IT professionals across distinct evolving work contexts: a study of the challenges and tensions
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Alliance Manchester Business School
Abstract
Background
Labour market flexibility in the ICT sector is prevalent (Benner, 2002). Structural changes have led to increased labour market insecurity and work casualization, triggered in part through crowdsourcing as an alternative form of employment (Bergvall-Kåreborn & Howcroft, 2013:965). Following the 2008 recession, and compounded by the post-Brexit vote, full-time employment has fallen in the UK (Monaghan, 2014; Elliott, 2017). Against this backdrop, individuals might find themselves falling into the precarious forms of employment, not necessarily by choice (Parkinson, 2017), with their situation potentially exacerbated due to the dynamics of financialised capitalism (Thompson, 2013). Indeed, people within the firm could perceive challenges and tensions (e.g. Agboola & Salawu, 2011). Individuals have been weakened by a decline in trade union power and joint regulation (Daniels and French, 2006). In particular, "ICT work is often cited as highly individualistic labour, typified by low levels of trade union membership" (Marks & Baldry, 2009 cited in Marks, et al. 2017:2), with crowd-worker collectivism especially bleak (Felstiner, 2011:152). Combined with a lack of legal protections (TUC, 2008), workers appear distinctly worse off.
The aim is to understand the labour process challenges and tensions within and across the distinct and evolving work contexts of ICT professionals. The themes include: control regimes, skill trajectory, power relations, work intensification, the role of new and existing technologies and cost-cutting strategies. Crowd-working is a new and under-researched area (Briken, et al. 2017). However, its use by organisations appears to be interconnected into a wider narrative (e.g. Briken, et al. 2017:3) and forms just one part of a fragmented employment structure (Greenbaum,
1998:138).
Research questions
1. What are the labour process challenges and tensions within the distinct evolving work contexts for ICT professionals and management?
2. Are temporary and/or crowd-workers utilised, and if so, why? To what extent and how does this affect power relations for employees/workers and management?
3. How do ICT professional employees/workers leverage autonomy, control, skill, discretion and dissent, within and across distinct evolving work contexts?
4. How are control regimes changing within large ICT firms as a result of new technologies?
5. How are skills and competency requirements in large ICT firms changing due to new technologies? How does this affect power relations?
Methods
Purposive sampling of sites and participants will be adopted (see Bryman and Bell, 2015).
Participants will comprise of IT professionals. The initial research will use access through established ICT firms to see what their use of outsourcing may be and why. Methodological triangulation, e.g. planning in participant observation will be considered later.
Timescale:
Contributions, outcomes and dissemination
This study will refine and develop the existing knowledge concerning the challenges and tensions across the distinct and evolving work contexts of ICT professionals. Concerning crowd-workers, there is little in the way of empirical studies on this form of work organisation, the employment relationship, and little evidence of collectivism or resistance within the gig economy in general (Briken, et al. 2017). The latter of which might work towards illustrating a by-product of this study's core question. Overall this PhD project has the potential to make a considerable contribution to the literature.
The PhD aims to connect with a variety of stakeholders (e.g. the EHRC, trade unions and HR departments), in order to ensure that the research is relevant and that it can make a difference. In addition to the PhD thesis, the project will also produce a series of briefing papers over the duration of the study, conference papers, as well as articles for high quality academic journals.
Labour market flexibility in the ICT sector is prevalent (Benner, 2002). Structural changes have led to increased labour market insecurity and work casualization, triggered in part through crowdsourcing as an alternative form of employment (Bergvall-Kåreborn & Howcroft, 2013:965). Following the 2008 recession, and compounded by the post-Brexit vote, full-time employment has fallen in the UK (Monaghan, 2014; Elliott, 2017). Against this backdrop, individuals might find themselves falling into the precarious forms of employment, not necessarily by choice (Parkinson, 2017), with their situation potentially exacerbated due to the dynamics of financialised capitalism (Thompson, 2013). Indeed, people within the firm could perceive challenges and tensions (e.g. Agboola & Salawu, 2011). Individuals have been weakened by a decline in trade union power and joint regulation (Daniels and French, 2006). In particular, "ICT work is often cited as highly individualistic labour, typified by low levels of trade union membership" (Marks & Baldry, 2009 cited in Marks, et al. 2017:2), with crowd-worker collectivism especially bleak (Felstiner, 2011:152). Combined with a lack of legal protections (TUC, 2008), workers appear distinctly worse off.
The aim is to understand the labour process challenges and tensions within and across the distinct and evolving work contexts of ICT professionals. The themes include: control regimes, skill trajectory, power relations, work intensification, the role of new and existing technologies and cost-cutting strategies. Crowd-working is a new and under-researched area (Briken, et al. 2017). However, its use by organisations appears to be interconnected into a wider narrative (e.g. Briken, et al. 2017:3) and forms just one part of a fragmented employment structure (Greenbaum,
1998:138).
Research questions
1. What are the labour process challenges and tensions within the distinct evolving work contexts for ICT professionals and management?
2. Are temporary and/or crowd-workers utilised, and if so, why? To what extent and how does this affect power relations for employees/workers and management?
3. How do ICT professional employees/workers leverage autonomy, control, skill, discretion and dissent, within and across distinct evolving work contexts?
4. How are control regimes changing within large ICT firms as a result of new technologies?
5. How are skills and competency requirements in large ICT firms changing due to new technologies? How does this affect power relations?
Methods
Purposive sampling of sites and participants will be adopted (see Bryman and Bell, 2015).
Participants will comprise of IT professionals. The initial research will use access through established ICT firms to see what their use of outsourcing may be and why. Methodological triangulation, e.g. planning in participant observation will be considered later.
Timescale:
Contributions, outcomes and dissemination
This study will refine and develop the existing knowledge concerning the challenges and tensions across the distinct and evolving work contexts of ICT professionals. Concerning crowd-workers, there is little in the way of empirical studies on this form of work organisation, the employment relationship, and little evidence of collectivism or resistance within the gig economy in general (Briken, et al. 2017). The latter of which might work towards illustrating a by-product of this study's core question. Overall this PhD project has the potential to make a considerable contribution to the literature.
The PhD aims to connect with a variety of stakeholders (e.g. the EHRC, trade unions and HR departments), in order to ensure that the research is relevant and that it can make a difference. In addition to the PhD thesis, the project will also produce a series of briefing papers over the duration of the study, conference papers, as well as articles for high quality academic journals.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Tony Dundon (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Lee Stringer (Student) |