Virtual workers and the global labour market ('Dynamics of virtual work' series)

摘要

This book is one in a series published through the auspices of an international, interdisciplinary research network investigating The Dynamics of Virtual Work and funded by the European Union: In this volume the discussion centres on examining what new forms of work and organising are emerging given the globalisation of the labour market and the virtualisation of work. The book is organised in three sections, however, the first section only consists of one chapter, a very helpful overview and introduction (Webster & Randle). The other two sections focus on Virtual Occupations, Work Processes and Preparation for the Virtual Labour Market and The Conditions and Experiences of Virtual Work. While the boundaries between these two sections seem more permeable than the demarcation suggests-in line with the chapter discussions of the nature of virtual work itself-we are treated to an analysis of a variety of different sites and experiences of virtuality across a range of national contexts: 1. We learn about the specific issues facing workers new to the labour market through Miiller's chapter on young persons' attraction to 'cool' occupational roles that express valued identity projects despite poor financial rewards and precarity; and through Michailidou & Kostala's work concerning young entrepreneurs' motivations in the creative industry; 2. Contributors share with us analyses of new kinds of digitally enabled occupations such as Holts & Surugui on the rise of on-line poker as an occupation; Kerr on the roles of community managers in the digital games industry; and Bengtsson on working in Second Life. Such 'new' kinds of occupation exploit individual's cultural capital (rather than formal qualifications), involve extensive impression management and new kinds of employment relationships; 3. We also learn how traditional occupations may be changing in the light of digital practices as Pfeiffer, Wiihr & Schiitt describe the tacit practices required to make standardisation workable; Pitts discusses the structural constraints on freelance creative work; and Surugiu explains the transformation of journalism to 'digital piecework' (182); 4. We discover the new kinds of work processes and workplace experiences associated with virtuality through Primorac's chapter on the precarity of creative labour; Sivunen on experiencing absence in virtual teams; and D'Cruz on the distinctive nature of cyberbullying.