The double indeterminacy of labour power: labour effort and labour mobility

摘要

Separating labour services into effort and mobility power that workers possess and employers seek to manage, is more realistic than thinking about the labour process solely in production terms. Control strategies are not only about production indeterminacy of labour but also mobility indeterminacy. There is a close link between the indeterminacies around mobility power and effort power. For example, the withdrawal of individuals may increase pressures on the effort for those who stay, but may also reduce effort, as intensification practices, such as continuous improvement or TQM, cannot be enacted due to the shortage of trained staff (Elger and Smith, 2005).