Indian call centre workers

Vanguard of a Global Middle Class

Bibliographic Data

ID2373502
AuthorsJonathan Murphy (0000-0002-4267-2214, Cardiff University, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume25
Issue3
Pages417-433
Publication date2011-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0950017011407968
OpenAlexW1973062801
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited36

The article explores how participation in the transnational interactive services industry impacts on the social identifications of Indian call centre workers. The article's analytical framework builds from Bourdieu's work on social stratification, contemporary theorizations of aesthetic labour and conceptualizations of the commodification of self as integral to aesthetic labour. The research data are drawn from a large scale survey and in-depth interviews with Indian call centre workers, focusing on their lifestyles and social values. Comparison is made with Indian and international youth cohorts. The research findings demonstrate the extent to which this group has adopted transnational middle class values and lifestyles. The article concludes that Indian call centre workers can be characterized as part of an emergent global middle class sharing common lifestyles and values with their counterparts in western countries

Call centre · Commodification · Economy · Geography · Media studies · Middle class · Political science · Social class · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Vanguard · Emotional Labor in Professions · Gender Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Work-Family Balance Challenges