Workplace ethnographies – an underestimated source of subject-oriented work research

The article tries to argue why workplace ethnographies, with their deep immersion into daily social action, are more than other approaches appro-priate to illuminate hidden and subjective levels of work. Insofar they should be more picked up by the current debates on subjectivation, subjec-tivity and informal organisation of work in German sociology of work and industrial sociology. A cursory view of the rich tradition of ethnographic research and of examples within the anglophone language area will show the methodical and factual gains of this approach. The US-American “Workplace Ethnography Project” demonstrates an interesting way to de-duce more general insights and patterns from ethnographic case studies. Exemplary findings can be linked to the German debate. Finally a view on one of the few German ethnographic studies will show its value to the analysis of subjectivity, subjectivation and informal organisation of work: and gives reasons for pursuing similar research.