IST 605: Sociology of Labor

Padavic’s study on contingent workers heavily relies on interviews the sociologist conducted with contingent laborers who worked at a variety of jobs. All of these workers were employers who made it clear that they did not owe their contingent workers anything beyond what was specified in their short-term contracts. Padavic explores the identities the workers she interviewed created for themselves while working jobs that did not provide them with stability. They created a variety of identity-management strategies to help them avoid the shame that can be associated with temporary employment.