The Sociology of Work and Well-Being

Abstract

Work is a central activity and a principal source of identity for most adults, but it is also a frequent source of distress. In this chapter, I show that job-related distress – or its opposite, well-being – might be best understood by considering the way that several economic and social structures affect exposure and vulnerability to work stressors. The state of the economy, the way workers are linked to jobs, the nature of those jobs, the structures of social inequality, and the intersection of work with other social institutions, especially the family, affect job conditions including those that make jobs stressful. These job-related economic and social structures routinely and normatively affect well-being and thus illustrate how social conditions account for psychological outcomes.