Transformation in the meaning of work beyond the institutional sphere: The view from the standpoint of gender relations and differences

Abstract

This article tackles the question of ‘the deconstruction of employment’ and its condition as a ‘floating signifier’ from one specific angle. It sets out to show that, although the origins of the current ‘floating’ quality of employment can be located in large measure in the institutional ramifications of the neoliberal order, its practical constitution-the specificallysocialaspect of employment as currently configured-can be fully understood only if the-hierarchically organized-moment ofreproductionof the social order is brought into play and, in particular, the social ordering of the production and reproduction of life as it is manifested in gender relations.