Time, legitimacy and work. The metamorphosis of time at work ethics

Abstract

This text aims to explain the meaning of the representations of time linked to the ethics of post-Fordist work. A diachronic analysis is proposed to understand the meaning of these representations. In this way, the present article is structured in three parts. First, the temporality of pre-industrial societies is described. The second part shows the process through which the work was elevated to the main of human activities. Finally, in the third part, the meaning of the conceptions of time integrated in the post-Fordist work ethic is analyzed. For the realization of this paper secondary sources of historical and sociological character have been used. In the third part, the texts produced by the specialists in managament and by the representatives of the main international political institutions, which legitimize the current work ethic, have also been used.