The Information Age Series and the Future of Work: A Review Commentary

Abstract

The United States and other advanced nations are going through a profound structural transformation in the world of paid work. Changes in the way work is organized are arguably the most significant since the arrival of industrialization. Indeed, it is conventional wisdom among public policy makers that a real revolution in the nature of paid employment has been precipitated by technological advance coupled with the creation of more open product and consumer markets.A number of recent studies have suggested that the shift toward greater flexibility in the use of labor is what characterizes the evolution of work in the so-called information age. “This is to be understood as the ability of labor to adapt to constant change in the work process as well as [to] the contractual relationship between management and labor,” argues Manuel Castells, renowned sociologist at the University of California at Berkeley. “Furthermore, the individualization of working conditions and the networking of task performance within and between firms are often seen as indispensable factors in enhancing productivity and competitiveness in the new economy.”