Working in "High-Tech": Research Issues and Opportunities for the Industrial Socioloist

Author(s): Randy Hodson

Source: The Sociological Quarterly , Autumn, 1985, Vol. 26, No. 3, Special Feature: The
Sociology of Nuclear Threat (Autumn, 1985), pp. 351-364
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4106220

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 WORKING IN "HIGH-TECH": RESEARCH
ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE
INDUSTRIAL SOCIOLOGIST*

Randy Hodson
University of Texas at Austin

This article outlines some issues concerning the organization of work in the new "high
technology" industries. High technology industries are defined as industries involved
in the manufacture of electronic information processing machinery and related products.
Two central tensions are key to understanding work in the new high technology
industries. First, a limited reduction in the prevalance of repetitive tasks is counterbalanced
by increasing isolation of workers due to semi-automated production processes. This
tension may be mediated by intentional efforts on the part of unions and/or management
to recreate meaningful work environments. Second, potential empowerment arising
from the creation of new job-related skills is frequently offset by continuing high
unemployment in the broader labor market that is to some extent a result of the very
success of high technology production techniques. Difficulties in realizing potential
aspects of empowerment may be further amplified by large-scale utilization of female
and minority labor in high technology industries in the West and Southwest. Research
techniques of addressing these issues are also surveyed and evaluated.

WORKING IN "HIGH-TECH"
In a recent article in The Sociological Quarterly Miller (1984) suggested that the f
of sociology as an academic discipline may be increasingly dependent on its abilit
identify and exploit applied settings in which sociologists can made a concrete contri
Miller identified the workplace as one of the key settings in which sociologists can
such a contribution. The theme of Miller's timely suggestion is reiterated by the Am
Sociological Association's decision to select "Working and Not Working" as the th
for the 1985 annual meetings. The historic period when sociology existed as main
academic discipline may well be passing. We may also find that, as sociologis

* Direct all communications to: Professor Randy Hodson, Department of Sociology, University of
Austin, Austin, TX 78712.

The Sociological Quarterly, Volume 26, Number 3, pages 351-364.

Copyright ? 1985 by JAI Press, Inc.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
ISSN: 0038-0253

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352 THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 26/No. 3/1985

own perspectives and insights are sharpened by a closer and mo

the objects of our investigation. In an effort to further de
concerning the future of sociology, and particularly industrial
provide an overview of some of the emerging issues surrounding
of electronic technology throughout industry.
Recent technological developments in computers and electro
providing a possible solution to the long economic depressi
through heightened productivity. The impact of "high techno
the electronics industry but also in a variety of other industr
electronic technology. The major areas in which this influence
and robotics, office data handling, and telecommunications (Ric
early enthusiasm about the ability of electronics technology to
of the 1970's and 1980's has been dampened by a growing awa
jobs will be provided by this new technology (Hunt and Hunt, 1
jobs in the next decade, in terms of percentage increase, will,
processing machine operators, computer systems analysts, and com
the largest increase in the demand for workers, in terms of abs
janitors, nurses aides, sales clerks, cashiers, and secretaries, jobs
oriented (Levin and Rumberger, 1983).
This article outlines some of the issues concerning the influ
electronic technology on work. While it has been noted that devel
are unlikely to provide the growth of employment necessary
unemployment in the 1980's, the present paper focuses on th
affected industries rather than on the supply of that work. T
crucial for understanding work in the new high technology s
reduction in the prevalance of repetitive tasks is counterbalance
of workers. This tension may be mediated by intentional effo
and/or management to create meaningful work environments. Sec
arising from the creation of new job-related skills is frequently
unemployment in the broader labor market, unemployment w
result of the very success of high technology production tech
powerment of workers may be further impaired by the utilizat
labor in high technology industries in the West and Southwest
new production facilities "off-shore" in the search for even c
whole, these developments create important new vulnerabilities
With increasing consensus emerging that high technology w
related aspects of the current economic depression, attention
quality of the jobs provided by the new electronic technol
questions are manifold. It is to the question of the quality of work
technology that the present paper is addressed.

EMERGING ISSUES IN THE HIGH TECHNOLOGY WORKPLACE

Many aspects of the organization of work are being transformed by the introduc
electronics technology into the workplace. Accordingly, a great variety of issues de

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 Working in "High-Tech" 353

attention in any systematic appra

high technology. These issues incl
labor force characteristics, safety a
the empowerment of workers. Aft
consider some research methodolo

The Job Task

Perhaps the most intense debates and disagreements about the impact of high technology
on work concern the extent to which the resulting jobs require new and more sophisticated
skills as opposed to fewer and more mundane skills. The central argument in favor of
the skill-upgrading thesis is that electronics technology automates repetitious tasks thus
leading to greater diversity in the remaining work. In addition, there is some indication
that high technology leads to greater job autonomy in terms of worker controlled pace
and physical mobility (Blauner, 1964; Hrebiniak, 1974). The more pleasant physical
setting in many high technology plants is also cited as an important element in an upgraded
work environment.' Finally, there is the argument summarized succinctly by Naisbitt
(1984) in the phrase: "computers destroy hierarchy." The argument here is that knowledge
is an essential ingredient of power and that computers make information more readily
available to greater numbers of people leading to a breakdown of traditional hierarchies.
The alternative position argues that the capitalist dynamic of deskilling jobs to drive
down the cost of labor has greatly influenced the development of high technology forms
of production (Braverman, 1974; Cooley, 1980). Under this argument the development
of high technology serves to either eliminate or deskill existing highly skilled jobs and
to replace them with either electronic machinery or with less skilled jobs. In support of
this argument, there is already evidence suggesting that the most important production
skills in high technology industries are neither traditional craft skills nor skills based on
formal training but are simply precision and speed (Form and McMillen, 1983; Applebaum,
1983; see also, Schervish, 1983). Electronic technology also creates the possibility of
even more intense supervision and monitoring of workers. Thus, electronic technology
may be developed for the purpose of more closely monitoring workers and increasing
the intensity of their work rather than for increasing the productivity of labor of a given
intensity (Moberg, 1979).
The increasing use of electronic technology has also been accompanied by an increasing
isolation of workers as living labor becomes an ever smaller component of production.
The negative effects of this isolation may be amplified by an increase in shift work to
ensure the full utilization of expensive equipment. The worst scenario in this agenda
envisions a world in which production is designed for automated robots and in which
humans fill in during equipment failures, working in patterns, rhythms, and under conditions
that are designed for electronic machines.

Organizational Characteristics
As well as altering the nature of the work task, the introduction of electronic technology
also has consequences for organizations. Electronic technology may influence both the
relationship of the organization to the external environment as well as its internal structure.

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354 THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 26/No. 3/1985

A useful way to conceptualize the external relations of high

think of these firms as located in one or another fraction or s
1967; Averitt, 1968; O'Connor, 1973). Thinking of firms in th
whether high technology firms are organized as independent
branch plants of multinational corporations, or as subsidiaries
in a variety of fields. Once high technology firms have been id
location, expectations may be derived about their characterist
and Zibman, 1981).
It is likely that high technology enterprises will be organized
ways. In particular, while the majority of firms engaged in t
technology may be organized along multinational and conglom
or entrepreneurial sector may also be actively reproduced to
creativity and risk. Identification of these different varieties c
step toward understanding the external relations of high techn
determine the sectoral location of the different types of firms
and utilization of high technology, it will be necessary to dev
corporate and industrial characteristics, such as size, profit rat
relations to the state, and to systematically compare these to
economy.
Once the characteristics and sectoral location of high technology firms have been
identified, it will also be important to specify the strategies of expansion that they are
pursuing. In particular, are high technology firms pursuing strategies of expansion based
on sales of technologically similar products (Karpik, 1972) or are they pursuing strategies
of expansion based on the exercise of economic power within geographic regions directed
toward influencing labor market conditions, tax rates, government incentives, and so on
(Allen, 1978)?
The internal structure of high technology firms also provides an important topic of
investigation for the Industrial Sociologist. Starting at the highest levels of authority in
the organization, we can ask to what extent is decision making in the organization
centralized in corporate headquarters rather than being dispersed to plant and branch
offices? Similarly, to what extent has the managerial hierarchy grown at the expense of
direct production workers? An issue that has already gained considerable attention in the
popular press concerns the prevalance of "putting-out" arrangements in high technology
industries through which workers are employed on a piece-rate basis and work in their
own homes. Less dramatic, but perhaps more significant, changes involve the growth of
subcontracting and the increasing use of "temporaries" to reduce the high benefit costs
associated with direct employment for the firm (Rogers and Larsen, 1984).
At the level of the production worker, the central emerging questions about the organization
of high technology firms concern the utilization of new management practices such as
work-groups, profit-centers, and profit-sharing. In many high technology firms there is
also an attempt to downplay status differences between management personnel and production
workers. The prevalance and impact of these attempts are clearly important topics for
social science investigation. Important unanswered questions also remain about the nature
of hiring practices in high technology firms, especially given the prevalance of female

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 Working in "High-Tech" 355

and minority workers in producti

white males in engineering and m
In investigating the organizational
will need to be sensitive to whethe
or of firm-specific decisions and
1982; Hodson, 1983, 1984). In othe
a result of industry (technological)
which characteristics and behaviors
and which are a result of firm-sp
area must also be sensitive to the c
characteristics and behaviors may b
are undergoing rapid expansion. G
acteristics and behavior, and resear
or industry structure when these

Labor Force Characteristics

High technology has possible consequences for three important labor force issues: (1)
the creation of segmented labor markets, and, in particular, the erosion of middle-class
and stable working-class positions resulting in increasing divergence between privileged
positions and subordinate positions; (2) female and minority labor force participation;
and (3) the educational requirements of the labor force.
The nature of high technology labor markets is directly tied to the questions discussed
above concerning the skills required by high technology production. To the extent that
new skills are needed to operate sophisticated electronic equipment, then strong labor
markets for workers possessing these skills will emerge. To the extent that the deskilling
dynamic dominates, then the skills possesed by the labor force become largely irrelevant.
However, in this situation, the conditions under which workers can be coerced into
working for low pay and the strategies through which they may be able to protect
themselves from this outcome become a central focus of concern. In particular, questions
of underemployment and job security take on a central role.
Probably no one dynamic holds across the entire range of class and occupational
positions in high technology firms. Researchers must be sensitive to the possibility of
different outcomes for different positions. In particular, very dissimilar consequences may
result for professional and managerial positions than for production workers. The rapid
expansion of lower management positions in high technology industries adds an additional
unknown quantity to the equation. The content and quality of these jobs is often quite
indeterminate and may be contingent on implied promises of upward mobility, promises
which may or may not be realized. Indeed, the whole issue of mobility within internal
labor markets will be crucial to understanding labor force dynamics in high technology
industries. Jobs may be thought of as being comprised both by their current content as
well as by linkages to future career possibilities. Any fundamental change in the nature
of job content thus entails parallel changes in job ladders that will also demand investigation.
The social and demographic characteristics of labor employed in high technology
industries also provide an important area of investigation. Early indications suggest that

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356 THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 26/No. 3/1985

a disproportionate share of employment in high technology i

racial minorities, women, and youth (Applebaum, 1983). The r
are clearly in need of investigation. Does this mix of workers r
part of the owners of high technology firms to employ as ch
a labor force as possible? Or, do these characteristics of high
result from the availability of these categories of workers in
technology industries have located? Perhaps equally importantl
respond to employment in high technology settings? Minorit
seen as more malleable because they possess limited alternativ
can, under the right circumstances, be even more vocal and res
workers from traditionally more favored social groups (Legge
The educational requirements of the new high technology la
on the nature of the required job skills. If a broad based under
operation of sophisticated equipment, then there will be a gre
with more formal education. To the extent that the deskilling
the level of skill possessed by the labor force becomes less of
the skills needed for high technology production may best
training. This latter alternative would have important conseq
internal and external labor markets and, in general, for emplo
job training tends to empower the employee within the organ
becomes the repository of unique skills that the company has a
However, to the extent that these skills are only relevant with
were learned, employees may find that their ability to secure
a commensurate level is reduced.
Access to the education and training required in high technology settings is also an
important issue. Who will receive this training? Most importantly, to what extent will
the workers displaced by technological change be able to exercise their rights to be
retrained to continue their previous work utilizing new high technology techniques?
Evidence from the transformation of the printing industry over the last decade suggests
that the exercise of these rights is far from guaranteed (Wallace and Kalleberg, 1982).

Safety and Health

Safety and health issues must be a central area of concern in research on high technology.
The history of chemical spills and chronic high accident rates in California's "Silicon
Valley" have focused increasing public attention on these issues (Rogers and Larsen,
1984). The need for systematic social science research is nowhere more evident than in
this area. Sophisticated epidemiological studies are required to uncover the long-term
effects of the multitude of corrosive chemicals and other hazardous materials used in high
technology settings.
The increasing use of video display terminals in office work has also focused attention
on possible health hazards posed by the radiation emitted by the cathode-ray tube that is
the central component of these devices (Marschall and Gregory, 1983). The association
of video display terminals with other health problems ranging from eye strain to back
ailments has also gained increasing attention. These problems may result as much from

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Working in "'High-Tech" 357

the intensity and repetitiveness of

aspect of their design (Makower, 1
Safety and health issues in high te
additional factors: (1) the prevalen
tendency to "white-wash" proble
fixation on high technology as a po
The prevalence of female labor in
related issues because unborn fet
chromosomal abnormalities resulti
"hysterical" nature of women is fr
produced by chemical spills. This t
labeling of workers' responses to l
psychogenic illness." The problem
hazards is also evident in the "bo
high technology developments in r
"Research Triangle" in North Caro
influx of these industries.

Job Attitudes

Job attitudes and related behavior

in Industrial Sociology. Unfortuna
investigating the issue of worker
level of management attention to
profit-sharing, related questions co
mitment also become important is
Job attitudes also become manifes
be a central focus of concern in the
rates and absenteeism are importan
attentionand may ultimately prov
provide key examples of such iss
The emergence of informal work
Informal work groups are an import
retaken control of at least limited
informal work groups in high tech
questions concern the nature and a
engage is a variety of workplace "s
electronic monitoring and account
in reclaiming areas of control, no
more direct ways of securing a ma
rewards are blocked, workers may
and sophisticated equipment. A ser
industries utilizing electronic based
workers' attempts to regain contro

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358 THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 26/No. 3/1985

A final area in which high technology may have an influence on

the effect of high technology on workers' families. Families are
many of the issues we have discussed so far, including pay and
worker stress and alienation, and health issues. While the family h
focus of concern in the broader discipline of sociology, a focus
has too infrequently been incorporated into studies of the workp

Community Effects

A final way in which high technology may have important co

its influence on the community as a whole. These potential cons
broad categories: (1) economic impact and (2) social and cultural
where high technology growth is occurring, high technology is o
to economic ills. However, as a recent report by Governor Whit
technology in Texas indicated, these positive consequences are of
American Statesman, 1984). Governor White's report indicated t
of high technology firms into a community tends to improve the
new employment is generated and there may be little overall im
economy.
The impact of high technology on the social and cultural climat
area that has received relatively little attention to date. It is pos
and negative consequences may emerge. General enthusiasm for
may encourage positive community perceptions of high technol
rapid changes in the workplace and in peoples' lives may be met
(Ogburn, 1922). Recent work in psychology also suggests the pos
be more profound influences of electronic technology on self-perc
psyche (Turkle, 1984; Brod, 1984). Workers in high technology i
increasingly think of themselves in subordinate and inferior term
and sophisticated machinery that they operate.

Summary: Empowerment Versus Deskilling

Perhaps the most repeated question we have confronted in our su
by the increasing utilization of electronics technology at the wo
new technology will serve to empower or to deskill workers. Mo
the other issues we have discussed are, in one way or another, in
to this one key question. Accordingly, perhaps the most central
Sociologists to pursue as they study the impact of high technology i
of expensive and sophisticated electronic equipment by workers i
power at the workplace. Does high technology mean an increasing
a broad knowledge of their field and who are given increasing respon
Or does it mean that workers labor in increasing isolation on in
aspects of production where the essential parameters to be evalu
precision?
An equally important issue for determining whether high techn
or worsened conditions for workers concerns the impact of high tec

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 Working in "High-Tech" 359

of trade unions. The ability of un

curtailed by increased isolation of
race and sex. Union viability may
such as work-groups and profit-sh
exactly this purpose in mind.
The
on their ability to overcome thes
which workers can be mobilized. T
excessive supervision (both electro
markets.
The ability of workers to secure
production may also be severely
and possibly beyond, levels of u
technology does nothing to mode
advances in telecommunications h
"permissive technology" that allo
(Bluestone and Harrison, 1982). H
workers' attempts to bargain for
successful in imposing legislative
their conditions at the high techn
face a difficult uphill battle.

POSSIBLE RESEARCH STRATEGIES

Given the great diversity of issues concerning the impact of high technology on work
that need to be addressed, it is unlikely that any one research method will provide adequa
answers. Indeed, one of the chief pitfalls that social science researchers in this area need
to avoid is the inevitable tendency to place too great a faith on answers that may be
contingent on the method through which they were derived. In this section I will discus
a number of possible methods through which we can pursue answers to the questions
outlined above and I will try to suggest which methods are most appropriate for whic
issues.

Accessing the Corporation Directly

Perhaps the most straightforward method of studying the consequences of high technology
for the organization of work is to directly access executive level positions in high technology
corporations. Once access to top corporate levels is obtained, it may be possible to secure
interviews with a variety of key personnel. The benefit of this method is that it can
potentially provide a wealth of direct interview and observational data about the ways in
which organizations have dealt with technological change. The limitations of this method
include the difficulty of securing such access, problems of case studies (or limited and
potentially awkward samples) versus a systematic sampling of organizations, and the
possibility that the researcher will be allowed to see only the "public-face" of the organization
or that his or her research topics will have to be sharply curtailed in order to gain entrance
to the organization. This technique has been used effectively by Blau et al. (1976) and
Marsh and Mannari (1981), as well as by many other researchers.

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360 THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 26/No. 3/1985

If direct access to the corporation is secured it may also be possib

to conduct interviews directly with workers (Markham, Bonjean, a
Worker interviews provide one of the most powerful methods ava
impact of high technology on work. Unfortunately, permission
is frequently difficult to obtain and may entail a long period of fr
negotiation. However, if successful, this technique can provide in
on the work task, labor force characteristics, job satisfaction, safe
empowerment, and community and cultural effects of high techn
An additional method for gaining access to the high technology
researcher to be employed as a consultant in the organization (Ka
position the researcher has great latitude in finding overlap betwe
interests with the concerns of the organization. The major limitat
the general problem of all case study methodologies in providing
of the broader population that is the researcher's ultimate object
this one limitation, this method provides one of the most powerful t
a broad range of issues concerning technology and work.

Accessing the Corporation Indirectly

The use of informants in securing information about an organi

useful. Informants may be willing to reveal aspects of the organ
the organization are either unwilling to reveal or do not think to r
part of the "taken-for-granted" background. The central limitation wi
is that they form a limited, non-systematic sample of responden
they provide may be biased by various antipathies toward the org
Sullivan, 1983). For these reasons, data from informants is most
insights and relatively less useful for testing hypotheses. Within t
may provide invaluable insights about health and safety, work
cultural consequences of high technology.
Participant observation provides an alternative method to the us
to the extent that the observer is trained in the art of objective
keeping, this technique avoids the problem of biased observation
of informants. Unfortunately, the trained observer may have acce
portion of the organization leading inadvertently to a selective a
observations. Within the limits posed by the participant observer'
on the various aspects of the organization, this method is potent
providing insights about work tasks, health and safety, job satisfaction
and cultural consequences of high technology.

Utilizing Existing Data

Considering the great expense of time and money entailed in o

researchers must be sensitive to possible uses of existing data. Va
agencies compile data on organizations and on the labor forc

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Working in "High-Tech" 361

invaluable asset to the researcher

Private trade sources, such as D
Manuals, may also provide impor
unique value of these sources is th
of interest, or at least on a portio
The limitation of this method is
researcher's true concerns, a prob
Existing labor force surveys ma
impact of high technology on wor
tested questions assessing worker
sample sizes and systematic sampl
to make projections from his or her
the use of such surveys also has m
high technology have occurred so
too dated to be of value, Also, to
high technology workplaces, sele
representation may sharply curta
existing labor force surveys typical
intereststhan that provided by go
to include the exact questions tha
amplified to the extent that elect
workplace, issues that previous st

Content Analysis of th

A final research method is provid

high technology. This method pro
events surrounding the utilizat
method provides a systematic tech
it addresses one of the principa
methods. The major limitation of
be selective and biased in ways th
level of boosterism in high technol
a genuine problem in the utilizati
In summary, social science rese
with which they can address qu
organization of work. Each techniqu
Accordingly, researchers will be
study of these phenomena and to
fact may be contingent on the m
are particularly relevant in the ar
information about its consequence
about the impact of high technolo
and avoid premature closure on a

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362 THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Vol. 26/No. 3/1985

HOW DO WE MAKE OUR KNOWLEDGE

AVAILABLE AND USEABLE?

I introduced this essay by noting the imperative for sociology to become more involv
in applied fields. If we are to fulfill the demands of this imperative and to secure its
benefits, we must give special attention to how we can translate the knowledge gaine
through social science research into useable forms and how we can make this knowled
more readily available.
Social science researchers have an important contribution to make by undertaking
evaluation studies of the need for, and the success of, job redesign programs. Problem
in the workplace can be identified and the ability of various job redesign programs t
address these problems can be evaluated. Sociologists can also generate social impa
statements about the probable effects of high technology developments on the labor for
and on local communities. Such studies can be invaluable planning tools for local governmen
and public groups. Further, sociologists can plan conferences and serve as information
clearing houses on high technology issues. Such conferences have an important funct
to serve in making social science knowledge available to the public as well as to those
in business and government hierarchies. Finally, sociologists can work closely with trad
unions and with public interest groups in planning strategies to confront the change
brought about by high technology and in shaping programs through which workers an
the public can gain the maximum possible benefit from the potentials that high technolo
has to offer.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Joe Feagin, William P. Bridges, and three anonymous reviewers for Sociological Quar
provided useful and much appreciated critical comments on earlier versions of this ar
Any remaining errors or oversights remain my own responsibility. Thanks also to
Parker who helped with the survey of the literature for this paper.

NOTES

1. While the stark contrast between many high technology plants and traditional factories, in terms of
lighting, noise, dirt, wearing apparel, and so on, is immediately apparent to the outside observer, the significance
of these changes to the workers themselves should not be assumed and demands direct verification.

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1968 The Dual Economy. New York: W. W. Norton.

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 Working in "High-Tech" 363

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