As cities developed in earlier days, people left the comfort of farming and went into the cities to work. Some were not pleased about having to make the transition from farming to work, but many did not have a choice. Farm lads were taken under protest and people had to make a living. The working conditions were beyond challenging, very difficult circumstances, There were no unions or risk management programs to protect the employees. Not only were the working conditions dangerous, but also loneliness and isolation were a part of the work environment. Emile Durkheim, Karl Mark and other Sociologist observed and wrote about work and isolation at this.Total isolation is not good, people need to interact.How does total work isolation impact people?What are the positives and negatives of working from home? **Is Alienation on the Job as Bad as Many Believe?**Karl Marx was highly critical of the alienation that existed in capitalist society, particularly within the work world. He believed that life in general, and work in particular, should be meaningful. People derived meaning, Marx believed, from working with others to obtain what they needed from their environment. Although many occupations are alienating for the worker, modern factory work, particularly on the assembly line, has come to epitomize alienation on the job.There is some debate in sociology over this image of the alienated assembly line worker. One analyst has argued that at least some workers find meaning in assembly-line work. Baldamus (1973) has contended that there are workers who enjoy the feeling of working on tasks in which they can be mindlessly involved. A cross-cultural survey found that a majority of industrial workers studied in the United States, India, and Italy would prefer to work in factory jobs that are often considered alienating than to be guaranteed their present annual wage for not working (Form, 1973). In another study workers were found willing to declare themselves satisfied with apparently meaningless work largely because of the relatively high pay they received (Goldthorpe, 1966). Many opinion surveys have found that an overwhelming majority of factory workers declare themselves to be satisfied with their work (Ritzer, 1977b).Does all of this evidence serve to counter the Marxian view of the alienation of the worker? We think not. It may be that modern factory workers are so highly alienated that they cannot conceive of more meaningful work. Thus they say they are not alienated because they know of no better situation. This is an even more profound type of alienation. Workers may have become so alienated that meaningless work actually seems meaningful to them. They are, to use another Marxian concept, the victims of "false consciousness."

Answered: As cities developed in earlier days,…

Social Psychology (10th Edition)

10th Edition

ISBN:9780134641287

Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers

Publisher:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers

Chapter1: Introducing Social Psychology

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1RQ1

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As cities developed in earlier days, people left the comfort of farming and went into the cities to work. Some were not pleased about having to make the transition from farming to work, but many did not have a choice. Farm lads were taken under protest and people had to make a living. The working conditions were beyond challenging, very difficult circumstances, There were no unions or risk management programs to protect the employees. Not only were the working conditions dangerous, but also loneliness and isolation were a part of the work environment.

Emile Durkheim, Karl Mark and other Sociologist observed and wrote about work and isolation at this.

Total isolation is not good, people need to interact.

How does total work isolation impact people?

What are the positives and negatives of working from home?

**Is Alienation on the Job as Bad as Many Believe?**

Karl Marx was highly critical of the alienation that existed in capitalist society, particularly within the work world. He believed that life in general, and work in particular, should be meaningful. People derived meaning, Marx believed, from working with others to obtain what they needed from their environment. Although many occupations are alienating for the worker, modern factory work, particularly on the assembly line, has come to epitomize alienation on the job.

There is some debate in sociology over this image of the alienated assembly line worker. One analyst has argued that at least some workers find meaning in assembly-line work. Baldamus (1973) has contended that there are workers who enjoy the feeling of working on tasks in which they can be mindlessly involved. A cross-cultural survey found that a majority of industrial workers studied in the United States, India, and Italy would prefer to work in factory jobs that are often considered alienating than to be guaranteed their present annual wage for not working (Form, 1973). In another study workers were found willing to declare themselves satisfied with apparently meaningless work largely because of the relatively high pay they received (Goldthorpe, 1966). Many opinion surveys have found that an overwhelming majority of factory workers declare themselves to be satisfied with their work (Ritzer, 1977b).

Does all of this evidence serve to counter the Marxian view of the alienation of the worker? We think not. It may be that modern factory workers are so highly alienated that they cannot conceive of more meaningful work. Thus they say they are not alienated because they know of no better situation. This is an even more profound type of alienation. Workers may have become so alienated that meaningless work actually seems meaningful to them. They are, to use another Marxian concept, the victims of "false consciousness."

Expert Solution

Step 1

Total work isolation refers to the complete isolation of people from social conditions and interactions due to work issues and concerns. Total work isolations have become more evident in these recent years. People, because of their hectic work schedules and responsibilities, are trying to avoid social interactions to execute their work and responsibilities. Also, people have become very much introverted in this century compared with previous centuries. As a result, their mental and emotional state is also changing.