Invisible Labor
About the Author
Miriam A. Cherry is Professor of Law at Saint Louis University.
Winifred R. Poster is a Stanford-trained sociologist affiliated with Washington University.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD: INVISIBLE LABOR, INAUDIBLE VOICE - ARLIE HOCHSCHILD
PART ONE. EXPOSING INVISIBLE LABOR
1. INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTUALIZING INVISIBLE LABOR
WINIFRED R. POSTER, MARION CRAIN, AND MIRIAM A. CHERRY
2. THE EYE SEES WHAT THE MIND KNOWS: THE CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF INVISIBLE WORK
JOHN W. BUDD
3. MAINTAINING HIERARCHIES IN PREDOMINANTLY WHITE ORGANIZATIONS: A THEORY OF RACIAL TASKS AS INVISIBLE LABOR
ADIA HARVEY WINGFI ELD AND RENÉE SKEETE
PART TWO. VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE: DISEMBODIED LABOR VIA TECHNOLOGY AND GLOBALIZATION
4. VIRTUAL WORK AND INVISIBLE LABOR
MIRIAM A. CHERRY
5. THE VIRTUAL RECEPTIONIST WITH A HUMAN TOUCH: OPPOSING PRESSURES OF DIGITAL AUTOMATION AND OUTSOURCING IN INTERACTIVE SERVICES
WINIFRED R. POSTER
PART THREE. PUSHED OUT OF SIGHT: SHIELDED FORMS OF EMBODIED LABOR
6. HIDDEN FROM VIEW: DISABILITY, SEGREGATION, AND WORK
ELIZABETH PENDO
7. SIMPLY WHITE: RACE, POLITICS, AND INVISIBILITY IN ADVERTISING DEPICTIONS OF FARM LABOR
EVAN STEWART
8. PRODUCING INVISIBILITY: SURVEILLANCE, HUNGER, AND WORK IN THE PRODUCE AISLES OF WAL-MART, CHINA
EILEEN M. OTIS AND ZHENG ZHAO
PART IV. LOOKING GOOD AT WORK: INVISIBLE LABOR IN PLAIN SIGHT
9. THE FEMALE BREAST AS BRAND: THE AESTHETIC LABOR OF BREASTAURANT SERVERS
DIANNE AVERY
10. THE INVISIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF AESTHETIC LABOR IN UPSCALE RETAIL STORES
CHRISTINE L. WILLIAMS AND CATHERINE CONNELL
11. FROM INVISIBLE WORK TO INVISIBLE WORKERS: THE IMPACT OF SERVICE EMPLOYERS’ SPEECH DEMANDS ON THE WORKING CLASS
CHRIS WARHURST
PART V. BRANDED AND CONSUMED
12. SELF-BRANDING AMONG FREELANCE KNOWLEDGE WORKERS
ADAM ARVIDSSON, ALESSANDRO GANDINI, AND CAROLINA BANDINELLI
13. CONSUMING WORK
MARION CRAIN
14. CONCLUSION
WINIFRED R. POSTER, MARION CRAIN, AND MIRIAM A. CHERRY
ABOUT THE EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX
Reviews
— CHOICERetail employers demand that their employees represent their brands at considerable cost to themselves, wearing expensive clothes and fulfilling an image. Sexually themed restaurants require hours of "off-stage" grooming to ensure that the employees provide the desired experience for their customers. "Prestigious" corporations offer recent graduates the "privilege" of unpaid internships. Walmart manipulates a service ethic and subjects workers to surveillance from all directions to minimize labor costs. Restaurants conceal the employees toiling in the kitchens, and distant call centers create "American" identities for low-paid foreign labor. Invisible Labor grew out of a 2013 conference at Washington University, and features the provocative contributions of leading scholars exploring the complex institutional realities of global labor markets.
"A terrific collection full of insights that will engage specialists, students, and the general reader alike. Although the authors do not claim to have discovered hidden work, they bring its analysis up to date for the twenty-first century's networked and globalized world of work. They draw attention to the many forms of invisibility—where work is hidden from consumers, managers, and workers themselves—and degrees of obscurity. Drawing on a range of disciplines and vivid ethnographic studies that criss-cross the globe and sectors of employment, the authors document the centrality and ubiquity of invisible labor. The emphasis on race and ethnicity with respect to the service sector in the U.S. is particularly welcome. A focus on formal employment relations strengthens the argument, which is further enhanced by a succinct editorial introduction and conclusion, which provide an overarching analytical framework linking the diverse empirical chapters. Resonating with our everyday experiences of life, this is a lively and thought-provoking volume."—Miriam Glucksmann, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Essex