Description
Book SynopsisThe 1990s were years of turmoil and transformation in American work experiences and employment relationships. Trends including the growth of contingent labor, the erosion of the stable employment contract, the restructuring of jobs and companies, and...
Trade ReviewCrossing the Great Divide is an expos' of the downside of the risk in the new economy. Vicki Smith argues that 'temporariness and risk' have become intertwined with workers' expectations of opportunity and advancement, which were understood in the days of the old economy as the rewards for hard work or even dedication.
-- Gina Neff, Columbia University * Dissent *
Providing a welcome change of direction... Vicki Smith's book argues convincingly that we should not take a romantic view of work in the age of mass production.... Her research has thrown up a plausible conclusion that today's booming US employment market with its 'turbulence, decentral-isation, variation, and unpredictability' offers many workers what they see as an opportunity... 'to invest themselves in their work.'.
-- Robert Taylor * Financial Times *
There is a growing literature on globalization, employment restructuring, and the postindustrial workplace. Much of that work may already be obsolete, however, as recent evidence suggests that both the cynics and the optimists are wrong—or, at least, only partly right. Crossing the Great Divide is among the first books that tackle this complexity head on and, in the process, provides students and researchers with new ways to think about employment in the 21st century.
-- Amy S. Wharton, Washington State University * American Journal of Sociology *
Each of the participants in Smith's four studies must cope with the contradictions faced by those whose jobs may be at risk but who also face new opportunities at the same time, and she explores how workers attempt to cross 'the great divide' and take advantage of the 'new economy.'.
-- David Rouse * Booklist *
Smith examines how different groups of workers acquire the skills, know-how, cultural and human capital, and mental aptitudes that might help them reap the benefits of the new economy.
* Choice *
