The Reality of Work Cultures in the Modern Economy Essay

The Reality of Work Cultures in the Modern Economy - Essay Example Work culture plays a significant part in bringing the best out of workers and enabling them stay in the work place for a prolonged period. Work culture is significant as it leads to contented workers and enhanced productivity. Richard Sennett asserts that individuals’ work culture will be defined by the novel ideas of flexibility, decentralization and control, flextime, work ethics and teamwork, and change. Moreover, the stated concepts have an impact on character as articulated by commitment and loyalty and eventually lead to the lessening of personal traits and values that are attractive in society (Sennett 1999, p. 9). The modern way of working makes it extremely demanding to get a life as asserted by Sennett. He claims that the personal effects of work in the New Economy have made the individual to be disoriented due to notions such as flexibility, decentralization and control, flextime, work ethics and teamwork, and change. In the contemporary way of life, there has been a spatial modification of work activities on a universal degree, as space and geography have become significantly essential components of work, labour relations, and labour markets (Sennett 1999, p. 9). This means that workers will use most of their time trying to engage in activities that will help them adapt to new working requirements, therefore, it will be difficult for them to get a life. Nonetheless, modern way of working has enhanced connections between individuals, nations, and organizations. This has been made possible by developments in technology and has made it extremely simple to transport people, capital, and commod ities in and across regions as a rapid speed. This has also made employers, customers, and employees focus solely on work activities, and losing their individual existence, hence not getting a life. In addition, the modern way of working has liberated employers from standard spatial and temporal restrictions and facilitated them to position their work activities finely and to gain inexpensive sources of labour. Therefore, workers who provide their labour in exchange for low wages cannot have a life simply because their income cannot match their needs (Golden 2001, p. 240). Moreover, the modern way of working entails developments in communication and information technologies. These advances permit capitalists to impose restraint over spatially and decentralized distributed labour processes. Also, in the contemporary way of working, an individual has to engage in activities that will maintain and enhance their job skills. This will help them to keep up with shifting job needs. Numerou s people find it demanding to find ways of staying employable in a rapid-changing working environment in which talents become quickly out of date. Unlike employees of the early periods, modern day workers are most probable to go back to school or engage in activities that will enhance their talents as they change careers. This will make it difficult to get a life as argued by Sennett. Sennett highlights flexibility, decentralization and control, flextime, work ethics and teamwork, and change as the issues which lead to the corrosion of character. For Charles Stuart Mill flexibility signified the source of individual freedom and which continues to have an impact on our comprehension of the flexibility notion. Sennett asserts that search for flexibility has lead to the development of new structures of control