The Question of Subjectivity and the Labor Process

Abstract

The article focuses on the question of subjectivity and the labor process. The paper draws attention to the presence and significance of a tradition of analysis that is often unknown, unexplored, or unacknowledged by students of work, employment, and organization, yet is potentially of interest to anyone concerned with organizational behavior, the management of human resources, strategies of management control, organizational change, job redesign, empowerment, and related issues. The second objective of the paper is to highlight and illustrate a major limitation of orthodox labor process theory-namely, its rudimentary conception of the nature and significance of subjectivity and identity for analyzing the dynamics of workplace relations. This deficiency, the authors argue, can be addressed by reconstructing labor process theory through a careful and sustained engagement with poststructuralist thinking. A reconstructed form of labor process analysis, both the conventional and radical ways of thinking.