Modern Economy and Workplace Environment: Sociology of the Workplace

Sociology of the Workplace
Name
Institution
Sociology of the Workplace
Introduction
The modern economy and workplace environment as in other policy domains plays out in the context of strong trends. It is important to study and understand the sociological implications of the modern economy on the workplace, and what it entails to ensure employees’ remain satisfied. In the American scenario, it cannot go without mentioning that by the 20th century, its workplace environment was quite a diverse one (Licht, 1988). The manufacturing sector continues to be relatively stable and so has the service sector. However, white-collar jobs have sky rocketed from 20 percent during the William B. Wilson’s time to 60 percent in the current times (Licht, 1988). The most notable story in the workplace history is the shift to office from farming. This pattern repeats itself throughout the world, each with its effects. Some of the major questions seeking answers are major factors that will determine work in the future and how they will evolve in 10 years to 15 years. The other question is the implications of such trends to the workforce as well as the workplace. To create an understanding of the issue, this paper seeks to compare and contrast what careers mean from the perspective of structural-functional analysis, symbolic-interaction analysis, and social conflict analysis. It is also important to discuss how the change in technology affects the satisfaction of employees, besides analyzing its sociological consequences in the workplace.
Structural-functional Analysis
It is the framework for which building theory is placed that views society as a system that is complex and each part working together to promoting stability and solidarity. This can be achieved through ensuring that each cog representing the modern work place environment is running effectively. Workplace flexibility is the arrangement that could include such things as phased retirement, job sharing, telecommuting policies, and flexible hours, which enable workers to go on contributing to the workforce as they attend to their families and other responsibilities.
Worker characteristics in terms of the race show that though flexibility at work is majorly determined by educational achievement, still the Hispanic and Black workers in comparison to Asian and White workers have limited access to flexible working hours. Another important source of flexibility is the place of work. Physical presence is necessary in many jobs. The third way flexibility can be accorded to workers by their bosses is how many hours they work. This can be further divided into paid or unpaid leaves where paid leave allows for a lot more flexibility than unpaid leave does; while this provides boundless benefits for the employee, the employer will improve in employee retention, recruitment, and motivation.
The benefits of a structural-functional analysis are several. Flexible workplace practices minimize turnover and enable recruitment. These are important because to employers, the associated costs of turnover can be high. Secondly, flexible work schedules minimize absenteeism. This can be costly so minimizing because it can reduce costs that are created by uncertainty arising from the si...