The Soundtrack of Our Working Lives
Music provides an intriguing window on the world of work, says law professor Rafael Gely (U of Missouri).
“Throughout the centuries people have used songs while engaging in working activities,” Gely writes in The International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations. “Workers have used songs as a form of entertainment, as a way to tell stories, as a means to achieve solidarity and as an avenue of voicing their concerns.”
During the pre-industrial era, when labourers had a high degree of control over work processes, songs were used by weavers, domestics, and sailors to set and respond to the pace of work.
During the Industrial Revolution, workers lost autonomy to machines, and machines then dictated the rhythm of the work day. Management theory also evolved to view music as a leisure activity that had no place on the factory floor.
Over time, management tried to use music to boost efficiency, while for workers songs became tools for class struggle. “Songs became a mechanism to voice the workers’ grievances,” Gely writes, “and also a mechanism to transmit the struggle of workers and develop class solidarity.”
Winnsboro Cotton Mills Blues
Old man Sargent, sitting at the desk
The damned old fool won’t give us no rest,
He’d take the nickels off a dead man’s eyes
To buy a Coca-Cola and an eskimo pie.
In the post-industrial era, iPods and other music-listening devices allow workers to regain a measure of control over their workspace. But managers are still using mood music to structure behaviour for both employees and customers.
Gely offers a host of research questions that he says are worth pursuing. To wit:
- How common is it for employers to allow the use of music in the workplace?
- Do policies regarding the use of music vary by industry?
- In the context of unionized workplaces, have labour organizations negotiated over the use of music?
- Are there cultural differences in the way workers interact with music?
- Are there demographic differences in the use of music at work?
Workplace Songs: Developing a Framework for Research and Teaching, by Rafael Gely; The International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 25, no. 1 (2009): 49-58
Email me for a copy of this paper: Alan [at] AlanMorantz.com
photo credit: danceonair1986