Sociology Now, Census Update

patience, are valuable in the twenty-first century workplace (Crittenden, 2005). Levine
(1997) found that “working fathers,” or fathers heavily invested in their children’s daily
lives, perform better and are more comfortable in a diverse workplace than the tradi-
tional “breadwinners.”

Work and Economy

in the 21st Century

The workplace as we know it today was created by the needs of an industrial econ-
omy. But now we are moving into a postindustrial, knowledge-based economy. The
stereotypic office workplace, 9 to 5 workday, and single-field career are all becom-
ing obsolete. What sorts of new arrangements will arise to take their place?
In the future, only a small percentage of workers will do a single job throughout
their lives, changing only to move up to positions of greater authority (such as teach-
ers becoming principals). Instead, they will develop a portfolio of skills and creden-
tials that they will use to move horizontally, between jobs in many different career
fields. Sometimes they will even occupy different jobs simultaneously.
The increased flexibility means that workers will have more control over their
work and more creativity. However, they will have no job security because employ-
ers will be able to hire and fire them at will. And productivity will suffer because train-
ing and recruitment will be never ending: Workers will devote more time and energy
to learning new skills and finding work than actually doingwork.
In the future, we’ll be more mobile. At present, such mobility is an option only
for white-collar workers; the blue and pink collars are left behind. Also, it is unclear
what benefits the white-collar employees will receive as mobility becomes more com-
mon. Greater flexibility, perhaps? More creativity? Greater autonomy? They are
working and playing at playing at the same moment, answering personal and profes-
sional e-mails, watching movies while checking figures, surfing the Web while video-
conferencing. Does this blurred boundary between work and leisure increase the
quality of either? Or does it eat into private lives, cause higher stress, and create an
army of slaves to e-mail?
In the future, will we be working more and enjoying it less, or working less and
enjoying it more? To the sociologist, the answer is both. It depends on whom you
talk to, where they live, and what they do for a living.

WORK AND ECONOMY IN THE 21st CENTURY 451

Chapter

Review

1.What is the economy?The economy is a set of institu-

tions and relationships that manages natural resources,

manufactured goods, and professional services.

2.How do economies develop?Before the Agricultural

Revolution, societies had few rules, and everyone

worked together. Later, people grew predictable crops

with permanent settlements and surplus that led to a

division of labor and the development of markets. The

invention of the steam engine ushered in the industrial

economy, centralizing jobs, specializing workers, and

moving to a model of paid labor. This in turn leads

to increased production which brings increased con-

sumption. Postindustrial economies are characterized

by knowledge work, rootlessness, and globalization

and occur when jobs shift from production to service

orientation.

3.What economic systems are there?Economic systems

deal with production, distribution, and consumption.

Capitalism is based on profit, competition, and owner-

ship of private property. Socialism is characterized by