Alienation Is Not 'Bullshit

An Empirical Critique of Graeber's Theory of BS Jobs

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2374515
AutoresMagdalena Soffia (0000-0001-8987-4369, University of Cambridge), Alex J Wood (0000-0003-0569-7145, University of Birmingham, autor correspondente), Brendan Burchell (0000-0002-8243-937X, University of Cambridge)
Ano2022
Volume36
Fascículo5
Páginas816-840
Data de publicação2022-10-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/09500170211015067
OpenAlexW3168198268
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas40
Referências citadas30

David Graeber's 'bullshit jobs theory' has generated a great deal of academic and public interest. This theory holds that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value. Despite generating clear testable hypotheses, this theory is not based on robust empirical research. We, therefore, use representative data from the EU to test five of its core hypotheses. Although we find that the perception of doing useless work is strongly associated with poor wellbeing, our findings contradict the main propositions of Graeber's theory. The proportion of employees describing their jobs as useless is low and declining and bears little relationship to Graeber's predictions. Marx's concept of alienation and a 'Work Relations' approach provide inspiration for an alternative account that highlights poor management and toxic workplace environments in explaining why workers perceive paid work as useless

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