Creative Labour: Media Work in the Cultural Industries
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Institute of Communication Studies
Abstract
Plain English Summary including for non-specialists:
Creative industries* (industries such as television, music, magazines and newspapers, film, advertising and so on that produce goods that are primarily aesthetic, expressive or informational) have formed a very important area of public policy in recent years. Most creative industries policies explicitly aim at expanding the number of jobs available in these industries. This makes it important to examine what kinds of jobs these are. Partly for this reason, and also because of profound changes in the nature of the industries concerned, a number of academic areas have recently begun to pay greater attention to such 'creative labour'.
I am applying for funds to provide leave to write a book that builds upon earlier research, and which also draws upon fieldwork conducted in three creative media industries (television, magazines and music) in 2006-7.
The book seeks to move beyond existing approaches in a number of ways.
First, the book seeks to conceptualise what 'good work' and 'bad work' in the creative industries might be under present conditions. It does so not only by providing information about what the conditions faced by creative workers in media industries (their hours, pay, access to union representation, stress and anxiety) but also by drawing on philosophical and sociological discussions, not only of work, but also of what constitutes the 'good life' (Aristotle) of which work can only ever be a part. To do so, a number of further moves are necessary.
Second, the book seeks to improve the way in which we understand the crucial and difficult idea of autonomy (the relative freedom for creative workers to get on with their work with relatively little supervision or monitoring, and little interference from commercial, religious or political imperatives) and self-realisation (the goal of realising one's capacities and fulfilling one's hopes). There is widespread agreement that work in the creative industries is often, and increasingly, short-term and very insecure. Because of this, some analysts argue that autonomy and self-realisation through work are ways of compensating workers for this insecurity - meaning that in effect, autonomy and self-realisation may be mechanisms of control, because they can dissipate the discontents of workers. The book therefore seeks to assess whether this is an accurate or useful way to think of the problem.
Third, a number of writers have pointed out that 'subjectivity' (the worker's individual characteristics, thoughts and feelings) is increasingly important in the modern workplace; for example, organisations are increasingly keen for workers to enjoy their work and therefore to devote themselves to it much more fully. But the theories of subjectivity that have been used in analysing work have often been curiously lacking in any sense of the individual workers as beings who are emotional and reflexive (able to reflect meaningfully and purposively on their own circumstances). So I propose an account of people's experiences at work that pays much more attention to emotion, in particular to ambivalence - the way that creative workers can both love and hate their jobs, and to the way in which workers pursue ethical and aesthetic goals in their creative labour.
Fourth, the book examines how creative workers talk about what makes for good work - a good television programme or a not-so-good one, for example - and it seeks to provide an understanding of how this might help us to think about the 'quality' of cultural products; and why certain products get made rather than others.
* A note on terminology: many writers use the term 'cultural industries' more or less interchangeably with 'creative industries', though some definitions of creative industries are very broad to include categories such as software. The focus here is on media industries within the creative or cultural industries sector.
Creative industries* (industries such as television, music, magazines and newspapers, film, advertising and so on that produce goods that are primarily aesthetic, expressive or informational) have formed a very important area of public policy in recent years. Most creative industries policies explicitly aim at expanding the number of jobs available in these industries. This makes it important to examine what kinds of jobs these are. Partly for this reason, and also because of profound changes in the nature of the industries concerned, a number of academic areas have recently begun to pay greater attention to such 'creative labour'.
I am applying for funds to provide leave to write a book that builds upon earlier research, and which also draws upon fieldwork conducted in three creative media industries (television, magazines and music) in 2006-7.
The book seeks to move beyond existing approaches in a number of ways.
First, the book seeks to conceptualise what 'good work' and 'bad work' in the creative industries might be under present conditions. It does so not only by providing information about what the conditions faced by creative workers in media industries (their hours, pay, access to union representation, stress and anxiety) but also by drawing on philosophical and sociological discussions, not only of work, but also of what constitutes the 'good life' (Aristotle) of which work can only ever be a part. To do so, a number of further moves are necessary.
Second, the book seeks to improve the way in which we understand the crucial and difficult idea of autonomy (the relative freedom for creative workers to get on with their work with relatively little supervision or monitoring, and little interference from commercial, religious or political imperatives) and self-realisation (the goal of realising one's capacities and fulfilling one's hopes). There is widespread agreement that work in the creative industries is often, and increasingly, short-term and very insecure. Because of this, some analysts argue that autonomy and self-realisation through work are ways of compensating workers for this insecurity - meaning that in effect, autonomy and self-realisation may be mechanisms of control, because they can dissipate the discontents of workers. The book therefore seeks to assess whether this is an accurate or useful way to think of the problem.
Third, a number of writers have pointed out that 'subjectivity' (the worker's individual characteristics, thoughts and feelings) is increasingly important in the modern workplace; for example, organisations are increasingly keen for workers to enjoy their work and therefore to devote themselves to it much more fully. But the theories of subjectivity that have been used in analysing work have often been curiously lacking in any sense of the individual workers as beings who are emotional and reflexive (able to reflect meaningfully and purposively on their own circumstances). So I propose an account of people's experiences at work that pays much more attention to emotion, in particular to ambivalence - the way that creative workers can both love and hate their jobs, and to the way in which workers pursue ethical and aesthetic goals in their creative labour.
Fourth, the book examines how creative workers talk about what makes for good work - a good television programme or a not-so-good one, for example - and it seeks to provide an understanding of how this might help us to think about the 'quality' of cultural products; and why certain products get made rather than others.
* A note on terminology: many writers use the term 'cultural industries' more or less interchangeably with 'creative industries', though some definitions of creative industries are very broad to include categories such as software. The focus here is on media industries within the creative or cultural industries sector.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| David Hesmondhalgh (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Hesmondhalgh D
(2013)
Creative Labour
Hesmondhalgh D
(2015)
Sex, gender and work segregation in the cultural industries.
in The Sociological review
Hesmondhalgh D
(2010)
'A very complicated version of freedom': Conditions and experiences of creative labour in three cultural industries
in Poetics
| Description | Main achievements (linked to original objectives of the research) were as follows: To enhance the perceived importance of questions of labour in media and communications studies, and in the study of the creative industries. This was achieved by writing a series of articles (and funded by AH/H006796/1) a research monograph, which combines empirical work (conducted with a colleague) by drawing upon the empirical research conducted in three media industries (television, music and magazines) in 2006-7 but also by considerable conceptual and theoretical work. These empirical and theoretical resources are combined in ways indicated in the original Case for Support. To enhance knowledge and understanding of creative autonomy as a crucial element in any understanding of creative labour, and an important component of analysis of contemporary work in general. As indicated, I made use of Pierre Bourdieu's work in order to do so, but also the work of Raymond Williams and Andrew Bowie. To analyse the working conditions of a range of workers of different types in these industries. This was achieved by covering primary creative personnel such as musicians, writers, actors and journalists; creative managers; 'craft' workers such as camera operators, editors and so on; by addressing conditions of salaried and freelance staff, of varying levels of experience; and by paying attention to the potential rewards, but also the pressures and anxieties associated with these different kinds of creative labour. Related to this, to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of co-operation and competitiveness amongst teams of project workers. This was achieved via an examination of questions of sociality and isolation in creative jobs, occupations and careers. To enhance knowledge and understanding of the role of worker subjectivities in media and creative industries. This was achieved by moving beyond the lack of attention to subjectivity in many existing sociological and Marxian approaches within media and communication studies. However, it also moved beyond those approaches, in studies of work and organisations in general, and to a lesser extent in studies specifically of cultural production, that have paid much greater attention to subjectivity, but through a post-structuralist analytical lens. The result is a contribution to debates about subjectivity and agency in social and cultural analysis. This was also apparent in the next original objective, which was to consider, through analysis of interview talk, the ways in which creative media workers display reflexivity and agency in their ethical and aesthetic discourse on their work. Against structuralist and economistic accounts of work, the book pays careful attention to workers' own accounts, but contextualises them within an account of the economic, political and cultural forces that shape their experiences. To delineate where there may be opportunities and openings in present systems of modern media and cultural production to carry out relatively autonomous creative work. This was achieved by combining theoretical analysis and historical evidence with the empirical work as indicated in the Case for Support. The result is a more sustained, balanced appraisal of the possibilities and constraints of creative work than previous research has been able to achieved. To build theories of self-realisation and autonomy that recognise the danger that these concepts have been appropriated in contemporary management and working practices in ways that sometimes lead to problems of individualisation and 'self-exploitation' on the part of workers. This was achieved by drawing on the unusual and eclectic mixture of resources indicated elsewhere in this report, including political philosophy, sociology of work, and social theory. |
| Exploitation Route | The research has contributed significantly to understanding of and discussion of working conditions and quality of working life in the cultural and creative industries. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |