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Work, Poverty and Welfare

Our state of work determines how wealthy we are. In turn, this determines the amount of welfare we experience or require from the state. Work, poverty and welfare go hand in hand, especially in the sociological world. It's important to look at the relationships between these aspects to understand how they affect individuals in society.

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Work, Poverty and Welfare

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Our state of work determines how wealthy we are. In turn, this determines the amount of welfare we experience or require from the state. Work, poverty and welfare go hand in hand, especially in the sociological world. It's important to look at the relationships between these aspects to understand how they affect individuals in society.

  • In this article, we will explore the following questions:
  • What is meant by work, poverty and welfare in sociology?
  • How has legislation impacted work, poverty and welfare?
  • Which specific factors affect our access to work?

Work, poverty and welfare in sociology

Work, poverty, and welfare fall under the sociology of work and employment, which is the study of work attributes, processes and outcomes.

It considers the relations between workers (employees and the exploited classes) and agents (managers and bosses). It also investigates class, gender, race, ethnicity, and other social identities in the context of labour, work, and employment.

Poverty, work and welfare are all interconnected.

Someone growing up impoverished may struggle to find suitable employment when reaching adulthood due to a lack of access to education.

It can be a constant cycle for many families who are unable to escape the grips of poverty. Let's explore each individual element of work, poverty and welfare to understand it more.

Work and worklessness

First, let's understand what we mean by work.

Work is a human activity that requires the use of physical and mental effort in order to produce something of value and meet one’s needs.

This is not the only definition of work, as work itself is tricky to pin down.

Some definitions only refer to work as a economically valuable activity, while others acknowledge that work includes both paid employment and unpaid labour (e.g. housework), which some might consider non-work.

Worklessness refers to unemployment, underemployment, retirement and being unable to work. In the UK, people between the ages of 16-64 that are not actively involved in the labour market are said to be economically inactive. They are neither employed nor unemployed.

Disabled and chronically-ill people make up a large percentage of economically inactive people, as do students and retired individuals.

Work, Poverty and Welfare, Image of office with employees at computers, StudySmarterFig. 1 - Work is difficult to define, but it is one of the most significant aspects of a person's life.

Poverty as a social issue

Now, let's look at the definition of poverty before we consider how it is a social issue.

Poverty refers to not having access to material, economic, and cultural resources, or not being able to provide basic necessities of life (e.g. food, clothing, and shelter).

Poverty presents itself in many different ways. Individuals who cannot work are often more at risk of experiencing poverty. Governments and sociologists use poverty lines to measure the level of poverty in society and amongst social groups.

They generally recognise two definitions of poverty:

  • Absolute poverty: when people do not have enough income to sustain a basic acceptable standard of living.

  • Subjective poverty is sometimes referred to as relative poverty, when people feel that they are poor compared to someone who is wealthier.

The concept of absolute poverty relies on the idea that there is a minimum standard of living, and those who fall below it are poor. This standard is usually set by states and governments.

Subjective or relative poverty refers to the standard of living in a particular society or culture. Different cultures and societies have different standards of living, and different governments have different views on what constitutes basic necessities. Thus, defining poverty in a diverse, globalised world can be difficult.

The role of the welfare state

To understand work and poverty, we must also be aware of welfare.

Welfare, in its essence, refers to a state of being well. Welfare states and provisions are set up by governments as a response to poverty.

The UK's welfare state was created based on the 1942 Beveridge Report. States and organisations assume basic responsibility for the welfare of individuals and/or households by providing them with material and economic support to help them meet the minimum standard of living.

Voluntary groups also provide welfare services. Individuals and households may turn to voluntary groups because:

  • They are less bureaucratic, and so waiting times are usually shorter than through governmental organisations.

  • They can provide specialist services, for example for people with specific disabilities and illnesses.

  • They can act as representatives for the service users. For example, support workers from charities help individuals and households secure housing by liaising with local councils.

Voluntary groups are not the only alternatives to state welfare. The private sector also provides material and economic support to individuals and households. Family and friends also offer support and can provide more personalised care. It can be anything from letting a homeless family member stay in your house to offering them financial support.

These alternatives exist because governments cannot always meet the needs of individuals and households. Further, some people do not qualify for government assistance, so they must look elsewhere.

Welfare Reform and Work Act (2016)

The Welfare Reform and Work Act (2016) was introduced by the UK government in 2016. The legislation aimed to ensure that people were in a better financial situation when they were employed rather than on benefits. At the time of publishing, the UK government stated that:

...it will create a simpler, fairer benefits system."

The overall aim of this act was to get more of those on benefits to enter full employment, to provide a better state of welfare for each individual and boost the economy. Additionally, the aim was to Aid the most vulnerable and focus on providing welfare for them.

Child Poverty Measures in the Welfare Reform and Work Act

Within the Welfare Reform and Work Act (2016) there was specific legislation put in place in relation to child poverty. The 2016 act revoked large sections of the Child Poverty Act (2010), effectively removing the requirement for the UK government to reduce child poverty.

The legal targets set by the 2010 act were removed, and it eliminated the requirement for local authorities to construct plans to tackle child poverty.

The act also introduced a shift in focus by renaming the Child Poverty and Social Mobility Commission to the Social Mobility Commission. This changed the group's priority to concentrate on promoting social mobility rather than stopping child poverty.

Many in the public eye disagreed with this legislation. They expressed the importance of interventions between poverty and children. If the government had no legal protection in place to tackle child poverty, then the welfare of children was at risk.

How do you think the measures taken against child poverty in the 2016 act affected poorer communities?

Welfare-to-work policies and lone-parent poverty

Welfare-to-work policies are policies that help people to get into a job after receiving welfare help. Lone parents refer to families where there is only one parent.

In the 1990s, there was a lot of child poverty in the UK, and half the children in lone-parent families lived in poverty. Lone-parent families used to get a bad reputation by the government and by The Media, with many thinking that they didn't want to work and were happy to just receive welfare.

The employment rate of those in lone-parent families has increased since the early 2000s. When New Labour came into power in 1997, they focused their attention on unemployment and welfare-to-work policies. This shift helped to reduce child poverty by 20 percent and increase the employment rate in lone-parent families from 44 percent to 60 percent.

Factors affecting equal access to work

Sociologists study the conditions and dimensions of work, and how it relates to globalisation, labour, worklessness, social exclusion, technological changes, poverty, and welfare.

Globalisation affecting equal access to work

Globalisation is the increased interconnectedness of societies worldwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given many organisations the chance to take their businesses to the world stage by hiring international employees.

With more people wanting to work online and from home without having to commute or relocate, employers can create a diverse globalised workforce.

However, not everyone has the same equal opportunities in receiving these roles. Those in poverty may not have the resources to work online due to a lack of finances. This limits their access to work and liaising with a globalised workforce.

Work, Poverty and Welfare, Earth from space, StudySmarterFig. 2 - Globalisation means we are more connected around the world.

Labour affecting equal access to work

This refers to the different roles and responsibilities needed to complete tasks. Labour can be differentiated by skills and qualifications (divisions of labour), which creates hierarchies. Entry-level jobs usually require less experience and fewer skills than senior roles.

  • Labour processes determine how work is organised and also create hierarchies and divisions in society. According to labour process theory, this is how workers’ (employees and the exploited classes) labour-power is acquired by the capitalist ruling class and then transformed into actual labour, creating a co-dependency between workers and capitalists.

  • Management oversees the process and exists to control workers. If managers were not given the authority or power they have, they would simply be like other exploited workers.

However, some individuals may lack the experience to access even entry-level roles. This could be due to an absence of education, knowledge or due to health issues. This puts those members of society at higher risk of poverty if they cannot access a suitable role. In these instances, the welfare state is more likely to be involved to help them find work.

Social exclusion affecting equal access to labour

This refers to situations where individuals are denied full access to areas of social activity such as politics, employment, education, cultural activities, and health care. Individuals may experience social exclusion due to discrimination.

  • Pay gaps increase the chances of social exclusion. In May 2020, an NHS report revealed that Black women were paid 93p for every £1 paid to White women. A 2021 report from The Inclusion Initiative (TII) showed that, while all women are paid unfairly, Black women have the lowest probability of being top earners.

  • Low wage is usually associated with social exclusion because of its relationship to poverty (discussed below), particularly in-work poverty.

  • Those on low wages have limited access to resources such as childcare and mental health care. They also tend to have lower life satisfaction.

Technological changes affecting equal access to labour

The sociology of work and employment in the twenty-first century has focused mainly on the development and application of computer technology. Sociologists are particularly interested in how technological change relates to inequality and the shifting nature of employment.

Let's look at a particular case study to see how modern technological change has affected work, poverty and welfare in a local community.

Barking and Dagenham: a case study of unemployment

In 2002, Ford closed its factories in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. This led to many White, working-class residents being unemployed and pushed out of the borough.

According to Owen Jones (2012), the British National Party (BNP) used this event to exploit the fears and economic anxieties of the white working-class in Barking and Dagenham. They portrayed white working-class people as an oppressed minority.

Consequently, they stated that multiculturalism was the main cause for the high rates of unemployment, not the changing nature of work and employment itself. This was for their own political agenda.

Work, Poverty and Welfare, A BNP card in a window, StudySmarterFig. 3 - A BNP card in a window makes the resident's politics very clear.

Many of the borough's original residents required retraining (reskilling and upskilling) because of technological change, which also changed the job market in the area.

It was thought that the local council and employers prioritised Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups (BAME) over white working-class communities. What residents experienced was deskilling as a result of technological change.

Deskilling is a process by which the skills of workers are made obsolete.

The new arrivals to the borough brought new skills and quickly integrated themselves into the job market. Many white working-class residents felt alienated, and the new residents were met with racist and xenophobic abuse and accused of 'stealing' jobs.

This case study is an example of how quickly a state of worklessness can change in a community. It also shows how the job market can shift quickly, requiring deskilling and reskilling for members of society to fit in.

How do you think this shift in unemployment affected poverty levels in the area?

Work, Poverty and Welfare - Key takeaways

  • Work, poverty, and welfare fall under the sociology of work and employment, which is the study of work attributes, processes and outcomes.
  • The Welfare Reform and Work Act (2016) aimed to ensure that people were in a better financial situation when they were employed rather than on benefits.
  • The Welfare Reform and Work Act (2016) also halted the requirement for the government to prevent child poverty.
  • Poverty refers to not having access to material, economic, and cultural resources, or not being able to provide basic necessities of life (e.g. food, clothing, and shelter).
  • There are many factors affecting access to work: globalisation, labour, social exclusion, and technological changes.

References

  1. House of Commons Library (2018). Effect of Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, UK Parliament. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2018-0072/

Frequently Asked Questions about Work, Poverty and Welfare

Poverty presents itself in many different ways. Individuals who cannot work are often more at risk of experiencing poverty.

They expressed the importance of interventions between poverty and children. If the government had no legal protection in place to tackle child poverty, then the welfare of children was at risk.

Welfare states and provisions are created as a response to poverty. States and organisations assume basic responsibility for the welfare of individuals and/or households by providing them with material and economic support to help them meet the minimum standard of living.

For example, someone growing up in poverty may struggle to find suitable employment when reaching adulthood due to a lack of access to education.

Welfare states aim to reduce poverty by providing care.

Final Work, Poverty and Welfare Quiz

Work, Poverty and Welfare Quiz - Teste dein Wissen

Question

True or false: the UK's welfare state was created based on the 1942 Beveridge Report?

Show answer

Answer

True.

Show question

Question

What is welfare?


Show answer

Answer

Welfare, in its essence, refers to a state of being well. Welfare states and provisions are set up by governments as a response to poverty.



Show question

Question

What is poverty?

 

Show answer

Answer

Poverty refers to not having access to material, economic, and cultural resources, or not being able to provide basic necessities of life (e.g. food, clothing, and shelter).


Show question

Question

What are people who are not involved in the labour market referred to as?

 

Show answer

Answer

People who are not involved in the labour market are referred to as economically inactive. 


Show question

Question

 What is the difference between 'subjective poverty' and 'absolute poverty'?

 

Show answer

Answer

Both subjective and absolute poverty rely on the idea that a minimum standard of living exists. Absolute poverty refers to when people do not have enough income to sustain a basic acceptable standard of living. Subjective poverty is when people feel they are poor in comparison with someone wealthier.


Show question

Question

Why does welfare exist?

 

Show answer

Answer

Welfare states and provisions are set up by governments as a response to poverty.


Show question

Question

Why do non-government welfare provisions (such as voluntary groups and private welfare) exist?

  

Show answer

Answer

These alternatives exist because governments cannot always meet the needs of individuals and households. Further, some people do not qualify for government assistance, so they must look elsewhere.

Show question

Question

Why may some people turn to voluntary groups for welfare and assistance?

 

Show answer

Answer

They are less bureaucratic, so waiting times are usually shorter than through governmental organisations. They can provide specialist services that governments may not be able to provide. They can also act as representatives for the service users. 


Show question

Question

What does 'division of labour' mean?

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Answer

We use the term 'division of labour' to describe how the work tasks in a society are shared out. 

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What counts as work?

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Answer

Work includes traditional paid work, voluntary work, household work, childcare, etc. 

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Question

What is the informal economy?

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Answer

The informal economy refers to the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.

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Question

According to the International Labour Organisation, how much of the world’s employed population aged 15 and older, spend at least part of their time in the informal sector? 


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Answer

Around 2 billion, or 60 percent.

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Question

The informal economy is largest in the developed world. True or false? 

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Answer

False. The informal economy is particularly large in low and middle-income countries, making up a third of their economic activity.

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Question

What is the Marxist opinion on women doing household labour?

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Answer

Marxists see the female domestic role as serving capitalism, because it prepares the proletariat for another day of profit creation. 

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Question

Ann Oakley likened the female mental experience to that of what kind of worker?

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Answer

She likened women in the house to factory workers on the assembly line.

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Why could we argue that women do a 'triple shift'?

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Answer

Because they perform emotional labour and household tasks, as well as being employed. 

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Now that women work more than they used to, men have stepped up and perform a bigger share of household chores than they have done historically. True or false? 

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Answer

False

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Question

Which political economists first developed the notion of the 'division of labour'?

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Answer

Adam Smith and David Riccardo

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Question

How did Karl Marx develop the idea of the division of labour?

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Answer

Marx saw it through the lens of his analysis of the class system. He argued it was proof that the proletariat did all the work.

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Question

How did Émile Durkheim develop the notion of the 'division of labour'?

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Answer

Durkheim saw it more positively than Marx, both as increasing the skills and reproductive value of the workforce, and as a way of developing a communal spirit and social solidarity within a society.

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Question

Fill in the blanks: Labour process theory looks at the organisation of work within a society. It analyses how a workforce's ____ ____ (its ability to work) is directed towards the production of ____ that can be sold to make a profit.  

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Answer

Labour power, commodities.

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What were the two types of solidarity Durkheim mentioned?

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Answer

Organic and mechanical solidarity.

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What is labour process theory?

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Answer

Labour process theory looks at the organisation of work within a society. It analyses how a workforce's labour power (its ability to work) is directed towards the production of commodities, that can be sold to make profit. It criticises the managerial role for reducing the power of the working class. 

Show question

Question

Functionalists have a positive perspective on the division of labour. True or false?

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Answer

True. They believe it benefits society as a whole.

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The functionalist perspective is a variant of what branch of sociology?

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Answer

Structuralist sociology.

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What is the theoretical question that functionalists ask?

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Answer

'How do societies hold together?'

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What do functionalists believe social order is based on?

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They argue that social order is to be found in shared values or some sort of social consensus.

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How can we define 'social institutions'?

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Social institutions are broad patterns of shared, stable, social relationships.

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Why does Durkheim argue that the social structure exists above the level of the individual?

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Durkheim says that the social order is made up of norms and values. This exists above the level of individuals because the norms and values exist within society, and the individual is born into them.

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What kinds of methods does Durkheim think we should use to study society?

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Social scientific methods.

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What is socialisation?

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Answer

Socialisation is the idea that individual selfish tendencies should be restrained, because we will achieve greater levels of human happiness and progress if we cooperate and work together. 

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Functionalists think social institutions are bad for society as a whole. True or false?

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Answer

False. They think institutions perform positive functions that benefit society as a whole.

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Question

What is the name of Emilé Durkheim's notable text?

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Answer

The Division of Labour in Society (1893)

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Question

What is the reproductive capacity of a process?

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Answer

How much of a product the process can make.

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What is the other name for 'dynamic density'?

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Answer

Moral density.

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What are the three ways in which dynamic density can increase?

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1. An increase in the spatial concentration of people (i.e. people getting more spread out).

2. The growth of towns.

3. An increase in the efficacy of communication.

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Question

What are the two kinds of solidarity?

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Answer

Mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity.

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In our modern society today, what kind of solidarity do we have?

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Answer

Organic solidarity.

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Question

What is the upskilling debate?

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Answer

The upskilling debate centres around whether technological changes in the workplace have led to an expansion of skills, or a decrease. 

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Question

Over the past 40 years, low- or un-skilled professions have expanded more than high-skilled ones. True or false?

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Answer

False. High-skilled positions (like professional, managerial and technical jobs) have expanded, while jobs like machine operators and labourers have expanded at a much slower rate.

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Question

What is the tertiary sector?

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Answer

The tertiary sector comes after the primary sector (agricultural industries) and secondary sector (industrial activity). The tertiary sector covers a wide range of activities from commerce to administration, transport, financial and real estate activities, business and personal services, education, health and social work.

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Question

How has the government been preparing for the increased demand for technological skills?

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Answer

By putting a greater emphasis on teaching pupils the skills they will need in a technological workplace at school. 

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Question

What did the new 2014 National Curriculum focus on?

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Answer

Maths, science, and computer programming.

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Question

Can you think of a contemporary example of up-skilling?

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Answer

The farming industry. Due to new complex machinery, it is now considered the norm for farmers to have attended agricultural college in order to be successful in the industry. This is an example of up-skilling because previously, farming was not considered a skilled job.

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Question

What did Daniel Bell, who coined the phrase, think of the up-skilling debate?

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Answer

He saw it as a positive thing. Rather than seeing the replacement of workers with technology as a threat, he saw it as an exciting demand for new skills to be developed, and called the result a 'knowledge society'. 

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Question

How can we criticise the up-skilling argument?

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Answer

Evidence shows that there are a lot of skilled graduates who don't have skilled jobs to fill. This implies that perhaps the demand isn't as high as we think.

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Question

Who came up with the idea of the dual labour market?

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Answer

Michael J. Piore, in 1995.

Show question

Question

How can the dual labour market explain the impact technology has had on the workplace?

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Answer

Many female and BAME workers are trapped in the secondary labour market with few prospects. Because of the expansion of technology in the workplace, the secondary labour market is cutting across not only manual, white-collar jobs, but the service sector too.

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Question

In what ways are employees constantly under scrutiny, according to Shoshana Zuboff?

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Answer

Workers are constantly under scrutiny because of the omnipresence of CCTV cameras in the workplace. Not only this, but they are increasingly expected to engage with R&D (review and development), and their work gets classified and registered officially. 

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Question

What did Ken Roberts mean by aesthetic labour?

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Answer

This term refers to how low-skilled jobs now want people to look a certain way, to fit in with the role they will perform. Aesthetic labour requires workers to come across as human and personable to increase customer satisfaction.

Show question

Test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards

True or false: the UK's welfare state was created based on the 1942 Beveridge Report?

In our modern society today, what kind of solidarity do we have?

Poor people are less likely to be victims of crime.

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Flashcards in Work, Poverty and Welfare220

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True or false: the UK's welfare state was created based on the 1942 Beveridge Report?

True.

What is welfare?


Welfare, in its essence, refers to a state of being well. Welfare states and provisions are set up by governments as a response to poverty.



What is poverty?

 

Poverty refers to not having access to material, economic, and cultural resources, or not being able to provide basic necessities of life (e.g. food, clothing, and shelter).


What are people who are not involved in the labour market referred to as?

 

People who are not involved in the labour market are referred to as economically inactive. 


 What is the difference between 'subjective poverty' and 'absolute poverty'?

 

Both subjective and absolute poverty rely on the idea that a minimum standard of living exists. Absolute poverty refers to when people do not have enough income to sustain a basic acceptable standard of living. Subjective poverty is when people feel they are poor in comparison with someone wealthier.


Why does welfare exist?

 

Welfare states and provisions are set up by governments as a response to poverty.


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