Unpaid work, capital and coercion

Abstract

Over the past several decades, household work has generated a dramatic outflow of research and theory on unpaid work. Here, the authors (who shared equally in the writing of this paper) examine multiple forms of unpaid work and propose that in the contemporary capitalist economy the key dimensions of unpaid work are: first, that it is not compensated in terms of direct payments by capital; second, that elsewhere in the economy the same activities are paid; and, lastly, that participation in unpaid work is directly related to socially constructed power relations. Within this framework, they point out the complex and dynamic interplay between unpaid work and patterns of social inequality. In conclusion, it is proposed that approaching unpaid work, and in particular domestic labour, in this broader context and in terms of more nuanced treatments of power provides a fuller understanding of the issues and suggests that unpaid work may be in the midst of dramatic expansion. The implications of this growth for individuals and societies around the globe warrant researchers' attention.

The Myth of Mutuality: Decision-Making, Marital Power, and the Persistence of Gender Inequality

“…First, partners considered getting one’s way in paid work and getting one’s way at home as equivalent. In a capitalist society where status and power are linked to economic resources (England and Kilbourne 1990; Pupo and Duffy 2012), however, domestic- and career-related “currencies” carry different weights. It is significant that men in our sample disproportionately won in career decisions, with clear economic advantages, even as they deferred to their wives on issues related to home and children—with some notable exceptions regarding “big-ticket” items like what type of house to buy (Hardill et al 1997).…”

“…One study emphasizes high-level career decisions affecting the broad circumstances of partners’ lives; the other emphasizes everyday decisions about housework and childcare shaping couples’ routine experiences. The combined data set lets us examine socially valued (career) and socially devalued (domestic) decision areas within the same framework (Pupo and Duffy 2012; Sarti, Bellavitis, and Martini 2018). Although couples’ decisions about paid and unpaid labor are regularly studied, simultaneous examination of both domains in such detail is less common.…”

“…Feminist scholars recognize that invisible labor makes other forms of production possible (DeVault 1991; Papanek 1979). Less-powerful groups, such as women, are disproportionately burdened with doing this devalued, uncompensated work, while more powerful groups disproportionately benefit (Pupo and Duffy 2012). We consider decision-making a subtype of invisible work requiring mental effort (Daminger 2019) that may accrue benefits to others besides the laborer.…”

Gigification of English Language Instructor Work in Higher Education: Precarious Employment and Magic Time

“…Unpaid work is an increasingly common feature of the neoliberal university (Kouritzin, 2019) and is correlated with unequal power relations, socially constructed through various forms of coercion (Pupo & Duffy, 2012). In this form of class struggle, instructor precarity is exploited to political advantage by institutions intending to minimize instructional costs.…”

Antecedents and Consequences of Digital Shadow Work in Mobile Shopping Apps Context

“…Although advances in IT promise to make work and life easier, people find themselves being pushed into unpaid work by businesses and organizations and performing tasks that previously used to be performed by employees. In other words, consumers have often been expected by businesses to engage in a variety of activities that exclusively belong in the sphere of paid work (e.g., bagging groceries and using self-service technologies such as self-checkout machines and kiosks) [1]. The range of unpaid work done by consumers has expanded to include creative inputs to products and services [2].…”