About the social value of work and the traps of digital transformation

Authors

  • Larissa G. Titarenko Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

Keywords:

social value of work, digital innovative technologies, duality of digital transformation, risks, digital everyday life, students
Supporting Agencies
The article was carried out within the framework of the state research programme «Society and humanitarian security of the Belarusian state» (task 4.08.3, state registration No. 20211892).

Abstract

The development of the sociology of labour is considered on the example of the works of Belarusian and Russian authors. The reasons for the decline in the social value of work in post-Soviet society are studied, reflected in the shift in research emphasis from the topic of work to the topic of leisure and the disappearance of labour sociology from university programmes. The dual effect of the digital transformation of society is revealed. On the one hand, it has created opportunities to facilitate labour and increase its productivity, and on the other hand, it has caused the risks of live labour (technological unemployment, stress, frustration, precarisation). It is noted that the unforeseen consequences of digital transformation in the conditions of transition to a market society were the decline in the social value of work and the emergence of the phenomenon of meaningless work. These circumstances have led to the emergence of paradoxes and pitfalls of digital everyday life – situations in which actions aimed at positive changes lead to unforeseen negative results. Such risks are relevant both for the younger generation with digital knowledge and competencies, and for older generations who prefer to work without radical changes. It is concluded that in the context of the duality of the digital transformation of society, it is necessary to look for ways to mitigate emerging socio-economic problems, as well as ways to increase employee satisfaction with their work.

Author Biography

  • Larissa G. Titarenko, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

    doctor of science (sociology), full professor; professor at the department of sociology, faculty of philosophy and social sciences

References

  1. Zdravomyslov AG, editor. Chelovek i ego rabota [Man and his work]. Moscow: Mysl’; 1967. 392 p. Russian.
  2. Davidyuk GP, Pisarenko IYa, editors. Sotsial’nyi effekt sorevnovaniya [Social effect of competition]. Minsk: Belarus’; 1976. 95 p. Russian.
  3. Sokolova GN. Trud i professional’naya kul’tura [Work and professional culture]. Minsk: Belarusian State University; 1980. 140 p. Russian.
  4. Ivanov VN, Pisarenko IYa, editors. Upravlenie sotsial’nymi protsessami v kollektive: klassovyi podkhod [Management of social processes in a collective: class approach]. Minsk: Universitetskoe; 1985. 287 p. Russian.
  5. Sokolova GN. Kul’tura truda v sotsial’nom razvitii rabochego klassa [Work culture in the social development of the working class]. Minsk: Nauka i tekhnika; 1984. 220 p. Russian.
  6. Marcuse G. Odnomernyi chelovek. Issledovanie ideologii razvitogo industrial’nogo obshchestva [One-dimensional man. Study of the ideology of a developed industrial society]. Moscow: Refl-book; 1964. 368 p. Russian.
  7. Danilov AN, editor. Kafedra sotsiologii BGU: istoriya i sovremennost’. K 25-letiyu sozdaniya [Department of sociology of Belarusian State University: history and modernity. To the 25th anniversary of its creation]. Minsk: Belarusian State University; 2004. 230 p. Russian.
  8. Chepurenko AYu. Marx at the university 3.0? Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya. 2018;5:26–34. Russian. DOI: 10.7868/ S0132162518050033.
  9. Toffler A. The third wave. New York: Morrow; 1980. 544 p.
  10. Bell D. The coming of post-industrial society: a venture in social forecasting. New York: Basic Books; 1976. 507 p.
  11. Masuda Y. Informational society as a post-industrial society. Washington: World Future Society; 1981. 171 p.
  12. Celikates R, Honneth A, Jaeggi R. The working sovereign: a conversation with Axel Honneth. Journal of Classical Sociology. 2023;23(3):318–338. DOI: 10.1177/1468795X231170980.
  13. Sharma R. What went wrong with capitalism. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2024. 384 p.
  14. Graeber D. Bullshit jobs: a theory. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2018. 333 р.
  15. Dumazedier J. [On the way to leisure civilisation]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 12, Sotsial’no-politicheskie issledovaniya. 1993;1:83–88. Russian.
  16. Popov AV. [Modern aspects of work motivation of the population]. Voprosy territorial’nogo razvitiya. 2013;2:1–9. Russian.
  17. Bobkov VN, editor. Srednie klassy v kapitalisticheskoi Rossii [Middle classes in capitalist Russia]. Moscow: Knorus; 2019. 208 p. Russian.
  18. Titarenko LG, Shirokanova AA. Students’ employment entry strategies in the Belarus regulated labour market. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya. 2020;12:128–138. Russian. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250010303-6.
  19. Beck U. Risk society: towards a new modernity. New York: Sage; 1992. 306 p.
  20. Ford M. Rise of the robots: technology and the threat of a jobless future. New York: Basic Books; 2015. 334 p.
  21. Benanav A. Automation and the future of work. Protsenko N, translator. Journal of Economic Sociology. 2022;23(3): 92–108. Russian.
  22. Kozina IM, Serezhkina EV. Stressful characteristics of work of Russian and French software developers. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya. 2019;5:26–35. Russian.
  23. Karacharovskiy VV, Guruleva MN. Motivation trap on Russian labour market. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya. 2023;8: 34–46. Russian. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250027365-4.
  24. Radaev V. Millenialy: kak menyaetsya rossiiskoe obshchestvo [Millennials: how Russian society is changing]. Moscow: Higher School of Economics Publishing House; 2019. 224 p. Russian.
  25. Aroles J, Bonneau C, Bhankaraull S. Conceptualising «meta-work» in the context of continuous, global mobility: the case of digital nomadism. Work, Employment and Society. 2023;37(5):1261–1278. DOI: 10.1177/09500170211069797.
  26. Shirk J. From bureaucratic discipline to self-actualisation: using Marx and Foucault to critique the demand for better work rather than less work. Administration and Society. 2022;54(9):1827–1847. DOI: 10.1177/00953997211069049.
  27. Toshchenko ZhT, editor. Ot prekarnoi zanyatosti k prekarizatsii zhizni [From precarious employment to precarisation of life]. Moscow: Ves’ mir; 2022. 364 p. Russian.
  28. Aseeva IA. The crooked mirror of digitalisation. Voprosy filosofii. 2024;2:25–33. Russian.

Downloads

Published

2024-09-18

How to Cite

[1]
Titarenko, L.G. 2024. About the social value of work and the traps of digital transformation. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Sociology. 3 (Sep. 2024), 15–21.