Control and Autonomy in the History of Work

Benjamin Schneider, Oslo Metropolitan University
Jane Whittle, University of Exter

Control over work is a repeated point of conflict between labor and management (Montgomery 1979) and has been frequently discussed in labor history. In a contemporary setting, there is a growing literature in job quality, wellbeing, and occupational health that demonstrates the importance of autonomy for worker experience. However, historians have focused on control for skilled male artisans, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the concept of “freedom” in the context of various types of unfree labor. This paper evaluates changes in dimensions of job control in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors in Britain and the United States since c. 1700, and broadens analysis of control or “autonomy” to more groups of workers. We compare the experiences of agricultural workers in the 18th century, women employed in the “sweated trades” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and female clerical workers in the 20th century. We examine contests over control and areas of autonomy experienced or demanded by workers in these settings, and propose a framework to compare dimensions of control between historical employments.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 218. Worker and Community Activism