Time, Work and Organisation

von: Jenny Graff

Outline

1. Introduction

2. Thompson: Task- and Time-Orientation

2.1. Overview
2.2. Task-Orientation
2.3. Time-Orientation
2.4. Working patterns today

3. Whipp: Criticism and Alternative Model

3.1. Criticism of Thompson′s theory
3.2. Whipp′s alternative model

4. Summary and Future Outlook

5. Conclusion

6. References

1. Introduction

Until our century the connection between work and the apprehension of time used to be a subject that was hardly observed. One of the main reasons may well be the fact that the everyday authority of time is so complete that it is usually taken for granted and, consequently, rarely appears to be problematic (see Young and Schuller, 3).
With increasing awareness of the complex time-work relation, this issue is nowadays discussed from different perspectives within as well as beyond the field of sociology.
To understand the sense of time and work in present days, it is interesting to examine how it has developed in history, especially under the influence of a changing industrial system. The focus of this essay will therefore be the question how capitalism has transformed the human sense of time. To discuss this I will concentrate on the theory of E. P. Thompson, its main ideas as well as arising problems and questions. I will start by outlining this theory in detail and continue to summarise its main points of criticism in connection with Richard Whipp′s idea of an alternative model of time perception. Finally, I will conclude by giving a future outlook of the problem.

2. Thompson: Task- and Time-Orientation

2.1. Overview

Although other scientists have dealt with the issue before, the historian E. P. Thompson was the first to thoroughly study the shift in time-sense during the era of industrialisation. His main ideas are presented in the essay "Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism" published in ′Customs in Common′ (Penguin 1991, chapter 6), which the next paragraph is based on.
The foundation of Thompson′s theory lies in the realisation that the apprehension of time is influenced by the industrial system in which people work. This is reflected not only in working habits, rules, or economic aspects – such as the popularity and distribution of clocks –, but also in social and cultural characteristics, particularly in literature. Thompson uses all these different features to form and extend his thesis.
Deriving from his findings, he distinguishes two main directions: task-orientation prevailing in the pre-industrial society, and time-orientation, which developed with the rise of capitalism.

2.2. Task-Orientation

In the pre-industrial world, the rhythm of work was usually induced by natural needs. This co-ordination of labour according to duties and necessities is called task-orientation.
In task-orientation, the timing of work is primarily determined by nature or by needs which disclose themselves as an essential conditioning, such as the tides in fishing, the changing seasons in agri-culture and the need of milking cows at regular times. This way different work-situations are often provided in relation to the rhythms of nature.
As a consequence, the passing of time is measured by natural circles and the duration of completing a given task. In other words, a specific job takes as long as is needed to finish it; there are hardly any abstract periods of time fixed for a certain amount of work.
Furthermore, the working day lengthens or contracts with occurring tasks and the time it takes to carry them out, which leads to an irregular circle even within the working week. Probably the most widely discussed example is the one of so-called "Saint Monday". It refers to the common habit in pre-industrial society to extend the weekend by working very little, or not at all, at the beginning of the week.

Thompson makes three points about task-orientation. Firstly, it is said to be more humanly comprehensible than working by the clock because it is based upon observed necessities. Hence, it can be understood why a duty has to be carried out at a certain point of time.
Secondly, in task-orientation there is only little boundary between work and leisure as tasks are often included within the rhythm of every-day life. Thus, no great conflict between labour and ′passing time of the day′ is experienced by the worker.
Finally, because of these features task-orientation often appears lazy, wasteful and lacking in urgency to those used to timed labour.

2.3. Time-Orientation

[...]