Control and Dignity in Professional, Manual and Service-Sector Employment

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Abstract
This study investigates implications of complex control combinations applied in manual, service and professional occupations for expressive, behavioral and emotional aspects of workplace dignity. Qualitative comparative analyses of 154 content-coded workplace ethnographies suggest that professionals encounter persuasive ‘bundles’ of control that enhance expressive and behavioral manifestations of dignity as well as pride. However, these benefits come at the expense of high levels of stress associated with internal drives and externally driven normative orientations and behaviors. Workers in manual and service occupations confront a broader array of approaches, including coercive control combinations that erode pride and effort by dehumanizing workers and inviting abuse. Furthermore, the benefits of persuasive control combinations in these settings are mitigated by supplementary constraints, which promote maintenance of a protective distance from employers that may also help to limit stress. The paper concludes with organizational strategies for curbing abuse in coercive manual and service environments and a discussion of changes necessary to address the problem of stress in the professions.

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