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Beyond the symbolic: a relational approach to dirty work through a study of refuse collectors and street cleaners

Author

Listed:
  • Jason Hughes

    (University of Leicester, UK)

  • Ruth Simpson

    (Brunel University, UK)

  • Natasha Slutskaya

    (Brunel University, UK)

  • Alex Simpson

    (University of Brighton, UK)

  • Kahryn Hughes

    (University of Leeds, UK)

Abstract

Drawing on a relational approach and based on an ethnographic study of street cleaners and refuse collectors, we redress a tendency towards an overemphasis on the discursive by exploring the co-constitution of the material and symbolic dynamics of dirt. We show how esteem-enhancing strategies that draw on the symbolic can be both supported and undermined by the physicality of dirt, and how relations of power are rooted in subordinating material conditions. Through employing Hardy and Thomas’s taxonomy of objects, practice, bodies and space, we develop a fuller understanding of how the symbolic and material are fundamentally entwined within dirty work, and suggest that a neglect of the latter might foster a false optimism regarding worker experiences.

Suggested Citation

  • Jason Hughes & Ruth Simpson & Natasha Slutskaya & Alex Simpson & Kahryn Hughes, 2017. "Beyond the symbolic: a relational approach to dirty work through a study of refuse collectors and street cleaners," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(1), pages 106-122, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:1:p:106-122
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017016658438
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cynthia Hardy & Robyn Thomas, 2015. "Discourse in a Material World," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 680-696, July.
    2. Carol Wolkowitz, 2002. "The Social Relations of body Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 16(3), pages 497-510, September.
    3. Glen E. Kreiner & Blake E. Ashforth & David M. Sluss, 2006. "Identity Dynamics in Occupational Dirty Work: Integrating Social Identity and System Justification Perspectives," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(5), pages 619-636, October.
    4. Ashforth, Blake E. & Kreiner, Glen E., 2014. "Dirty Work and Dirtier Work: Differences in Countering Physical, Social, and Moral Stigma," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 81-108, March.
    5. Natasha Slutskaya & Ruth Simpson & Jason Hughes & Alexander Simpson & Selçuk Uygur, 2016. "Masculinity and Class in the Context of Dirty Work," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 165-182, March.
    6. Ruth Simpson & Jason Hughes & Natasha Slutskaya, 2016. "Gender, Class and Occupation," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-43969-7.
    7. Blake E. Ashforth & Glen E. Kreiner, 2014. "Dirty Work and Dirtier Work: Differences in Countering Physical, Social, and Moral Stigma. 脏活与更脏的工作：在对抗身体、社会和道德污名上的差异," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 10(1), pages 81-108, March.
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    Cited by:

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