Restructuring Work and the Life Course

Linda Cullum is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology
and Women’s Studies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and
the author of Narratives At Work: Women, Men, Unionization and the
Fashioning of Identities.

Of one thing we can be certain: the idea of a “typical” life course
has altered. We are not experiencing the same education, work, or family
trajectories and transitional moments as our parents, and our children
will have a life course very different from our own. This hefty volume
examines these profound changes with a crosscultural lens. The 50
contributors represent seven social science disciplines and seven
countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, and European
nations. A brief dip into the table of contents reveals discussions of
education, youth and the transition to work, retirement strategies and
the labor market experiences of older workers, the de/re-gendering of
Canadian occupations, and the experiences of migrant workers.

A central question in this collection is how the (re)organization of
work affects us throughout our lives. As unemployment, early
retirements, and the ubiquitous “downsizing” transform existing
labor markets, and as occupational structures shift to “nonstandard”
work (part-time, temporary, self-employment, etc.), the “flexible”
and “contingent” worker is becoming much more the norm. An
“emergent contingent life course” is the result. But not every
society or country experiences these changes in the same way. Different
rhythms of life, social policies, and labor markets shape the
intersection of individual biography, institutional arrangements, and
political and economic macro changes such as globalization.

Restructuring Work and the Life Course is engaging, multilayered, and
highly recommended.