a new worker glossary - for a new world of work

FOR A NEW WORLD OF WORK

glossary

a new

new worker glossary

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a work futures initiative

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new worker glossary

CREATED BY WORK FUTURES (AND FRIENDS)

www.workfutures.com.au

work futures

new worker glossary

WELCOME TO A

new worker glossary for a new world of work - a living collection of words and phrases that shed light on the underside of modern work and the unshared experiences of workers.

We built this glossary to help expand our own understanding of how the future of work was playing out in the present. It started as a small collection of handwritten notes that captured the subtle shifts in our ‘future of work’ language over time. What became evident was that much of our evolving discourse told an objective, exterior and structural story of work and its futures. Stories that, by intention or otherwise, often depicted a homogeneous, techno-centric future of work, devoid of inhabitants (other than the necessary human resources of course). Our growing future of work vocabulary, ideas and visions seldom spoke to the lived experience of its primary stakeholders, us, the workers. And so, the New Worker Glossary emerged, a collection of lesser-known terms that purposefully speaks worker.

The New Worker Glossary that helps us to look below the seductive discourse around ‘the future of work,’ and elevate more of the fundamental issues experienced by works’ most important contributors. These terms are not out there and then, or something that may be experienced in the future, they are in here and now, a reality for many workers today. Each term will no doubt bring forth its own insight and understanding. Some terms may have multiple meanings or interpretations, and some terms we’ve made up ourselves to capture yet-to-be-named emerging phenomena.

The semantics and selections will no doubt be debated. But that’s not the debate that is intended here. The more important takeaway comes from the meaning that is derived from the entire assemblage of terms. A shadow story of work and its possible futures that architect inequality and precarity, perpetuate market-driven realities of work, and diminish any capacity to imagine alternatives. In part, the New Worker Glossary is a subtle push-back against the industrial, techno-centric, and corporate ‘future of work’ sameness. A micro intervention that we hope, reminds us to locate ourselves in these futures, and to ask whether these futures of work are the ones we want to inhabit.

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Our small hope is that it generates micro dialogue and questioning between workers. Our big hope is that it derives inspiration for more equitable futures of work and widens the choices and imagingations of workers in the present. Because we all have skin in this future of work game.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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algorithmic management

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digital platform workers digital wellbeing digital leash digital (human) twin

bossware

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dignified work disguised unemployment

bullshit jobs click work

climate literacy

diversity theatre downshifting employee at will

decent work deep work democratisation of work dependent self-employed deplatformed

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digital fatigue

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bore out

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epiphany quitting ghost work

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digital detox

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digital labour platforms

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ghosting work hustle culture humane resources

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precarious work right to disconnect shadow work shit jobs

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job atomisation leaveism

life-work regime lying flat movement McJob micro work/jobs

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N.E.E.T non-human resource performance hacking playbour portable benefits

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post-work

survival work/job surveillance reputations the precariat total work

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toxic productivity underemployment unretirement universal basic income working poverty workism

zero-hour contracts

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the salariat

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necessary entrepreneur

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worker contribution

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algorithmic management

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the use of computer algorithms and artificial intelligence techniques to remotely manage, track and govern workers.

In algorithmic management practices, workers interact with a computer system which enables the automation or semi-automation of management decisions such as performance evaluation productivity and terminations.1

Mateescu, J & Nguyen, A. (2019). Algorithmic Management in the Workplace.

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new worker glossary

boreout a psychological disorder that causes mental and physical illness (similar to burnout) as a result of a sustained ‘mental under-load’ in the workplace.

Boreout typically consists of three elements; boredom, lack of challenge, and lack of interest.3 4

(software) allows employers to track data such as working time, mouse clicks, keystrokes, location, device screen shots and web camera pictures.5

bossware

software that covertly gathers employee device information beyond what is often necessary and proportionate to manage a workforce. Bossware

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Urban Dictionary. (2018). Boreout.

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Wikipedia. (2022). Boreout.

Electronic Frontier Foundation. (2020).

Inside the Invasive, Secretive “Bossware” Tracking Workers.

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bullshit jobs

deep work

a form of paid employment that is considered pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious. Employees undertaking bullshit jobs find it difficult to justify the job’s existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to act as if this is not the case.6

the ability to focus on cognitively demanding tasks that are performed without distraction.10

click-work

democratisation of work the increasing demands and expectations by workers to have more involvement and say over workplace decisions and operations.

a form of low-paid and informal microemployment where workers undertake digital tasks such as labelling videos and images, audio transcription, or other machine learning categorisation and data where a self-employed worker depends on cleaning activities.7 (See also ‘ghost work’). one or a small number of contractors for the majority of their income, such that the contractor is able to dictate how their work is performed.11 an understanding of human impacts on the climate and the impacts of climate on human systems. A climate literare the removal or 'cancelling' of a (platform) person understands the principles worker by digital labour platforms. of Earth′s climate system, can assess Workers can be deplatformmed by having scientifically credible information about their memberships discontinued or the climate, and is able to make informed and responsible decisions with regards to profiles removed. (See also digital 'labour platforms'). actions that may affect the climate.8

dependent selfemployed

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climate literacy

deplatformed

decent work productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. This includes; fair income, security in the workplace, social protections, prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom to express concerns, to organise and to participate in decisions, and guarantees of equal opportunities and equal treatment for all.9

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new worker glossary

digital detox a period of time where a person voluntarily refrains from using digital devices or platforms such as smartphones, computers, and social media.12

digital labour platforms web-based platforms and apps that allocate service-oriented tasks to individual (digital platform) workers across the globe. (See also digital platform workers).13

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6 Graeber, D. (2018). Bullshit jobs: a theory.

Jones, P. (2021). Refugees help power machine learning advancements at Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.

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Climate.gov. (n.d.). The Essential Principles of Climate Literacy.

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ILO. (2008). Toolkit for Mainstreaming Employment and Decent Work.

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Newport, C. (2016). Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

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11 Co-working Consulting. (2019). The Future of Work.

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Wikipedia. (2022). Digital Detox.

13 ILO. (2021). The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work.

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new worker glossary

digital platform workers

workers in the ‘gig economy’ (typically independent contractors) providing on demand services via digital labour platforms driven by algorithms and AI (e.g.

Uber, Air Tasker etc). 14

digital fatigue a form of mental exhaustion which occurs after prolonged screen time. (Also known as ‘zoom fatigue’ or ‘technology fatigue’).15

digital wellbeing the impact of technologies and digital services on a persons mental, physical, social and emotional health.16

digital leash 5

the compulsion and/or expectation workers feel to answer calls, emails, text messages, Slack messages etc., even if they are unwell, working longer than required or responding to messages outside working hours (also known as digital presenteeism)17 digital (human) twin a virtual representation that serves as the real-time digital counterpart of a person or worker.18

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employee at will the concept that an employer can terminate the tenure of any employee for any reason without having to establish ‘just cause’. [The concept does not technically exist in Australian law, with employers required to give notice periods and legitimate reasons codified in legislation for terminating employment].22

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dignified work an individual’s perception of respect and trust, fair and equal treatment, valuation of one’s worth, autonomy and freedom of expression, and decision making enjoyed within a workplace. (Also known as ‘dignity at work’).19

disguised unemployment the underutilisation of labour in which businesses or entire economies employ workers who are not fully occupied.

Workers are retained by an employer, however, they are not needed for current production (e.g. seasonal workers). This allows organisations to reduce any re-hire costs (also known as ‘labour hoarding’).20

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14 Co-working Consulting. (2019). The Future of Work.

Workiro. (2022). ​​What is digital fatigue and what to do about it?

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diversity theatre the statistical anomolies between an organisations promotion of diversity and the actual diversity numbers of that organisation.

downshifting when workers choose to stay in lower level jobs or accept lower paying positions in order to gain a between balance between work and personal life.21

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JISC. (n.d.). Digital Wellbeing.

17 Inspiring Workplaces. (2018). Are we on a digital leash? What are the solutions?

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Wikipedia. (n.d.). Digital Twin.

19 Tiwari & Sharma. (2019). Dignity at the Workplace: Evolution of the Construct and Development of Workplace Dignity.

20 Felices. (2003). Assessing the Extent of Labour Hoarding.

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Microrecruiter. (2020). Downshifting.

22 Roubler. (2021). Employee at will (HR glossary).

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EPIPHANY QUITTING

workers who abruptly quit their jobs as a result of a re-evaluation of personal and professional fulfilment and/or the desire for better life balance.23

GHOST WORK

invisible working conditions that devalue or hide the human labour powering artificial intelligence (ai) and ai-enabled consumer experiences. Ghost work includes high-tech and on-demand tasks such as; flagging and removing inappropriate content, proofreading, captioning photos, and labelling data to feed algorithms (see also ‘click-work’).24

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Gray & Suri. (2019). Ghost Work.

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Gray & Suri. (2019). Ghost Work.

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ghosting work workers choosing to leave or decline roles without any formal communication. This includes leaving jobs without notice or not turning up for interviews or new roles etc.25

hustle culture the glorification of working excessive hours in the hope of reaching professional goals while disregarding one’s health, and relationships.26

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HUMANE RESOURCES

the tempering of HR and organisational practices and beliefs that focus on aggressive pursuits of growth, productivity and efficiencies with the need to support social inequality, work security and decent work.

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job atomisation the unbundling of secure jobs into task fragments that can then be outsourced to the on-demand economy at a lower cost.

leaveism the utilisation of flextime, annual leave, rostered days off etc., by employees to complete work that cannot be completed in normal working hours.27

life-work regime a regime where every part of human existence has been turned into work.

Workers are required to be available around the clock, with little distinction between work and non-work.28

lying flat movement A lifestyle and social protest by young Chinese workers pushing back against societal pressure to overwork. Workers ‘lie flat’ by rejecting the ‘rat race’ and only doing work that is essential. (also known as ‘tang ping’).29

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McJob a pejorative term for a low-paid, low-skill job in the service sector, typified by those in large fast food outlets.30

micro work/jobs 25

BBC. (2019). Ghosting at work.

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Urban Dictionary. (2020). Hustle culture.

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Hesketh & Cooper. (2014). Leaveism at Work.

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Hesketh & Cooper. (2014). Leaveism at Work.

Bloomberg News. (2022). Why Some Chinese Are ‘Lying Flat’ and What That Means.

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Oxford Reference. (n.d.). McJob Definition.

The Engine Room. (n.d.). Microtasking.

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a subcategory of ‘gig work’ where independent contractors engage in task-based work accessed via labour platforms. Micro-work typically includes a series of small (i.e. 15 minutes to a few hours) outsourced tasks which together comprise a large unified project completed by a number of independent contractors sourced via labour platforms.31

new worker glossary

necessary entrepreneur a new class of workers that are forced into entrepreneurship (and/or ‘job juggling’) as a result of work/economic insecurity.

N.E.E.T an acronym used to classify the share of youth who are currently ‘Not in Employment, Education or Training’.32

non-human resource the inclusion of digital ‘workers’ (e.g. ‘workforce bots’) as part of the standard (human) workforce.

performance hacking 11

workers using nootropics, micro-dosing (psychedelics), fasting, and supplements etc., as a means of improving productivity and performance at work.33

playbour a hybrid form of play and labour undertaken within the digital games industry. 34 Gamers contribute free labour by playing and modifying games that then produce capital for others. Playbour fits neither in traditional definitions of work nor the categories of play or leisure.35

portable benefits a core set of employment benefits (e.g. superannuation, sick leave) tied to individual workers, rather than a particular employer. Portable benefits are connected to all types of workers (contractors, seasonal, freelance etc.,) and can be taken from job to job without interruption in coverage or loss of funding.36

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32 ILO. (2015). What does NEETs mean and why is the concept so easily misinterpreted?

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BBC. (2019). Performance Hacking.

Wikipedia. (n.d). Playbourers.

Kücklich. (2005). Precarious playbour: Modders and the digital games industry.

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Aspen Institute. (2019). Designing Portable Benefits: A Resource Guide for Policymakers.

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Kowalski. (2019). Post-Workism & Total Work.

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post-work an idea/image of a future society in which the nature of work has been radically transformed. E.g. a future of no work, less work, a shift to different work, more purposeful and fulfilling work, or where work is less central to life.37 work futures

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precarious work a non-standard or temporary form of employment that is often poorly paid, insecure, and unprotected. Precarious work is associated with casual, temporary, micro work and zero-hour contracts.

People in precarious work lack job security and generally have lower salaries, limited social protection, and unpredictable working conditions.38

RIGHT TO DISCONNECT

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a proposed human right allowing workers to disconnect from work and not engage in work-related electronic communications such as emails or messages during non-work hours.39

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shadow work work once completed by a worker in a role that has now been indirectly outsourced to the consumer (e.g. bagging your own groceries, depositing and withdrawing money, booking tickets etc).40

shit jobs essential yet poorly paid jobs that typically include poor working conditions. Shit jobs offer important benefits to society and are not inherently degrading, however, they typically involve poor working conditions and ‘low status’.41

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new worker glossary

total work

survival jobs a temporary job that is considered ‘low skilled’, and low paid. Survival jobs are often unrelated to a workers profession and are only taken as a last resort to avoid financial turmoil, bankruptcy, or other hardship.42

the process by which people are transformed into workers and nothing else.

Work ultimately becomes total when it; is the centre of human life, when leisure, festivity and play become work, when there is no other dimensions to life beyond work, when humans fully believe that we were born only to work, and when other ways of life, existing before total work practices and ideas, disappear completely from cultural memory.45

surveillance reputations the beliefs or opinions held by workers on the levels of surveillance undertaken by organisations. Organisations with more pervasive surveillance are likely to have a poor surveillance reputation.

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the precariat a class of workers experiencing insecure work. Precariats move in and out of precarious work, have insecure incomes and apart from receiving immediate payment for their labour, and do not receive other social guarantees (e.g. superannuation, sick leave etc).43

the salariat employees who have stable full-time jobs, with ‘trappings’ such as pensions, paid holidays, and enterprise benefits.

The salariat is primarily found in large corporations, government agencies, public administration and the civil service.44

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38 Kowalski. (2019). Post-Workism & Total Work.

39

Wikipedia. (n.d). Right to Disconnect.

Pfhannbecker & Smith. (2020). Work Want Work.

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41 Graeber, D. (2018). Bullshit jobs: A theory.

42 Backstage. (2020). An Actor’s Guide to Survival Jobs.

Guy Standing. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class.

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Guy Standing. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class.

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Taggart. (2017). If work dominated your every moment would life be worth living?

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new worker glossary

TOXIC PRODUCTIVITY

an unhealthy desire to be productive at all times, at all costs. For workers, this may include the expectation (by self and others) to go the ‘extra mile’ at work, even when unnecessary.46 underemployment

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the condition in which workers are employed at less than full-time capacity despite desiring full-time work.

Underemployed workers often have education, experience, or skills beyond the requirements of the job.47

unretirement retirees (or those close to retiring) re-entering the workforce as a result of; increasing economic insecurity, healthcare costs, increasing life expectancy and social isolation.48 Huffpost. (2021). What Is Toxic Productivity?

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Merriam Webster. (n.d.). Underemployment.

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BBC. (2019). Unretirement.

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Stanford. (n.d.). Basic Income Lab.

ILO. (2015). Poverty, income distribution, employment by economic class and working poverty.

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51 Thompson. (2019). Workism Is Making Americans Miserable.

52 HarperCollins Publishers. (n.d). Zero-hour contract.

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universal basic income a periodic cash allowance given to all citizens, without means test, to provide them with a standard of living above the poverty line.49

working poverty employed persons living in a household in which their income falls below the poverty line due to low-income jobs and low family household income. The ‘working poor’ maintain regular employment and are not typically supported by government aid or charity.50

workism the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production but also the centrepiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose; and the belief that any policy to promote human welfare must always encourage more work (See also ‘total work’).51

zero-hour contracts an employment contract that does not oblige an employer to provide or guarantee the employee a minimum number of hours but requires the employee to be on call in the event that work becomes available.52

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worker contributions REANNA BROWNE (RESEARCH + WRITING) Reanna is an academically trained and practicing futurist, with an interest in the futures of work and workers. She is the founder of foresight consultancy, Work Futures, and holds a MA of Strategic Foresight from Swinburne University.

RABILA KIDWAI (DESIGN) Rabila is a graphic designer working at the intersection of art and design. Driven by the everyday anomalies, women, their images and stories, she designs for impact. www.rabilakidwai.com

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