this volume explore a series of questions that are vital to modern life, such as: How has increased control by employers and clients altered the experience of work for professionals? What are the new bases of professional status? How are underrepresented groups faring within the professions? How do professionals respond to precarity and unemployment?

Understanding the world of work is often difficult for students--particularly undergraduates--to grasp. The Sociology of Work: Structures and Inequalities answers the need for a clear, engaging--and affordable--introduction to the basic concepts used by sociologists of work. Throughout, the text links the most up-to-date research and scholarship on work and occupations with their underlying sociological principles. Beginning with a thorough discussion of these core concepts, it goes on to show the historical developments of labor processes, thus allowing students to draw modern, real-world connections. The book also examines the contemporary work scene (both domestic and global), its concurrent occupational structures, and, all too often, its resultant inequalities.
While remarkably accessible, The Sociology of Work does not shy away from challenging students with weightier sociological concepts, theories, and methodological issues, as well as less commonly discussed topics like Luddism, the role of gender in the industrial revolution, and the rise and decline of the workers' movement.
Comprehensive and versatile, The Sociology of Work: Structures and Inequalities is ideal for courses in the sociology of work and occupations, and the sociology of organizations and corporations, as well as labor studies and human resource management.
Features
* Incorporates issues of gender and race throughout
* Also includes separate and unique chapters on gender (Chapter 11), diversity (Chapter 12), immigration (Chapter 13), and globalization (Chapter 16)
* Emphasizes the continuing importance of social theory, both classical and contemporary
* Devotes an entire chapter to research methods and data sources