Introduction

In other chapters, we explain why we believe that various crises which are at work – the adverse consequences of neoliberalization, the challenges posed by environmental degradation and the climate emergency and the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic – have contributed to a crisis of work. In this chapter, we place this crisis of work in broader perspective, centred on its economic and political dimensions. As we explain, the crisis of work we are concerned with in this book intersects with various other crises, in particular those arising from a dysfunctional economy and labour market and the unstable, turbulent and volatile nature of contemporary politics. The important point about these various crises is that they are not just consequences of the troublesome nature of paid employment but also contribute to it, fuelling the antagonism that lies at the heart of the contemporary crisis of work.

The first substantive topic we focus on in this chapter concerns the economic dimension of the crisis of work, drawing particularly on evidence from the UK. We highlight the dysfunctional nature of the economy and the labour market, pointing to the connections between economic stagnation, labour shortages, weak earnings growth and the ‘cost- of- living crisis’ that escalated during the early 2020s. The crisis of work is thus tied up with the vicissitudes of a neoliberal, overly financialized economic model which is inimical to sustainable growth.

We then move on to consider the crisis- ridden nature of contemporary politics, including the crisis of democracy, and its intersections with the troublesome nature of work. Generally, governments have played a notable part in advancing neoliberalization, particularly in relation to work and employment relations. But workers’ expectations of greater protection, particularly in the context of COVID-19, have challenged the legitimacy of a neoliberal model that favours deregulated labour markets, employers’ flexibility and weak trade unions. The consequence is a more volatile and turbulent political environment, one where support for traditional left- of-centre social democracy has waned. Moreover, ‘populist’ far- right politics has increasingly thrived in settings where, because of neoliberalization, working people feel more insecure and threatened.