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Conceptualising Work in Economics: Negating a Disutility

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  • David A. Spencer

Abstract

type="main"> This paper starts from the premise that economics has offered a one-sided conception of work. Standard economic theory, specifically, has defined work as a means to income and consumption; it has failed to grasp the importance of work as an end in its own right. The aim of the paper is to develop an alternative conception of work that captures the formative impacts of work on the well-being of workers. The paper firstly outlines and criticises the different definitions of the disutility of work found in economics. It then offers a critical assessment of happiness research on work. The idea that the effects of work on worker well-being can be captured by job satisfaction data and that the importance of work can be reduced to a subjective feeling in the heads of individual workers – two key aspects of happiness research – are challenged. The final part of the paper develops novel ideas about how the economics of work should progress in the future. The section proposes a needs-based conception of work and then uses this conception to make the case for collective intervention aimed at enhancing the quality of work life.

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  • David A. Spencer, 2014. "Conceptualising Work in Economics: Negating a Disutility," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 280-294, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:67:y:2014:i:2:p:280-294
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/kykl.12054
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. FitzRoy, Felix & Nolan, Michael A., 2021. "The Inefficiency of Employment and the Case for Workplace Democracy," IZA Discussion Papers 14065, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Jianbo Jeff Luo, 2022. "Is Work a Burden? The Role of the Living Standard," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 61-77, August.
    3. FitzRoy, Felix & Nolan, Michael A., 2020. "Towards Economic Democracy and Social Justice: Profit Sharing, Co-Determination, and Employee Ownership," IZA Discussion Papers 13238, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. David A. Spencer, 2023. "Automation and Well-Being: Bridging the Gap between Economics and Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 271-281, October.
    5. Nikolova, Milena, 2024. "Loud or Quiet Quitting? The Influence of Work Orientations on Effort and Turnover," IZA Discussion Papers 16960, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Dirk Nicolas Wagner, 2019. "The Opportunistic Principal," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 637-657, November.
    7. Jianbo Luo, 2020. "A Pecuniary Explanation for the Heterogeneous Effects of Unemployment on Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(7), pages 2603-2628, October.
    8. Alan Piper & David G. Blanchflower & Alex Bryson, 2023. "Is pain associated with subsequent job loss? A panel study for Germany," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(1), pages 141-158, February.
    9. Kristin J. Kleinjans & Karl Fritjof Krassel & Anthony Dukes, 2017. "Occupational Prestige and the Gender Wage Gap," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(4), pages 565-593, November.

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