SWLF 1005 - Week 4 This week

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SWLF 1005 - Week 4This weeks key concept in
social welfare work

• Two important thoughts as we begin (relevant to
  critical studies of work)
• What is work?
• Why compete for work?

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Agenda for this week

• Our readings this week work and employment
  in perspective
• Questions and group activity about your first
  paper.
• Announcements guest speaker for next class,
  course website.

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Recall from Monday

• What is work?
• When is one working?

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Is this work?
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Is this work?
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Is this work?
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Aha! At times this distinction is tricky, no?

• Distinctions to make between different kinds of
  work
• Paid work
• Unpaid work
• Volunteer work
• Compassionate or passionate work

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What is work?

• Questions to consider
• Is one only working when wages or transfers of
  money are involved?
• Is there an important distinction to be made
  between work and employment?
• What is it about work that sets it apart as a
  human activity?

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Small group activity different kinds of work

• Your task
• In your small workgroup, think of one example in
  your life of paid and unpaid work.
• Question
• How crucial is getting paid to the activity you
  are describing?

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Work as a central and defining human activity

• Consider the following
• If creative labour is a defining human activity,
  how creative are modern workplaces?
• What are some common complaints we hear about
  work today?

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Overwork?
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Annoying supervision?
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General anxiety?
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What is alienation? What does ithave to do with
work?

• Alienation is a common word used to describe
  the nature of work today
• Most often, alienation is mentioned to describe
  ones dissatisfaction with a given workplace or
  task
• Interestingly enough, however, there is more to
  this idea than this

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Alienation a snapshot of the concept

• Alienation from
• - Your co-workers
• The product of your labour
• The environment surrounding your labour
• Yourself a heavy notion, but significant all
  the same according to some people

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Week 4 questions for today

• What are some current trends of unemployment and
  underemployment? (Hick 2004 78-82)
• What Canadian income security programs are
  designed to address unemployment? (Hick, 2004
  153167)

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Week 4 questions for today

• What are the origins of these programs? (Hick,
  2004 153-167)
• How have these programs changed since they were
  first introduced?

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Week 4 questions for today

• Where does unemployment come from? (2004 78-79)
• What explanations exist for unemployment? (2004
  85-86)
• What assumptions are commonly made about minimum
  wage and part-time work? (2004 80 86-87)

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Week 4 questions for today

• Who in contemporary labour markets face
  disproportionate challenges to most workers?
  (2004 92-94)
• What is meant by the efficiency / equity
  trade-off in modern labour markets?

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Small group activity writing a collective paper

• Your task
• For the moment, break out of the competitive
  mindset pounded into our brains in university,
  aand work together to write the first 1-2
  paragraphs of your upcoming paper.
• You will collectively work on the grammar,
  organization, and style of this assignment. You
  are expected to have given the reader the
  context, thesis and road map for your paper.

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For next class

• Readings, Week 5 Aboriginal Peoples.
• Guest speaker Mary Laronde, Union of Ontario
  Indians
• Have a great long weekend! Take some time for
  sober reflection between the turkey and
  de-compressants