The fracturing of work and employment relations

ABSTRACT

This article presents an argument that work and employment relationships are increasingly ‘fractured’ and ‘fragmented’. The argument first reviews the changing contexts of investor-capitalism (financialisation), which shows that a market ontology and an excessive individualistic ideology is pervasive in employment regulation. The expansion of financialised capitalism is then related to contemporary employment practices about ‘pay inequality’ and ‘talent’ selection. These serve to eschew collective structures of collaboration and fragment labour standards. The result is a series ‘protective gaps’ about worker voice, legal regulation, technology and labour control. A number of challenges and opportunities for the way the subject area is taught and researched in mainstream business schools are outlined.

KEYWORDS:

• Employment relations
• power
• inequality
• regulation
• deregulation
• remuneration
• talent management
• business school education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. In the interests of protecting delegates from my dulcet of scouse tones, of course !

2. Protectacoat Firthglow Ltd v Szilagyi [2009] EWCA Civ 98 CA.