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Flexible, Adaptable, Employable: Ethics for a New Labour Market

Author

Editor

  • Orvar Löfgren
  • Robert Willim

Summary, in English

A leaner organization of labour, outsourcing and new forms of employment imply significant changes. Politicians and private employers alike emphasize that it is the individual's responsibility to be 'employable'. In his influential discussion of flexible capitalism, Richard Sennett traces the concept of flexibility back to fifteenth-century English. Then it was used with reference to patterns of movement exemplified by the ability of a tree to bend in the wind and then straighten again. Flexibility can be associated with creativity, which implies an open-minded attitude or a state of readiness to act in the face of new ideas and ways of working. In a labour market situation that demands constant upgrading and development, an industry of companies working with competence development has emerged: educational companies, consultants, therapists, management professionals and, more recently, colleges offering everything from further education to an afternoon's stand-up comedy.

Publishing year

2005

Language

English

Pages

117-129

Publication/Series

Magic, Culture and the New Economy

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Berg Publishers

Topic

  • Art History
  • Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Keywords

  • experience economy
  • creative careers
  • stylized work
  • flexibility management
  • post-social phenomenon

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 1-84520-091-8