ENDNOTES FOR THE SIXTH MEETING OF THE SAGUARO SEMINAR:

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN AMERICA AND THE WORKPLACE
[List of related readings and links]

1. Many indicators, both direct and indirect, bear this out. A record high percentage of Americans are employed – 64% in 1997, up from 57% at the end of 1950, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 1997. Professionals and blue-collar workers alike are putting in long hours together, eating meals together, even traveling on business trips together – creating fertile soil for close friendships. Indeed there is evidence that work hours are increasing (Arlie Hochschild in The Time Bind ; The 1997 National Study of the Changing Workforce; and John Robinson’s time-budget data all show that professional adult hours are on the rise over the last 2 decades). Back to text

2. See Hochschild in The Time Bind (1997). Back to text

3. Norman L. Wyers and Malina Kaulukukui, “Social Services in the Workplace: Rhetoric vs. Reality,” Social Work, 27, March-April 1984, 167-172; p. 167ff. Back to text

4. Maria T. Poarch, “Civic Life and Work: A Qualitative Study of Changing Patterns of Sociability and Civic Engagement in Everyday Life,” Unpublished Dissertation, Boston University, 1997, pp. 166, 5. Back to text

5. Stephen R. Marks, “Intimacy in the Public Realm: The Case of Co-workers,” Social Forces, 72 (3), March 1994, 843-858; pp. 845-847. Other academics have also criticized the shortfalls of the investigation into workplace-based social capital. Hurlbert argues that while various studies have explored the impact of social networks on economic outcomes, comparatively few have looked at the impact of networks on job satisfaction. [Jeanne S. Hurlbert, “Social Networks, Social Circles, and Job Satisfaction, Work and Occupations, 18 (4), November 1991, 415-430; p. 415.] Citing the importance of work to personal identity, life satisfaction, mental health, social values, family and leisure activities, and intellectual ability, Klein and D’Aunno find it “surprising, then, that community psychologists have devoted little attention to work, workers, and the working environment.” [Katherine J. Klein and Thomas A. D’Aunno, “Psychological Sense of Community in the Workplace,” Journal of Community Psychology, 14, October 1986, 365-377; p. 365.] Back to text

6. Marks 1994, p. 849. Back to text

7. From 1985 to 1986 alone, the number of middle managers laid off increased by 18%. Fully 39% of nearly 1,100 small, medium-sized, and large companies surveyed by the American Management Association reported having cut staff during the fiscal year ended June 1989. The average percentage cut was 10%. Back to text

8. Moreover, with increasing frequency since the 1970s, corporations have followed Milton Friedman’s lead, when he wrote: "The social function of a business corporation is to produce goods and services that customers wish to buy…at the lowest possible cost. Its function is not to serve as a philanthropic or charitable organization." [Milton Friedman, "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits," New York Sunday Times Magazine, September 13, 1970, p. 32 .] Back to text

9. According to a recent Economic Policy Institute Study. There are now 14 million self-employed Americans, almost 9 million independent contractors and 2.5 million temps. Back to text

Additional Resources and Readings:
Information on Work and Civic Engagement