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Summary Of Work's Intimacy By Melissa Gregg

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Book Review The issues in the network society have attracted enormous attention in the recent times. Rather than totalizing coeval working experience, the book “Work’s Intimacy” written by Melissa Gregg focuses on the ramifications and contradictions of professionals that hold a mid-rank, formerly defined as the white-collar workers. Mobile and online technologies have a great impact on the work, life and social relations of the people, especially professionals. After examining 26 professionals from four organizations, namely, education, telecommunications, government and broadcasting in Brisbane, Australia for three years, Gregg’s book bridges the gap in the existing literature on digital labor. In other words, Gregg analyzes the convergence …show more content…

The author mentions about the gender divide evident in chapter seven. For career-driven women, work generates feelings of control and fulfillment to match the feelings provided by family life (p. 131). In this context, domesticity loses its function to discipline women. In the next chapter, Gregg focuses on the unpredictable work schedules of the on-call technicians, where they work under precarious working conditions. The author highlights the challenges faced by the on-call technicians on occasions where they need to attend the IT issues, especially when the family plans an outing on the weekends. The chapter restates the previous argument and feels like it is out of place the part …show more content…

The in-depth interviews conducted by the author contain a rich contextual knowledge, which give the book fabulously powerful voices and vibrate strongly on the sectors that Gregg never dealt. The increasingly impulsive ups and downs of the global economy, give more scope for questions rather answers. Gregg emphasizes the increasing importance of online branding of the self for employability in a flexible economy. The book is a timely critique that defines what work means for individuals and their families in a highly aesthetic economy. “Work’s Intimacy” provides a critical and empirical analysis of the contemporary politics and the work life that had an invasion by the new media technologies. There are several lessons that one can study from Gregg’s book. In regards to universities, Gregg mentions that universities are so out of date as to be pointless or counterproductive. She says that academics engage in self-exploitation, expectations and career

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