Informal and uncertain: employment relations through the broken mirror of Russian social sciences

Article

Morrison, C. and Bizyukov, P. 2017. Informal and uncertain: employment relations through the broken mirror of Russian social sciences. Work, Employment and Society. 31 (3), pp. 553-559. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016687906
TypeArticle
TitleInformal and uncertain: employment relations through the broken mirror of Russian social sciences
AuthorsMorrison, C. and Bizyukov, P.
Abstract

Twenty five years of intense market reforms have not contributed to Russia developing a coherent and effective set of institutions regulating employment relations. The world of work instead has grown into a wilderness of highly differentiated, shadowy arrangements ruled by employers’ arbitrariness (Bizyukov 2011, 2013). By contrast, scholarship contributing to the sociology of work and employment remains underdeveloped, theoretically timid and highly fragmentary.
Several reasons have been put forward to explain Russian scholars’ lack of interest in this field. The rejection of the pseudo-scientific Marxism of the Soviet era still casts a long shadow on labour-related research. Post-Socialist transformations have generated such wide-ranging and chaotic change that scholars struggle to collect reliable data and make sense of it. Researchers face new constraints such as unreliable statistics, access restrictions to privatised companies as well as historical limitations in qualitative research design. Furthermore, the post-Soviet scholar is facing challenging questions regarding the status of wage labour. Questions surrounding acceptable levels of unemployment or the fairness of now privately arranged wages or working time have proved controversial for a generation of scholars moving from a perspective where institutions regulating the employment relationship are assumed as centrally planned and universally provided by the state.
The monographs selected for this review are the most representative of the state of the art in the field, presenting comprehensive accounts of features and trends in the world of work but also displaying the limitations of prevailing scholarship.

Research GroupEmployment Relations group
PublisherSAGE Publications
JournalWork, Employment and Society
ISSN0950-0170
Electronic1469-8722
Publication dates
Online17 Mar 2017
Print01 Jun 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited10 Nov 2016
Accepted09 Nov 2016
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

Claudio Morrison, Petr Bizyukov, Informal and uncertain: employment relations through the broken mirror of Russian social sciences, Work, employment and society, Vol. 31(3), pp. 553 - 559. Copyright © 2017 (The Authors). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016687906
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/86v67

Log in to edit

Download files

Accepted author manuscript
book-review-essay-CM-PB-WES-Russia-IR-Final-01.pdf

  • 54
    total views
  • 10
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

The Urban Life of Workers in Post-Soviet Russia: Engaging in Everyday Struggle by Alexandrina Vanke. Manchester: University of Manchester Press, 2024. 256 pp. £85.00. ISBN 978-1-5261-6763-7 [Book review]
Morrison, C. 2024. The Urban Life of Workers in Post-Soviet Russia: Engaging in Everyday Struggle by Alexandrina Vanke. Manchester: University of Manchester Press, 2024. 256 pp. £85.00. ISBN 978-1-5261-6763-7 [Book review]. Russian Review. https://doi.org/10.1111/russ.12697
Learning from labour: Critical pedagogy for working students: Project preliminary report
Morrison, C., Dashtipour, P. and Keles, J. 2023. Learning from labour: Critical pedagogy for working students: Project preliminary report. Middlesex University.
Sociology, labour and transition in post-Soviet Russia: A view from within
Morrison, C., Bizyukov, P., Ilyin, V., Kozina, I. and Petrova, L. 2023. Sociology, labour and transition in post-Soviet Russia: A view from within. Capital and Class. 47 (2), pp. 211-217. https://doi.org/10.1177/03098168231171814
Pay and employee intrapreneurialism in Russia, 1994-2015: a longitudinal study
Croucher, R., Morrison, C. and Rizov, M. 2023. Pay and employee intrapreneurialism in Russia, 1994-2015: a longitudinal study. European Management Review. 20 (2), pp. 245-259. https://doi.org/10.1111/emre.12524
Researching Organisations in Transition Economies: Ethics of Fieldwork. SAGE Research Methods Video: Research Ethics & Integrity
Morrison, C. 2022. Researching Organisations in Transition Economies: Ethics of Fieldwork. SAGE Research Methods Video: Research Ethics & Integrity.
Principles of Research Ethics: Procedural Ethics & Ethics of Truth. SAGE Research Methods Video: Research Ethics and Integrity
Morrison, C. 2022. Principles of Research Ethics: Procedural Ethics & Ethics of Truth. SAGE Research Methods Video: Research Ethics and Integrity.
Migration, ethnicity and solidarity: 'multinational workers' in the former Soviet Union
Morrison, C., Sacchetto, D. and Croucher, R. 2020. Migration, ethnicity and solidarity: 'multinational workers' in the former Soviet Union. British Journal of Industrial Relations. 58 (4), pp. 761-784. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12518
The Russian construction sector: informality, labor mobility and socialist legacies
Serezhkina, E., Morrison, C. and Cretu, O. 2021. The Russian construction sector: informality, labor mobility and socialist legacies. in: Belman, D., Druker, J. and White, G. (ed.) Work and Labor Relations in the Construction Industry An International Perspective London Routledge. pp. 155-182
International migration, labour mobility and HRM
Sacchetto, D., Cretu, O. and Morrison, C. 2019. International migration, labour mobility and HRM. in: Prouska, R., Roper, I. and Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, U. (ed.) Critical Issues in Human Resource Management: Contemporary Perspectives Macmillan International Higher Education | Red Globe Press. pp. 65-84
Migration scholarship in post-Soviet Russia: between Western approaches and Eurasian geographies
Morrison, C. and Cretu, O. 2018. Migration scholarship in post-Soviet Russia: between Western approaches and Eurasian geographies. Sociology. 52 (3), pp. 626-631. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038518769525
Social failures of EU enlargement: a case of workers voting with their feet' [Book review]
Cretu, O. and Morrison, C. 2017. Social failures of EU enlargement: a case of workers voting with their feet' [Book review]. Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. 25 (1), pp. 156-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/0965156X.2017.1343995
Research ethics in an unethical world: the politics and morality of engaged research
Morrison, C. and Sacchetto, D. 2018. Research ethics in an unethical world: the politics and morality of engaged research. Work, Employment and Society. 32 (6), pp. 1118-1129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017017726947
Dallo stato multinazionale allo spazio transnazionale. Migrazioni, mobilità del lavoro e rapporti di classe nello spazio post-sovietico
Morrison, C. 2017. Dallo stato multinazionale allo spazio transnazionale. Migrazioni, mobilità del lavoro e rapporti di classe nello spazio post-sovietico. in: Chignola, S. and Sacchetto, D. (ed.) Le reti del valore: Migrazione, produzione e governo della crisi Roma Derive Approdi. pp. 31-51
Catene del lavoro e delle migrazioni tra Veneto e Romania
Morrison, C. and Sacchetto, D. 2016. Catene del lavoro e delle migrazioni tra Veneto e Romania. Quaderni di ricerca sull'artigianato. 74 (3), pp. 401-422. https://doi.org/10.12830/85334
Informal economic relations and organizations: everyday organizational life in Soviet and post-Soviet economies
Altman, Y. and Morrison, C. 2015. Informal economic relations and organizations: everyday organizational life in Soviet and post-Soviet economies. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 28 (5), pp. 749-769. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-05-2015-0081
International migration and labour turnover: the case of the construction sector in the EU and the CIS
Morrison, C., Sacchetto, D. and Cretu, O. 2012. International migration and labour turnover: the case of the construction sector in the EU and the CIS. in: Yasin, E. (ed.) 13th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development Moscow High School of Economics.
Employment and social relations in the post-soviet workplace: trust and control in Russian management
Morrison, C. 2011. Employment and social relations in the post-soviet workplace: trust and control in Russian management. in: Yasin, E. (ed.) 11th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development Moscow High School of Economics.
Beyond nostalgia? Class identity, memory and the Soviet past in Russia and the ‘near abroad’
Morrison, C. 2014. Beyond nostalgia? Class identity, memory and the Soviet past in Russia and the ‘near abroad’. Yasin, E. (ed.) Moscow High School of Economics.
The transformation of work and industrial relations in the post-Soviet bloc: 25 years on from 1989
Upchurch, M., Croucher, R., Danilovich, H. and Morrison, C. 2015. The transformation of work and industrial relations in the post-Soviet bloc: 25 years on from 1989. Work, Employment and Society. 29 (3), pp. NP1-NP11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017014564006
Builders of Russia: mobility, recruitment and workplace resistance of post soviet migrant construction workers
Morrison, C. 2013. Builders of Russia: mobility, recruitment and workplace resistance of post soviet migrant construction workers. The Russian Public Opinion Herald. Data. Analysis. Discussions. 1 (114), pp. 89-99.
Labour mobility in construction: migrant workers’ strategies between integration and turnover
Morrison, C., Sacchetto, D. and Cretu, O. 2014. Labour mobility in construction: migrant workers’ strategies between integration and turnover. Construction Labour Research - CLR News. 2, pp. 33-49.
Migrant labour between Russia and Italy: from strategic options to “geography of needs”
Morrison, C. and Sacchetto, D. 2014. Migrant labour between Russia and Italy: from strategic options to “geography of needs”. in: Pajnik, M. and Anthias, F. (ed.) Work and the challenges of belonging: Migrants in globalizing economies Newcastle upon Tyne Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 28-51
International migration and labour turnover: workers’ agency in the construction sector of Russia and Italy
Morrison, C., Sacchetto, D. and Cretu, O. 2013. International migration and labour turnover: workers’ agency in the construction sector of Russia and Italy. Studies of Transition States and Societies. 5 (2), pp. 7-20.
Between welfare and bargaining: union heterogeneity in Europe’s Far East
Croucher, R. and Morrison, C. 2012. Between welfare and bargaining: union heterogeneity in Europe’s Far East. in: Wood, G. and Demirbag, M. (ed.) Handbook of Institutional Approaches to International Business Edward Elgar. pp. 438-459
Legacies, conflict and path dependence in the former Soviet Union
Morrison, C., Croucher, R. and Cretu, O. 2012. Legacies, conflict and path dependence in the former Soviet Union. British Journal of Industrial Relations. 50 (2), pp. 329-351. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2010.00840.x
Management, worker responses and an enterprise trade union in transition
Croucher, R. and Morrison, C. 2012. Management, worker responses and an enterprise trade union in transition. Industrial relations. 51 (s1), pp. 583-604. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2012.00691.x
Conflitto e consapevolezza operaia nell’Europa sud-orientale: organizzazione sindacale e resistenza in tre studi di caso
Cretu, O. and Morrison, C. 2011. Conflitto e consapevolezza operaia nell’Europa sud-orientale: organizzazione sindacale e resistenza in tre studi di caso. in: Sacchetto, D. (ed.) Ai margini dell’ Unione Europea Roma Carocci. pp. 181-203
Post-Soviet management and critical agency theory.
Morrison, C. 2008. Post-Soviet management and critical agency theory. 26th International Labour Process Conference.. UCD Quinn School of Business, Dublin
Labour and technological discipline: chaos and order in a Russian textile company.
Morrison, C. 2003. Labour and technological discipline: chaos and order in a Russian textile company. in: Dannhaeuser, N. and Werner, C. (ed.) Anthropological perspectives on economic development and integration. Amsterdam Elsevier.
Managing the labour collective: wage systems in the Russian industrial enterprise
Morrison, C. and Schwartz, G. 2003. Managing the labour collective: wage systems in the Russian industrial enterprise. Europe-Asia Studies. 55 (4), pp. 553-574. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966813032000083993
Ownership and management in holding companies and the future of the Russian textile industry.
Morrison, C. 2007. Ownership and management in holding companies and the future of the Russian textile industry. Post-Communist Economies. 19 (2), pp. 167-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/14631370701312147
Moldovan employment relations: path dependency?
Morrison, C. and Croucher, R. 2010. Moldovan employment relations: path dependency? Employee Relations. 32 (3), pp. 227-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425451011038771
A Russian factory enters the market economy.
Morrison, C. 2008. A Russian factory enters the market economy. London Routledge.