Hefted: reconfiguring work, value and mobility in the UK Lake district

ABSTRACT

The production of financial value by organisations through highly mobile products and services is increasingly contested by recognition of the more-than-financial aspects of valuation practices, particularly regarding the quality or moral value of work experiences and the dignity of workers. The role of nonhuman animals is frequently overlooked despite the significance of animal contributions to labour and manufacture, yet contributes to this debate. We generate new insights to valuation by reflecting on the mobility of nonhumans. Discussing the Herdwick sheep breed of Cumbria, we illustrate how the image and narrative of these sheep is mobilised to add value not only to Herdwick products but to human work. We highlight how hefting, the concept of establishing a deep-rooted connection between sheep and place, stands in contrast to dominant logics of speed and efficiency and is employed to overcome devaluation of the worker in this mountainous and isolated region.

KEYWORDS:

• Sheep
• dignity
• place
• mobility
• valuation
• value

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Laura Mitchell http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7533-9146

Notes

1 The few exceptions in studies of organization include studies such as Gibson’s (2014) discussion of the production and purchase of Texas cowboy boots as an encounter with the animals’ skin. The area is being explored more extensively within geography and critical animal studies in studies such as Hodgetts and Lorimer (2015).