Abstract
The focus of this paper is on the organizational significance of shop-floor humour and in particular its relationship to gender identity and working-class resistance. A brief review of the literature on organizational humour is followed by a more detailed examination of the illuminating analysis by Willis of school/shop-floor counter-culture. Although his research provides a strong basis for the case study presented below, it is criticized for a tendency to romanticize working-class culture, humour and informal opposition. In contrast, by means of an empirical analysis of joking forms in the components division of a lorry producing factory, the paper then explores not only the collective elements, but also the internal divisions and contradictions that characterize shop-floor relations. By critically questioning the workers' manifest search to secure a highly masculine sense of identity, the paper is able to highlight a 'darker side' of shop-floor culture, which underpins and ultimately undermines the creative humour and collectivity found in the factory.
Keywords
SociologyOpposition (politics)MasculinityWorking classResistance (ecology)Identity (music)AestheticsGender studiesLawPolitical sciencePolitics
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1988
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 181-199
- Citations
- 581
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
David Collinson
(1988).
'Engineering Humour': Masculinity, Joking and Conflict in Shop-floor Relations.
Organization Studies
, 9
(2)
, 181-199.
https://doi.org/10.1177/017084068800900203
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1177/017084068800900203