My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies
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doi:10.5477/cis/reis.150.189 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies Mi trabajo es mi vida. La incrustación de los mundos de la vida y del trabajo en empresas españolas Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygada and Francisco Cruces Key words Abstract Job Attitude This paper analyses emerging forms in which life and work are interwoven, • Organizational based on 20 ethnographic studies conducted in enterprises in Spain. Change Whereas after the Industrial Revolution work processes tended to be • Ethnography autonomous from the living environments of production agents, in recent • Job Satisfaction decades a trend in the opposite direction has been observed in some • Working Time companies. This re-articulation takes place at several levels: a) through the • Daily Life blurring of the boundaries that separate work and everyday life, b) through the reintegration of affective dimensions into work processes, c) in promoting reciprocity and sociability in the economic sphere and d) in the production of meaningful experiences at work. Are we witnessing an emancipating balance between life and work? Or, on the contrary, is private life being colonized by the sphere of production? In this paper we seek to explore a third form of analysis, that of reflexive modernity. Palabras clave Resumen Actitud en el trabajo En base a 20 etnografías realizadas en empresas españolas, este texto • Cambio organizativo analiza formas emergentes de imbricación entre los mundos del trabajo y • Etnografía la vida. Si a partir de la Revolución Industrial se da una tendencia a la • Satisfacción en el autonomía del proceso de trabajo con respecto a los entornos vitales de trabajo los trabajadores, actualmente se observa una tendencia inversa en ciertas • Tiempo de trabajo empresas. Esta rearticulación se produce en varios sentidos: a) en el • Vida cotidiana desvanecimiento de la frontera que separa el trabajo de la vida cotidiana; b) en la reinserción de dimensiones afectivas en los procesos laborales; c) en el fomento de la reciprocidad y la sociabilidad en el ámbito económico; y d) en la producción de experiencias significativas en el trabajo. ¿Nos hallamos ante una reconciliación emancipadora de la vida y el trabajo? O, por el contrario, ¿se trata de una colonización del mundo de la vida por el mundo productivo? Proponemos explorar una tercera vía de análisis, la de la modernidad reflexiva. Citation Valenzuela, Hugo; Reygadas, Luis and Cruces, Francisco (2015). “My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies”. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 150: 189-208. (http://dx.doi.org/10.5477/cis/reis.150.189) Hugo Valenzuela: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona | hugo.valenzuela@uab.es Luis Reygadas: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (México) | lrrg@xanum.uam.mx Francisco Cruces: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia | fcruces@fsof.uned.es Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
190 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies Re-building the relationship exception. between life and work1 The end of the twentieth century saw a significant shift towards a balance between The concern about the split between perso- the two spheres, encouraged by several inte- nal life and work is as old as the Industrial rrelated factors. First, due to the crisis of the Revolution itself. In 1815 Robert Owen pos- Fordist paradigm, which began to be percei- tulated that a genuine care for workers ved as being too rigid in the context of an in- (whom he dubbed living machines) would creasingly competitive global market, focused result in an increase in business profits (Don- on quality and diversification (Boyer, 1991). nachie, 2000). Marx had similar concerns Second, due to the increasing entry of women when he dealt with the alienating nature of into the labour market and the consequent industrial work; as did Durkheim, in his war- challenges this posed for the balance bet- ning that social bonds would be eroded by ween home and professional life (Pleck, Stai- the modern division of labour. nes and Lang, 1980; Hochschild, 1997, 2012). Third, because in the emerging knowledge In the early twentieth century the distance economy (Machlup, 1962; Drucker, 1968) it between work and home life was markedly became evident that the processes of crea- greater. Taylorism significantly increased pro- tion and innovation, as strategic resources, ductivity, and took the decomposition of required the reshaping of production models tasks to the extreme (Coriat, 1991). The en- and flexible, communicative and experimen- suing rigid system of time and motion trans- tal work environments, where workers feel at lated into a meaningless work routine for home to express their subjectivity (Lloveras, et workers. Later Fordism exacerbated the ten- al., 2009). To create value, the collaboration dency to dehumanise work, since operators networks between consumers, users and toiled at repetitive motion activities, and workers, the expert systems that blend the every avenue for creativity and enhancing human and the technological (Cruces et al., their capabilities was annihilated. The arm 2002; Latour, 2008), and the information about and mind were radically divorced from each the everyday life of the new generations of other and, with this separation, work became consumers become strategic fields. distanced from everyday life. This trend did not even change with the post-war economic From 1960 onwards, the centre place boom, when attempts were made to mitigate taken by knowledge in the production pro- workers’ harsh conditions by increases in cess marks a profound transition from a so- wages and other labour incentives. In this ciety based on predetermined occupations context, organisations concerned with im- to one based on occupational choice (Druc- proving the working environment were the ker, 1968)2. At the start of this century, con- trary to the industrial process, the brain and social relationships played a greater role than the machine (Bell, 1973: 20; Overell, 2008: 1 For a collective ethnography of the 20 companies, see Reygadas, Luís; Francisco Cruces, Hugo Valenzuela et 28; Castells, 1996: 476). On the one hand, al. (2012). We are indebted to our colleagues that colla- ubiquitous technology increased the need for borated on this work (Humberto Matas, Nancy A. Kon- valinka, Irene Estrada, Diego Herranz, Sandra Fernández, skilled workers who would be able to apply Montserrat Cañedo y Carlos Montes), as well twenty their reflexive, creative and tacit knowledge organisations that opened their doors to us to carry out this study. The research is part of the Sectores de la Nueva Economía 20 + 20, project funded by the Schol for Industrial Organisatio (EOI) as well the projetcs 2 As Clifton says, whereas in the industrial era “people CSO2009-10780 y CS02012-33949 del Plan Nacional followed jobs”, in the post-industrial society “jobs fo- de I+D+i del MINECO.. llowed people” (2008: 63). Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 191 to the process of value creation. And on the Florida, the blurring of the boundary between other hand, the connection between informa- life and work enables workers to display their tion technologies, cooperative work and so- talent in a meaningful activity and therefore, cial capital revealed a new appreciation of the traditional management model, vertical the human dimension in production proces- and hierarchical, is dispensed with in favour ses (Lin, 2002; Benkler, 2006; Botsman and of self-discipline and peer pressure. Classic Rogers, 2010; Girard, 2009; Leadbeater, examples of these new work situations are 2008; Tapscott and Williams, 2009). leading-edge companies such as Google These changes meant that, for certain and Apple (Girard 2009; Hamel 2007). sectors, work became an inseparable part of This enhancement of life by work is often one’s personal project (Overell, 2008: 31). is attributed to the new technologies. It is This meaningful work is the result of the ex- claimed that computers and the Internet, un- tension of academic and vocational training like the old assembly line, promote collabo- (Martin, 2000), and of the search for additio- rative work and dissemination of information nal post- or extra-materialist motivations that (Benkler 2003, 2011). This new work culture, go beyond maximising income. These moti- playful and carefree, is associated with the vations (self-realisation, recognition and ex- counterculture and the hacker ethic (Brooks, pression of subjectivity), together with the 2000; Turner, 2006; Himmanen, 2002) and, increasing relevance of empathetic, emotio- while it does not exclude hard work, it de- nal and social skills and dispositions (Pine parts from the Protestant ethic whereby work and Gilmore, 1999; Scace, 2002: 86-87), give was considered an obligation devoid of plea- work a new central place in the identity cons- sure. Instead, an exciting and enjoyable job truction of the modern individual, which in translates into long hours that go beyond the turn profoundly influences the balance bet- work schedule and office space, extending ween life and work . over free time, holidays and weekends. This type of work “keeps me at my keyboard for hours, hardly noticing that it’s long past bed- Is private life enhanced or time” (Florida, 2010: 146). colonised by work? A second perspective argues, however, that what we are witnessing is a process of Despite a relative consensus on the blurring of colonisation of everyday life by work. Cogni- these boundaries, discrepancies exist about tive work remains essentially an activity su- its scope and consequences. Three broad in- bordinated to the extractive logic of capita- terpretations are found here: a) life is enhan- lism: it is stressful, under surveillance and ced by work; b) life is colonised by work; and alienating, even though it is workers themsel- c) there are contradictions inherent in work ves, or their peers, who guarantee the inten- subjectivities within reflexive modernisation. sity of the production activity (Ross, 2003). These will be analysed in more detail below. From this perspective, the outcomes of their Many agents related to the knowledge ingenuity (information, creativity and ideas economy welcome the erosion of the old ba- produced within and outside working hours), rriers between work and life and maintain a as well as the workers’ leisure time and emo- normative discourse on the virtues of a type tions are re-appropriated by companies that of work that provides greater significance, make enormous profits (Fumagalli, 2010). interest, freedom and equality (Scace, 2002). The company ends up defining the worker’s The concept of the creative class coined by life and blurring the difference between work Richard Florida (2010) is a clear example of and personal creativity (Ross, 2003). In this this thesis that life is enhanced by work. For context, only a minority have leeway to deci- Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
192 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies de the pace and shape of their work, since ployers and supervisors has been internali- most are under pressure, with demanding sed. It is a normative, intrinsic or “soft” deadlines and instability (Ross, 2001: 79). control, but a form of control nonetheless Employees, to alleviate this uncertainty, opt (Kunda, 1992; Florida, 2010). Businesses pro- for obtaining increased visibility by extending ject a seductive personal ethics, a version of their working day (Scace, 2002: 110) submit- the technologies of the self through personal ting themselves to stressful processes of management and body policies that reflect constant learning (Benner, 2002: 203). the internalisation of capitalist logic (Rose In an analysis of mid-management in Nor- 1999; Donzelot 1991 in Rowan, 2010: 69). th American companies, Jill Fraser (2002) This phenomenon is typical of the transition showed how white-collar workers have seen from disciplinary societies to control socie- their free time reduced, largely due to perso- ties, in which mechanisms of open, conti- nal computers, mobile telephones and bee- nuous monitoring gain greater relevance, pers; how stress has been exacerbated by a where the panopticon is internalised by sub- Big Brother-type surveillance exercised by jects themselves (Deleuze, 2005). Through the monitoring of their telephone calls, emails self-management, employees become their and computers; and how privacy has been own employers, perhaps the most deman- diminished by the use of offices with open ding ones, who self-impose labour control cubicles. For these reasons, Fraser (2002) both at home and in their spare time, neglec- called these corporations white-collar sweat- ting their personal and family life (McGuigan, shops. The work conducted by call centre 2009). This results in health problems, subs- employees and software programmers en- tance abuse, mental breakdown or suicide dorse this thesis. Many of these employees (Kunda, 1992). These processes demonstra- carry out non-manual tasks, but they are so te, in the words of Lukács, the corporate co- routine and repetitive that they provide no lonisation of the last bastion of personality: intellectual challenge (Bain and Taylor, 2000; the feelings and ideas of the employee (Sie- Castillo, 2007; Cousin, 2002; Moss, Salzman vers 1994: 4), leading to emotionally and phy- and Tilly, 2008; Micheli, 2007). The conse- sically crippled employees because they give quences of outsourcing the less creative too much to their jobs (Fraser, 2002: 158). work has contributed to the emergence of a A third perspective considers that con- form of peripheral cognitive Fordism (McCall, temporary changes in the boundaries of life 2001: xi) and the emergence of a new infra- and work express the contradictions of re- class (Hodgson, 1999) that is significantly flexive modernisation (Bauman, 2005; feminised and ethnicised (Robinson, 2003; Giddens, Beck and Lash, 1994; Beck, Bonss Morini, 2007). In this context, for example and Lau, 2003). To that extent, they are Chinese teenagers are found who are glued neither positive nor negative per se; they to their screens testing video games in 12- constitute an ambivalent response to a mo- hour rotating shifts, 7 days a week (who in dernisation process which leads to the criti- turn informally subcontract other minors to cal questioning of some of its original funda- complete the lower levels of difficulty) (Bar- mentals and institutions (such as the boza, 2005, Toscano 2007: 10); or young se- traditional family, bureaucratic organisations cretaries in Barbados performing office tasks and trade unions). Subjects are asked to piecework under the relentless monitoring of choose and foreshadow their destiny outside the number of key presses which determine the constraints inherited by class, gender or their salary (Salzinger, 2003). ethnicity (Beck, 1992: 135; Charles and Ha- Even in the most creative work, it is ar- rris, 2007: 278). A good example would be gued, the surveillance once exercised by em- the “negotiated family” in which the roles and Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 193 TablE 1. Companies analysed and their fundamental traits Organisation Activity Location Size Key Designit Madrid Consultancy, design and Madrid Medium Sophisticated internal learning innovation system CuldeSac Design Valencia Medium Cross-pollination of knowledge and community creation. The Hub Madrid Social Innovation Madrid Medium Recreation of ‘environments’ rela- ted to ideas about well-being. Vizzuality IT Consultancy Madrid Medium Production of the visual sphere as knowledge to be communicated to others. Agencia de Arqui- Architects Madrid Micro (Post-demiurgic) restatement of tectura ELII the role of the architect. Investic Free-software develop- Pamplona Small Symbiotic relationship with open ment networks, combines work and friendship. CC60 Architects Madrid Small Flexibility and adaptation to per- sonal development. peSeta Design Madrid Small Satisfaction in using artisanal methods and producing signifi- cant products Funky Projects Consultancy and Innova- Bilbao Small Stirred-up, people-centred inno- tion vation Conexiones improb- They link companies, arts Bilbao Micro Narrative imagination: stories that ables and humanities bring together disparate actors under uncertain conditions. e–cultura Cultural intervention for Mérida Medium Holism, virtuous circles of satis- local development faction-productivity. Monvínic Restaurant and wine bar/ Barcelona Medium Passion and experience as a link store between suppliers and custo- mers. Aceite Las Valdesas Olive oil producers Córdoba Medium Traceability and empowerment of producers and consumers. Milhulloa Dehydration of agricultu- Lugo Small Ecological, experimental control ral products of the agricultural process, using artisanal methods. Terra Madre Distribution of ecological Madrid Small Reflexive work and creation of food new types of relationships bet- ween producers and consumers. Espinoso Rural Alternative Tourism León Small Identity and local sustainability- based project. Comunitae Finance Madrid Small Disintermediation: liberalising len- ding decisions. Verkami Crowd-funding Barcelona Small Crowd-funding and artistic reci- procity. Aula Coeducativa Playful education Cáceres Micro Play centre and community net- works. Instituto Madrileño Assisted reproduction Madrid Medium Humanisation of medical de Fertilidad centre treatment. Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
194 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies chores are regularly reviewed (Beck and the trust, loyalty and commitment typical of Beck-Gernshein 2002: xxii). However, at the traditional companies. When this is taken to same time, this growing autonomy of the in- the home the question is, how can family re- dividual entails greater vulnerability and ins- lationships be protected so that that they do titutional dependence. not succumb to short-term behaviour, thin- Until recently the worlds of life and work king only about the immediate, and a lack of were defined by their opposite: the world of loyalty and commitment characteristic of life used to be all that took place away from modern jobs? (Sennett, 1988: 25). work time and space. Today the same work/ Ultimately, the increasing permeability bet- life duality has been shaken by the processes ween the spheres of work and life, compared of individuation and late-modern globalisa- to the industrial era (Walkerdine, 2006; Casti- tion. On the one hand, new technologies and llo, 2007), creates new ambivalences. Nip- flexible working makes it possible to extend pert-Eng (1996b), by relying on the symbolic the boundaries of time and space in salaried approach of Mary Douglas’s purity/pollution work, potentially allowing more people—es- duality, showed how the seemingly stable ca- pecially those with responsibilities for caring tegories of “home” and “work” result from for others—to champion a reduction in gen- artificial constructs arising from everyday de- der inequality (Reynolds 2005: 1313). Accor- cisions. While work in the industrial realm is ding to Reeves (2000), it is sometimes wor- defined by its opposite (business/home, work/ kers themselves who choose to do interesting leisure, etc.) and the artefacts from each realm work instead of watching “junk programmes” were clearly established—by the uniform, the on television, doing house chores or taking technologies used, the workspace and sche- care of their children (in Perrons, 2003: 70). dules—in meaningful work they are exchan- Those committed employees who work in ged and continuously (con)fused. However, as friendly contexts, despite their longer wor- the categories are perceived as being less king hours, not only tend to perceive their exclusive, the less “disorder” (pollution, con- companies’ life-work balance policies positi- flict) is generated by the intermingling of home vely (Berg et al., 2003; Perrons, 2003: 81 and work artefacts (1996: 580). -82), but they also have better physical and What contradictions and challenges are psychological health than other workers (Mi- generated by these re-articulations, and for rowsky and Ross, 2007). However, at the whom? How are they resolved? Our goal is same time worrying processes such as to explore these issues in light of ethnogra- stress, excessive working hours or the ex- phic data obtained from 20 companies, by propriation of cognitive and emotional values relying on the theoretical approaches of so- arise. According to Castells, “never before ciologists of reflexive modernity. We believe was work so central to the process of value that this third way is more cautious, but also creation. But never before were workers, more fruitful, than the optimism of “life being despite their skills, more vulnerable to the enhanced by work” and the pessimism of organisation, since they have become indivi- “life being colonised by work”. duals embedded in flexible networks whose whereabouts are unknown even to the net- work itself” (1996: 278-9). The world of work Methodology. Recent is exposed to greater risks, stress (Beck and experiences in Spanish Beck-Gernsheim 2002; McGuigan, 1999, companies 2009), speed and change (Thrift, 2000). Ac- cording to Sennet, the mantra of late capita- During 2011 and 2012 a team of ten anthro- lism—nothing long-term—ends up corroding pologists undertook a project to ethnogra- Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 195 phically analyse these processes (Reygadas on access to workers and their workspaces. et al., 2012). The sample included 20 Spanish Sampling of individual respondents prioriti- SMEs selected on the basis of one or more sed diversity in terms of sex, age, seniority, of the following criteria: rank and experience. In most small busines- 1. They recruit professionals who incorpora- ses it was possible to observe and interview te the realm of their personal life into the all of the individuals working in the compa- process of value creation (artists, desig- nies. ners, anthropologists, philosophers, etc.) Given that this was a prospective investi- 2. They develop processes to improve inter- gation, the data came from participant ob- nal labour relations (horizontal structures, servation performed in companies (by one or participatory methods, teamwork, etc.). two ethnographers for at least three working 3. They promote social capital (networks days); secondary data (HR reports, statistics, among workers, users, customers, etc.) business plans, balance sheets ...); and a to- to create collaborative environments. tal of 67 in-depth interviews with founders, 4. They are sensitive to employees’ personal employees, HR managers and technicians3. life sphere in the suitability and design of Ethnographers accompanied them in their the product, spaces, technology and daily work tasks, prioritising a diversity of work processes. perspectives (employees of different rank, technicians, interns, founders of companies, 5. They encourage autonomy, responsibility etc.). In the workplace they had access to and freedom in the workplace. formal meetings (group meetings, client meetings ...), seminars, job interviews; routi- The following table summarises the main ne and extraordinary tasks (creation proces- characteristics of the companies studied, in- ses, events, client visits) were unobtrusively cluding a brief description of some of their observed; informal conversations were held key features and idiosyncrasies. with users, workers (of different ranks) and The companies are part of the sectors of founders. The research could not analyse the the knowledge economy, design, culture, al- domestic sphere of the subjects—this is the ternative consumption or financing methods, usual bias in analyses of life and work balan- and care and personal services. In the selec- ce (Perrons, 2003; Hoschchild, 2012). Howe- tion there is a bias towards smaller compa- ver, ethnographers also conducted partici- nies, from the advanced services sector pant observation in informal venues (bars, (consulting, innovation and technology), and meeting rooms, restaurants, etc.) and the start-ups in which the influence of avant- domestic dimension was explored in inter- garde models such as IDEO, Apple or Google views. Researchers subsequently maintained is perceived. Although there is no general contact with members of some of these consensus on its exact definition, we could companies and during 2012 and 2013 ad- say that these companies come under the dressed more specific issues related to the umbrella of the New Economy (Perrons et al., worlds of work and life. 2005). After selecting the sample, a first contact was made with the companies in order to ex- 3 The interview in all cases addressed issues such as plain the nature of the research and its objec- company history; description of the business; business tives. This allowed for the possibility of repla- project; business model; work processes; value network of the company; innovation plan; values; daily work dy- cing some companies that did not meet the namics; organisation and relationship model; personnel sample criteria and minimising the limitations and learning devices. Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
196 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies Blurring of spatial, temporal integrating both the work team and clients, and emotional boundaries who are frequently invited to have lunch in the company as a way to start a more relaxed There are currently many people who expe- business relationship. During these meals, rience an increasing blurring of the bounda- participants (often corporate managers or ries between work and non-work time, bet- representatives) are encouraged to loosen ween home and work, including hobbies and their tie and relax in a friendly, family-like at- obligations, and between professional iden- mosphere. Communal dining here takes on tity and other roles. Those areas are interwo- its deepest anthropological sense: comensa- ven, starting with the organisation of the spa- lium, a ritual of communion around the totally ces, in a way that is far removed from the social fact of sharing the table and eating, factories and offices of the industrial era. which constitutes the very substance of kin- Now they are bright, friendly and playful spa- ship (Mauss, 1966; see also Carsten, 1997). ces that foster communication and invite one Not surprisingly what is known as the art of to stay. There is often the impression that not hosting (or art of being a good host), is based much work is being done there, but it encou- on traditional models of care, and is an effec- rages constant face-to-face interaction to tive way used by some companies of coun- solve problems and generate new ideas tering the stress of intensive innovation pro- (Scace, 2002: 88). A worker at Designit, when cesses. she had just joined the company, actually In the EWLII Agency of Architecture the stated: “But no one works here, everyone is office is, de facto, a quasi-domestic space having fun, with a chat application open, which is connected by corridors to the home wasting time ...” The Hub Madrid, for exam- of one of the partners. In CuldeSacTM a fur- ple, operates in a loft in which there is a tube nished flat to accommodate visitors wishing similar to that found in fire stations, and loc- to stay in the business is adjacent to the han- kers created out of fruit boxes reminiscent of gar that serves as an office. a nursery. The kitchen occupies the spatial The notion of time and space is flexible and symbolic centre. It is designed to encou- and malleable, and the concept of “mobile rage contact, to share and make people feel work”, made possible by information techno- at home. There is a weekly sexy salad made logy, communications and travel, is added to with the ingredients brought by each person. the open-plan, interconnected environments. This establishes a new link between the Given that work is based on projects and ob- post-industrial economy, based on spatial jectives, with flexible hours, it is not unusual flexibility, and attention to a specific physical to be absent from the office or work from space, the atmosphere of these new forms of home. However, the abuse of such freedom organising. is not common. Instead, employees tend to In CuldeSac everybody works in a large overwork because the important thing, be- open room in which all kinds of creative sti- yond complying with a schedule, is “doing muli are scattered around: a guitar, red things well”. The use of time is more intensi- boards, prototype sketches drawn in char- ve than extensive, due to a discontinuous coal, etc. The small kitchen, as in other com- and fragmentary work effort that encourages panies analysed (such as Funky Projects), multi-tasking and entails considerable stress plays a central role here. People have peaks when there are tight deadlines. In Viz- breakfast and lunch together. There is a deli- zuality, a company engaged in the develop- berate effort to maintain this practice, and ment of visual interfaces for databases, “we they have a rota for shopping, cooking and try not to have deadlines (and) do not have setting the table. This practice is essential to fixed working hours. If I do not feel like ha- Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 197 ving fixed hours, why should others have conventional financial brokers and encoura- them? And if you can work without a set ges connecting people who need money schedule, why have one?” That does not with others who can lend it to them. In Desig- mean that they are slow: they often work un- nit Madrid divergence is a vital phase of the til they find a solution. This way of (dis)orga- creative process and peSeta is defined as nising time generates periods of inactivity being “out of the ordinary and outside the where they connect to the Internet for so- mainstream”. mething that provides income—in India or From the perspective of the anthropologi- elsewhere remote—until another project cal literature it is not difficult to identify in worthy of their time comes along. The very many of these events the mark of what Victor idea of disorganisation operates in relation to Turner called, in the context of ritual, limina- space and processes, constituting a form of lity, anti-structure or communitas. The liminal anti-paradigmatic philosophy (in the Kuhnian tones of these gestures and practices refer sense) which is effective for creative purpo- to ancestral human forms of ritual and play, ses. but without sacrificing significant and trans- This disruptive and iconoclastic logic per- cendental work. Most founders claimed to meates everything, from the work wear (ca- have created the company to do something sual, informal), brand names (Funky Projects, they felt passionate about and endowed with Conexiones Improbables—Unlikely Connec- meaning. “Stories that matter” is the kind of tions—, CuldeSac), the design of their busi- project that Vizzuality undertakes. In Monví- ness cards, the leadership styles and the nic “we do what we want... The key to any day-today language (trendy expressions job is to do what one likes”. Some use uto- such as “guay”—cool—, “molar”—be cool— pian terms to describe the balance between and “tío”—mate— were frequently used ex- work and life aspirations. pressions). While old Spanish organisations sought to ooze solemnity, homogeneity and We thought at first about the possibility of creating tradition, we now find a taste for the bohe- like a marriage between work and human beings, mian and the iconoclastic. Styles that were as if they were a unit. Let’s say this is like a teena- once seen as the antithesis of business are ge dream. - (Espinoso Rural) now in the core of organisational culture, in- I arrive every morning and I look at the arbore- terweaving digital and counter-cultural uto- tum where we have been planting olive varieties pias (Brooks, 2000; Turner, 2006; Frank, that we have brought from our travels here and 1997). Funky Projects boasts using stirring- there, and I feel as if I were in my own backyard. I up as a working method to promote new imagine how these trees will grow, just as I imagi- ideas, and announce their revolutionary bu- ne how my children will grow.- (Las Valdesas) siness consultancy with the provocative leit- motif “we sell smoke.” Investic is strongly committed to geeks, communitarians and the anti-copyright hacker ethic (Himmanen, The production of significant 2002). It promotes open-source software and experiences and the importance solidarity-based economy. Aula Coeducativa of the emotional dimension uses the concept of game as part of an anti- corporate, anti-capitalist utopia. Vizzuality The style and atmosphere of these compa- refuses to accept projects that only serve to nies invites workers to become engaged in increase the profits of large corporations. e- their work, to understand it as a rewarding Cultura supports counterculture and alterna- activity that enables self-realisation. Although tive ideology. Comunitae takes distance from there will always be routine tasks, in some Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
198 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies cases it has been possible to make work an Funky Projects), but the activity, usually in- enjoyable and playful activity: “There are lots tense, is conducted within a community that of laughs here” (CuldeSacTM); “[We love] do contains emotional links where the company things with joy” (Conexiones improbables); is perceived as a family—but not necessarily “If you are happy, your customers are happy” in the old-style corporate and hierarchical (e-culture). According to the founder of Funky paternalist way (Archer, 1992; García, 1996). Projects, “if we do not innovate, we will enjoy In many companies there is no clear division ourselves less, we will make less of a contri- between work colleagues and friends: they bution to society, and intellectual growth and have a beer together (Funky Projects) or “go development will be poor.” In CuldeSac, the out for a bite” (Investic). In CC60 the busi- criteria for selecting innovations and projects ness partners usually go out to dinner to- are related to their “magic” and their “ability gether with their significant others; and in to make people smile.” Nevertheless, there is CuldeSacTM some workers regularly go on no irresponsible behaviour there. Rather, in trips together. This integration of the emotio- these environments high levels of productivi- nal dimension into labour relations generates ty and responsibility are achieved. Contrary a form of an “emotional division of labour”. to the theses of Daniel Bell, who advocated At The Hub, if someone has a bad day, others the erosion of the work ethic due to the ad- will step in for them, or help them; at Aula vancement of a hedonistic culture (Bell, Coeducativa, Milhulloa and CC60, personal 2006), the companies under study suggest aspects are considered when allocating that permeating work with playful connota- tasks. At CuldeSacTM “we help one another tions increases productivity and strengthens when someone is having difficulties, because the work ethic. here we are all equal, we are all friends.” The In the context of meaningful work, these incorporation of humanistic knowledge, companies place learning at the heart of their communicative and emotional skills (em- philosophy, both in the work process and in pathy, kindness, collectivism, etc.) to the va- activities designed expressly to promote it. In lue chain is, in fact, a fundamental feature of Vizzuality members spend much of their time these companies, which reproduces a sense conducting research. The five architects of of cohesion and cooperation, “a company CC60 are organised so that each of them can where we all feel at ease” (Investic),“I find devote a certain number of hours to research. people very fulfilling: we all row the boat “This is the most important Master’s that you here” (CuldeSac), “we look for people with can do,” said one worker at CuldeSac, whe- expressive ability, empathy and listening re courses, workshops and lectures by skills, perception, understanding and self- guests or employees are promoted on a wee- expression” (Funky Projects). According to kly basis. A similar practice exists in Designit the founders of the CC60 architectural stu- Madrid, based around lunch or “refectories”. dio, they have developed a “domestic”, “fa- Such activities reflect open management mily-style” management that allows them to models in which knowledge circulates in all intermingle throughout the years their perso- directions, making work more attractive nal development with that of the organisa- through the on-going processes of teaching/ tion: “This company has been made to mea- learning that provide personal and professio- sure for us ... in terms of personal and nal challenges and satisfaction. professional development. It’s like a suit.” In The continuity between the time and spa- practice, an allocation of duties is under- ce of life and work has emotional implica- taken that takes into account the individual tions. Not only does one “become very invol- life cycle of each partner. In their meetings ved on a personal level” (female worker, they are used to “talking about everything” Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 199 - they talk about both business and personal local agricultural knowledge; Monvínic ex- issues. plore traditional recipes; CuldeSac and Funky Projects include in their methodology the views, opinions and knowledge of custo- Fostering reciprocity and links mers and other secondary agents in the creative process. Without the need to abandon the commercial contract that regularises relationships with The organisations studied seek to promo- customers, suppliers and employees, most te horizontal relationships. In Milhulloa, an of these companies are surrounded by a net- agro-ecological Galician cooperative com- posed of three partners, everyone does all work of key links, such as reciprocity, em- manual, intellectual and managerial work. In pathy and cooperation, which sustain a mo- Vizzuality, relationships between the eight ral commitment (or dense trust in Simmel’s programmers and designers are egalitarian, terms). Reciprocity is the operational basis and while some are entrepreneurs and others for Verkami (and the engagement between employees, in the work dynamic edges are artist and patron), Comunitae (and their cre- blurred. dit systems), Conexiones Improbables, Funky Projects, The Hub Madrid, Designit In the discourse, leadership becomes a and CuldeSacTM (regarding the dissemina- collective issue: a “pack of cyclists” (e-cultu- tion of ideas in the co-creation processes), re), a “flock of birds” (Designit) or “rowers” Terra Madre and Monvínic (and their defence (CuldeSacTM). They share the idea that in of local networks and fair price) and Vizzua- creative work, authority and rigid structures lity and Investic (in the context of networks of are more of a hindrance than a help. The free software and open source). In these creative moment is most successful when all companies the widespread suspicion of indi- can throw ideas into the ring without feeling vidualism is striking and in contrast, the va- self-conscious,—or protected— by their po- lues of humility, cooperation, emotional inte- sition in the structure. A paradigmatic exam- lligence, relational capital and confidence in ple of this creative democracy is the design the group are exalted: “we looks for nerds, process at CuldeSac: not sharks...” (Designit). Or: “If we want a multi-faceted study, it makes no sense to Meetings are like playing a game of cards, and you have it presented by only one or two faces. see how the ideas are knocked around. At the Even the photos portray us as a group” (Cul- creative level hierarchy doesn’t matter, everyone is deSacTM). on the same level. ... In CuldeSac no one decides; everyone around the table have to almost “taste” This emphasis on the logic of reciprocity it, they all have to smile for a project to go forward... relates to a reflexive modernity which, rather we can really “taste” it ... We see the client’s eyes than being monological in nature, attempts sparkle. to enter and exit expert knowledge in order to communicate with other types of knowled- ge: that of workers, customers, suppliers, Reciprocity and the flow of social capital consumers and prosumers (Cruces et al., require active social networks and virtual 2003). “Listening to others” is a fundamental platforms to manage them. Social networks, principle. CC60 try to understand those who in the broad sense, become central: relatio- will use their properties; in Investic “everything nal skills and the different actors (creators, is discussed”; Designit Madrid seek ideas technicians, designers, geeky programmers among users of digital devices; Terra Madre, ...) and stakeholders (from small producers to Milhulloa and Aceite The Valdesas recover mobile users and industry giants, artists or Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
200 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies creditors) are integrated into the production, ce between social innovators and compa- distribution or creation process, by a kind of nies. citizen science that unites expertise with The embeddedness of personal and specific knowledge. This is how Conexiones work life is also evident in the fact that many Improbables—specifically referring to one of of these new entrepreneurs brought their the companies—are compelled to generate passions to their business, and developed–in products, ideas or processes that are difficult their own words—“a life project”, “a personal to obtain by using conventional methods. goal”, more than a business. In some cases Clear examples were found in Funky Projects this was possible thanks to the financial sup- (“stirring up social change”), and in Monvínic, port from their partners or family members: Terra Madre and Milhulloa, which create food “We were living off our wives” salary for products at the same time as promoting about two years (founders of CuldeSacTM). partnerships with local producers and con- nections between producers, consumers, For us this is not a business, it is our life, we live it communities and technologists. and try and make them (all) live it as well. You have Nevertheless, the generational nature im- to understand CuldeSac as a way of life. Whoever posed by the explosion of digital culture understands it as a job is dead. translates into a true revolution in the use and If I’m at home, it is more than likely that I will operation of virtual social platforms. The im- doing what I’m doing here, because it’s my hobby. portance of the Internet here is its potential The first thing I do when I get home is turn on the for disintermediation: a more plural and di- computer. (Vizzuality) rect participation than that of conventional This is more than a job; it is now a way of life. intermediaries. Participating in the “wealth of I don’t know if I am an entrepreneur or a farmer, I networks” permits the creation of gaps in the am Milhulloa, and that’s all. value chain, positioning them near the end The work is an aspect of you, when I come consumer (Benkler, 2006). For some of the here I am doing what I think I should do. - (Espino- companies analysed, promotion and network management is at the core of their business so Rural). model. Comunitae is a financial intermediary which, using an online platform, connects The compatibility between work and life people who need credit to people willing to is a matter of concern for all of the compa- lend. Verkami connects artists with patrons. nies analysed. Most show a reflexive dis- Conexiones Improbables obtains public fun- course in this regard: at e-culture and Comu- ding for joint projects between companies nitae, the human dimension is contained in and arts and humanities professionals. In all their business models; the philosophy of the three cases we find newly minted intermedia- ELII architectural studio is based on their at- ries that create supportive environments for tention to life details; the founding principles connection and obtain their income from ma- of Improbable Connections and The Hub nagement fees. In all other cases, use of the Madrid explicitly referred to their concern Internet and social networking is inherent to about balancing the worlds of life and work, their activities: Investic coordinate and use etc. Many companies give importance to production networks for the production of quality of life, which translates into living near free software; Designit generate small cogni- work or having their extended family availa- tive networks; Funky Projects retrieve infor- ble nearby: the five members of staff of the mation from users and experts for disruptive company Terra Madre share a residence in interventional work; and The Hub Madrid, as the same town, and the founders of CuldeS- its name suggests, is an interconnection spa- acTM decided to set up in Valencia because Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 201 their families were there. However, while forward) in which they included the figure of some companies choose to merge both the “house mather”, a woman of a certain spheres, others opt to clearly delimit both age who plays the role of mother in the com- worlds, to prevent the “colonisation of life by pany , cooking, taking care of customers work.” when they visit the company, etc. In many In some companies it is impossible to se- cases leisure becomes a significant work- parate life experiences (friendship, affection, related activity: “Work is also the hobby” companionship, solidarity, enjoyment, leisu- (Monvínic). Travel, pass-times, conversations re) from labour experiences because they are with friends and cinema, music or theatre are the same thing. In these cases we noticed a at the service of nurturing creativity, whether diffuse hybridisation of labour and life ele- at work or away from it: ments. In this context, talking about the worlds of work and life as autonomous sphe- There is no problem when people combine their res may even be meaningless, since spaces, work with other activities, whether they be recrea- times and roles are blurred and liquid (Bau- tional or personal (sending personal emails, shop- man, 2000; Castillo, 2007). The emotional, ping online, joking, playing on the computer, orga- psychological and social are brought into the nising extra-work activities, etc.). (Designit) field of work and, conversely, projects, pro- duction and work self-realisation are carried However, companies with more “traditio- over to the domestic and family domain, for- nal” management models (Instituto Madrile- ming a single, indivisible identity. ño de Fertilidad and Monvínic) choose preci- sely the opposite: to establish clear Here we find companies created by parents and parameters between the world of work and children (Verkami), couples (Aula Coeducativa, life, to preserve the invasion of one sphere by ELII) or friends that operate “as a marriage” (C60, the other. In Investic “we do not like to work CuldeSac, Espinoso Rural). hard, only from 9:00 to 3:00.” Their salaries At first we believed that it would be possible to are modest, they prefer to have a “quiet life” form a marriage between work and human being, than to work to excess. In Monvínic they as if they were a unit. Let’s say this is like a teena- have decided to abandon the practice of ge dream. (Espinoso Rural). keeping the uncivilised work times in the res- When you do a job you like and enjoy, which taurant industry: they are not open on wee- absorbs you, well… we took our baby to the works kends and the kitchen has strict closing ti- when he was three months old ..., you do not dis- mes. tinguish between your personal life and your pro- The confusion of the space/time limits fessional life, it is all in the same package.- (CC60) between one world and the other—not knowing where one begins and the other In Aula Coeducativa, for example, “one ends (Hochschild, 1997, 2012)—is a bree- does not know what free time and work time ding ground for the proliferation of workaho- is”, time is flexible to suit the needs of balan- lics and perfectionists. Furthermore, since an cing work and housework, which are nego- important part of that work is mental (cogni- tiated ad hoc. tive), the limits of work become even more Other companies deliberately choose to blurred: is it not work to reflect or think about blur boundaries and standardise both worlds. a project? This excessive effort is sometimes At e-cultura they look for inspiration in formu- encouraged by the company - “We look for las of domesticity and feminisation, citing as great people ... Reinvent yourself in Funky their reference point a Dutch company (Fresh Projects: Minimum 5 years” experience, avai- Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
202 My Job is my Life. Overlap between Life and Work in Spanish Companies lability to travel internationally, excellent in the company (intern, owner, founder, coo- English, 150% involvement, continuous lear- perative member, etc.), seniority, experience ning, resilience to stress” - but what is most and the type of contractual relationship. common is that people themselves tend to However, the profile of worker/employer do so by choice: “Here you are the one who most commonly found in these businesses is wants to stay until it is perfect and the boss a young person, single, highly educated and says don’t” (Vizzuality); “no one is more de- Western (Adkins, 2002; Beck and Beck- manding than oneself” (CuldeSac). It is un- Gernshein 2002; Charles and Harris, 2007: clear whether this is a personal decision or, 291). In these cases, the intersection of do- on the contrary, a combination of peer pres- mestic and work life is more intense, not only sure and the ideology of the organisation. because the significant work they do and Perhaps we are witnessing a sort of “stakha- their creative identities lend themselves to it, novism” of the information age, as when—in but also because their life histories and fa- the heroic times of Apple–workers sported mily conditions so permit: they are single, T-shirts with the words “90 hours a week and have no dependents (elderly or children) and I love it” (Florida, 2010: 280). choose alternative forms of domestic organi- sation - shared flats, “living apart together” or squats. Espinoso Rural workers live in a Discussion self-sustained community; some workers of the various companies share a flat (Roseneil Most of the research on the relationship bet- and Budgeon, 2004); people with children, at ween work and life in the New Economy con- the time of the study, were in the minority. In sists in monographic studies conducted in the case of trainees or young workers beco- the United States (Kunda, 1992; Hochschild, ming part of these businesses was, to some 1997; Brooks, 2000; Benner, 2002; Fraser, extent, a continuity of university life. The con- 2002; Ross, 2003; Castillo, 2007)4. Despite tinuous travelling to which some workers the risk of extrapolating these results to the were subjected to (Vizzuality, CuldeSacTM Spanish case, there are obvious similarities and FunkyProjects) forced them to adopt that are worth pointing out. truly flexible domestic organisation for perio- First, the individualisation thesis on which ds at a time, sustained thanks to information the analysis of this kind of work is based is technology: phones, laptops, etc. In some not without bias of age, class, gender or eth- cases (CuldeSacTM), employees even mo- nicity (Quah, 1996; Castells, 2001, McCall, ved to the flat adjacent to the business for a 2001; Marwick 2013). The situation and how period of time. the interaction between the two worlds is ne- There is no doubt that this embeddedness gotiated varies according to the position held has both positive and negative effects on peo- ples’ lives. Technological development can extend the workday into rest and leisure time 4 The idea of the New Economy emerged in the United (at home, on holiday, weekends, while trave- States in the late 1990s to define technological (dot-com) companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft (Ross, lling), and this generates processes of self- 2003). Self-sacrifice and the vehemence of the hacker exploitation, stress and family or partner con- culture was put at the service of business under stre- flict. In the search for balance, the most nuous submission deadlines. Pool, open spaces and corporate culture sought to promote creativity and plea- common sources of dissatisfaction refer to sure. The prevalence of the services sector, the emer- the limitation of time devoted to leisure, rest or gence of the knowledge economy, the subsequent de- family (Perrons, 2003), or when the individual materialisation of commodities (Pine and Gilmore, 1999) and the development of information technology are some perceives that they are unable to successfully of the factors that enabled these processes. manage time, space, tasks and their roles in Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
Hugo Valenzuela, Luis Reygadas and Francisco Cruces 203 either field. The conflict emerges when incom- strategies because, despite the renegotiation patibilities arise between the demands of of everyday household chores, they continue work and home (Hill et al., 2004): when the to fall more frequently on women than on division of housework is not fair (Beck, 2000) men (Hochschild 1997; Van Echtelt et al., or when both partners are committed to their 2009: 189 Perrons, 2003: 65, Charles and careers (Scace 2002: 110). However, indivi- Harris, 2007: 291). Within the businesses un- duals employ various strategies both to merge der study we saw how this gender bias is the areas of work and life and to disable the reflected in the professional division: lack of possible con(fusion) of spheres. In the first female programmers, shortage of female de- case, according to one of the partners at Cul- signers and technicians and the prominence deSac, “the first thing I do when I get home is of women in secretarial work and public rela- turn on the computer. But at home I write sto- tions. In general, the New Economy has ries, thoughts, or poetry, which then I may or made previously undervalued aspects of the may not apply to work.” The tendency to production process (creativity, emotionality multi-tasking is also a common way to com- and collaborative inspiration) visible, but it is bine housework with work—for instance, still undervaluing others (mainly those rela- checking one’s email while having breakfast ting to care and reproduction) (Ruido and with the family. In the second case, individuals Rowan, 2007). In the background, this cau- switch off the phone and the computer or play ses domestic work to be downplayed and to sports to “escape” from work. become invisible in terms of the transfer of However, it was often found that in the investment in time and effort. analysed group domestic tasks and roles are CuldeSacTM, for example, was initially renegotiated (McCall, 2001), not only due to conceived by two men and a woman, and the the individualisation of reflexive modernity, woman was compelled to abandon the pro- but also because they possess sufficient ject due to “family responsibilities”: economic capital to afford to outsource less creative household tasks. Paradoxically, as It was so stressful, you need to be mentally prepa- noted by Reeves (2000), while creative work red for it, it’s a risky gamble. Pilar had a family ... is increasingly more flexible, domestic work and sought assurance about security that we becomes industrialised—with rigid schedu- could not give her. She jumped before seeing the les, division of labour, unskilled work, etc. (in results from of all this - (Partner, CuldeSacTM). Perrons, 2003: 70). And this kind of outsour- ced work, which also merges the work and According to one female worker: “This life spheres (cleaning, babysitting, elderly [long work days and exhausting work] is only care, etc.), lies on a very different—if not the for the young. It is difficult to have children exact opposite—profile of worker: unskilled, and pay the mortgage”. adult, feminised and ethnicised (see Nippert- Eng, 1996; Reynolds, 2005; Hochschild, The majority of the companies analysed 2012). For creative workers this process of were consistent with fundamental principles domestic outsourcing is not necessarily ne- of remuneration, salary scale and profit sha- gative, because it allows them to choose to ring. Post-materialist principles on which their perform the most significant tasks (for ins- meaningful work was based placed the instru- tance, emotional childcare). However, this mental value of labour—that is, making mon- invites individuals to invest more and more in ey— in the background (Baldry, et al., 2007). “work as home”, disinvesting in proportion in I want to be happy, not rich (Investic) “home as work” (Hochschild 1997). Mo- It is not just about living comfortably, sure that reover, gender inequality persists in these is about making money, is to make money, but if Reis. Rev.Esp.Investig.Sociol. ISSN-L: 0210-5233. Nº 150, April - June 2015, pp. 189-208
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