The Clerk Deskilled
A Study in False Nostalgia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4937458 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paul Attewell (0000-0003-4578-2416) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 357-388 |
| Publication date | 1989-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Historical Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0952-1909 • E-ISSN: 1467-6443 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-6443.1989.tb00019.x |
| OpenAlex | W2036358162 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 12 |
For some, the history of clerical work epitomizes the way in which technological change and the division of labor result in the deskilling and degradation of work. This paper argues that this perception of clerical deskilling is mistaken, the result of an inaccurate portrayal of traditional clerking, and of a theoretical tendency to (mis)read declines in the prestige and pay of an occupation as stemming from changes in skill. Focusing on Victorian clerks' own descriptions of their work, and moving to the present period, the paper offers an alternative reading of clerical history and of the dynamics of occupational decline
Aesthetics · Art · Deskilling · Division of labour · Economics · Epistemology · Labour economics · Linguistics · Perception · Period (music · Political science · Prestige · Reading (process · Sociology · Work (physics · Emotional Labor in Professions · Engineering · Labor Movements and Unions · Management and Organizational Studies · Law · Philosophy
The Broken Cotton Speculator
Banking, bureaucracy and the career
Work, income and stability
Salaries and promotion opportunities in the English banking industry, 1890–1936
Are Skill Requirements Rising? Evidence from Production and Clerical Jobs
What is Skill
Why Do Some Occupations Pay More than Others? Social Closure and Earnings Inequality in the United States
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,19 |
| Citation span | 1990 - 2014 (25) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |