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Sennett claims that the apparent decentralization of power in flexible organizations is only apparent. In fact, power remains concentrated in the hands of top level managers, often enhanced by the surveillance capabilities of contemporary technologies. The actual practice of flextime illustrates the point. When employees are given leave to work at home, employers grown anxious, since "they fear losing control over their absent workers and suspect that those who stay at home will abuse their freedom. As a result, a host of controls have come into being to regulate the actual work processes of those who are absent from the office. People may be required to phone in to the office regularly, or intranet controls may be used to monitor the absent worker; e-mail is often opened by supervisors. Few organizations who deploy flextime propose to their workers, 'Here is a task; do it any way you wish, so long as you get it done. . . . A flextime worker controls the location of labor, but does not gain greater control over the labor process itself. By now, a number of studies suggest that the surveillance of labor is in fact often greater for those absent from the office than for those who are present." Submission to a manager is replaced by electronic monitoring.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, February 09, 2006 at 04:26 PM
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