Flourishing lives: the capabilities approach as a framework for new thinking about employment, work and welfare in the 21st century

Abstract

Even before the onset of economic downturn in 2008-9, UK policy on employment, work and welfare had reached an impasse, with little evidence of new ideas, either in relation to the final years of New Labour or the Coalition Government, as to how to tackle deeply entrenched problems beyond adherence to neo-liberalism. This article explores whether a capabilities approach, as originally developed in the work of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, offers a potential framework for new thinking. It is argued that the capabilities approach is best thought of not as offering a detailed road map for policy, but as providing a critically different conceptualization of the purpose and principles of public policy. In seeking an alternative to neo-liberal hegemony a capabilities approach therefore can provide a framework for new thinking, and an underpinning ideological narrative from which policy development can flow.

A capability approach to organizational talent management

“…The mainstream view of talent and talent management not only removes CA from the arena of deprivation and disadvantage it brings it into conditions of extreme advantage. Nevertheless, the approach has been used perceptively to analyse a range of management situations including workplace equality (Gagnon and Cornelius 2000), human resource development (Kuchinke 2012), employability (Orton 2011), careers of senior managers (Cornelius and Skinner 2008), disability policy (Trani, Bakhshi, Bellanca, Biggeri and Marchetta 2011), health care (Gandjour 2008), entrepreneurship (Gries and Naude 2011) and business ethics (Bertland 2009). This pinpoints its greatest strength, namely its potential to open up new evaluative spaces (Robeyns 2007) in which matters can be viewed from different standpoints and perspectives.…”

Determinantes multidimensionales en la calidad percibida del empleo. Evidencia empírica para España

“…Otras aportaciones la han asociado con la interacción del ámbito personal, familiar y laboral. Básicamente, se ha constatado que trabajo y familia se retroalimentan en el sentido de que la satisfacción y el logro en el empleo interactúan con la satisfacción y la felicidad personal y familiar (Orton 2011 Desde el punto de vista empírico, inicialmente la medición de la calidad del empleo se vinculó al análi-sis de las condiciones relacionadas con el puesto de trabajo, en especial con los determinantes del salario. Sin embargo, pronto se empezaron a considerar otros elementos no salariales y de capital humano, como las condiciones laborales, la seguridad física y contractual, las instituciones, y los resultados del mercado de trabajo (Clark 2005).…”

Cities Provide Transformational Opportunity to Reduce Risk Accumulation

“…This may involve improving their awareness, perceptions and priorities, but is an argument for choices and against top-down paternalism. Orton further provides a compelling argument for the capabilities approach as a framework for new thinking about employment, work and welfare in the 21st century and a way towards flourishing lives (Orton, 2011). In short, it can be argued that while capabilities approach can reduce risk by improving people's ability to act and react, it can also lead to better and more flourishing lives.…”

“…It is argued that the capabilities approach is best thought of not as offering a detailed road map for policy, but as providing a critically different conceptualization of the purpose and principles of public policy (Orton, 2011). The paper seeks to underpin the ideological narrative in this idea, from which policy development can flow.…”