Work and Non-Work
Chapter 11 Summary

Much of the social and material fabric of our society rests on the work that we do, whether paid or not, so it is not surprising that work has been of central interest to sociology. This chapter examines the relationship between work and non-work and the variety of experiences associated with both. It shows how the nature of work changed in the shift from pre-modern to modern societies, and identifies the pivotal role played by industrial capitalism in this process. Industrial capitalism transformed the definition of work and the experience of the worker, while at the same time recasting people as consumers of leisure. We return time and again to the question of how the experience of work and non-work in modernity is mediated by age, disability, race and ethnicity, and, especially, by gender. The chapter also looks at issues surrounding industrial conflict and it considers developments that suggest the boundaries between work and non-work are growing increasingly blurred. These developments raise important questions about the declining significance of work as a source of personal identity.