Work Won't Love You Back

Sarah Jaffe is an independent journalist who has written prolifically on labor and politics. Her latest book persuasively and comprehensively critiques the gig economy. Jaffe demythologizes what she calls the “labor of love,” the current labor paradigm, in which employers insist that workers should love their jobs, even as those jobs become less stable, prestigious and remunerative. Jaffe uses theory, historical research and case studies to unmask the exploitation this myth enables, calling for solidarity across the new working class. 

Debunking the “Labor of Love” Myth

Under the welfare state and industrial ethic, which peaked in the mid-20th century, many workers enjoyed stable employment, living wages, and benefits. However, Jaffe delineates the decline of that ethic since the 1970s, when deindustrialization and the rise of neoliberalism compromised the labor market. Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher championed the free market, dismantling organized labor and the welfare state. Companies slashed labor costs through automation and outsourcing. As service jobs eclipsed manufacturing, employment became more contingent and less remunerative.