Work restructuring and changing craft identity: The Tale of the Disaffected Weavers (or what happens when the rug is pulled from under your feet)

Abstract

This article explores the changes in worker identity that can occur during manufacturing restructuring - specifically those linked to the declining status of craft work - through an in-depth case study of Weaveco, a UK carpet manufacturer. An analysis of changes in the labour process is followed by employee reactions centred on the demise of the traditional craft identity of male carpet weavers. The voices of the weavers dramatize the tensions involved in reconstructing their masculine identity, and we consider the implications this has for understanding gendered work relations. Copyright © 2007 BSA Publications Ltd.