This chapter had its origin in an interest in the processes by which a separation of paths over the life course took place among the men under study. How had it come about that men with very similar starting points in the labour market would gradually spread into a wide variety of different positions? Throughout the chapter it has been argued that the key to understanding this separation of paths in the current data lies in the relationship between four different types of experiences in work situations and four different types of action. As the analysis explored the nature of these experiences, and the conditions for the relevant types of action, the importance of context became clear. The following discussion will summarise the main points from the analysis, and attempt to clarify, as far as possible, the historical specificity of the context relevant for understanding the process of separation of paths over the life course.
In the first section, the relation between an experience of motivation to take charge and the action of starting up was described and discussed. This was accomplished through the presentation of the cases of Harald and Arne. They were both among those who had become motivated, through experience in specific work situations, to have a greater say in the supervision and planning stages of the work processes. In comparison with “climbing up” (which will be discussed in the next chapter) the action of starting up was associated with a
fairly individualised, one might say non-bureaucratic form of power. The basis of the type of command that Harald and Arne had become motivated for was their highly personal vision and drive concerning the work processes in ques-tion – in other words, their individual entrepreneurial spirit. They were moti-vated not only to make a greater contribution to the planning and supervision stages of the work process, but to have the final word.
From his present position as a successful entrepreneur, it was almost as if Arne felt he had been born to pursue entrepreneurship. Paradoxically, this is precisely the kind of notion which this chapter, as a whole, has made a case against. One might say that a main point of the four-fold typology (which was developed from the data) is that different cases have not been “born” to fill dif-ferent positions in the labour market. They have ended up where they have through an interplay of experiences, actions and structural conditions. And, indeed, as Arne’s case presentation in the previous chapter showed, when he was younger he “didn’t have the faintest notion” that he “would become a bricklayer, become a master bricklayer”.
The later in the life course the motivation to take charge is experienced, the less likely it is to be acted upon. Jan, for instance, experienced a motivation to take charge at a stage in life which he perceived as “too late” to act accordingly.
On the other hand, Harald pursued entrepreneurship relatively late, as he was entering his forties. This came about when the motivation to take charge hap-pened to coincide with an inheritance (which he used as start-up capital).
The most decisive structural conditions that had an influence on whether the action of pursuing entrepreneurship was successful or not, seemed to be market timing, availability of capital, and opportunity for a considerable initial investment of time. The conditions for starting up were thereby historically specific. The experience of motivation to take charge, on the other hand, did not seem particularly historically specific. At least, the nature of its historical specificity was not possible to determine based on the current data.
The second section examined the relationship between the experience of motivation for more autonomy and the action of scaling down. This was accom-plished through a description and discussion of the cases Bjarte and Rune.
They had both, over time, become motivated to decide more over their own work. Bjarte had found becoming self-employed to be the action fitting to this experience, and Rune had sought employment in an already existing smaller-scale work organisation. These two different ways of scaling down enabled
approache s to work in the conte x t of e xperience and ac tion
them to participate in both the contention and the execution stages of the rel-evant production process. The same degree of combination seemed to be more difficult within larger-scale work organisations characterised by a more spe-cialised division of labour. Against this background it was suggested that scal-ing down could be interpreted as a counter-action to a high degree of separation between contention and execution (Braverman, 1974).17 On the other hand, it was also noted that self-employment could be associated with increased inse-curity (less insurance, health benefits etc.), which could serve to decrease the attractiveness of this type of action.
The third section of the chapter examined the relationship between the experience of becoming burnt out and the action of finding shelter. This was accomplished through a description and discussion of the cases of Geir and Bjørn. Here, historical research (Hareven 1978) served as a useful reminder that manual work has long taken its toll over the bodies of those who have performed it. Processes of work intensification over time, which several in the older cohort pointed out, might have served to amplify these consequences.
But, on the other hand, strain on the body would be likely to be reduced as a result of technological improvements and HSE (Health Safety Environment) initiatives. In other words, the nature of historical developments over time with respect to the experience of becoming burnt out was not possible to determine based on the current data.
The action relevant to the experience of becoming burnt out was, however, more easily contextualised in historical terms. When Geir and Bjørn over time became burnt out, they sought out alternative jobs in which they could con-tinue to use their skills in ways that did not do further harm to their bodies.
This type of shelter was clearly difficult for them to find in the first line of pro-duction in the private sector. They did however find such jobs in the public sector, where they continued to make use of their skills, but in ways that that were less physically demanding and hectic – in short, less exhausting. The experience of becoming burnt out also seemed to have some less physical, more general, properties. Part of the reason why Geir, for instance, became burnt out during the 1970s was that he never felt he was allowed to do his
17 If it could be determined that the relevant work organizations increasingly were exhibiting Tayloristic features this would suggest that the experience of motivation for more autonomy was historically specific. This has not been possible based on the current data.
job properly. He became frustrated that he did not have time to do what he called “good work” – and this frustration seems to have played a part in his more general process of exhaustion.
The last section examined the relationship between the experience of becoming content and the action of adapting in the present work situation. This was accomplished through a description and discussion of four cases: Jon, Steinar, Rolf and Jan. Four cases were found necessary for this purpose because adapting in the present is not normally viewed as a type of labour market action – most likely because of its informal and private character. The result of this type of action was, unlike those discussed above, to stay put in one’s current job – until something changed so as to make the action of adapt-ing in the present difficult.
As with the other types of actions, specific resources were required to adapt to the present successfully. There were limitations within which this action was carried out. The cases that were presented in this section did not adapt in the present by virtue of having “adaptability” as a feature of their “personality”.
Adapting was not something they found themselves able to do in any situation.
Steinar, for instance, did not adapt to the unpredictable job at the bakery, and Rolf did not adapt to his previous job in the “mismanaged” plumbing company.
In general, adapting in the present required specific features to be present in the current work situation. Exactly which features were mobilised in the action of adapting in the present varied from case to case. Therefore, no attempt was made to produce an exhaustive list of these features. The point in this section was to specify the type of action (adapting in the present), not the whole range of resources that could be mobilised in this type of action.
Adapting in the present was distinguished from the other types of action by its distinct present-orientation. It was a type of action that could produce for the cases that performed it, an appreciation of what they had in their current jobs. Through a comparison with other possible jobs, positive features of their current jobs were discovered. In other words, their approaches to work were continually constituted through a comparison of their jobs to other thinkable jobs. Notably, the frame of reference for these comparisons was other male-dominated manual occupations (this latter point will be explored further in Chapter 8).
In sum, the data from this project shows that the men under study had come to know through experience what kind of work tasks they were most
approache s to work in the conte x t of e xperience and ac tion
motivated for. Therefore, since their approaches to work were found so to be so intimately related to experiences in specific work situations, it does not make sense to categorise each individual case as having one type of approach to work. These men’s approaches to work were prone to change if their work situations changed. The typology which has been central to the chapter should therefore not be read as a categorisation of types of individuals or four differ-ent groups of people. The data presdiffer-ented here suggest that approaches to work are constituted in an interplay between experiences, actions and structural conditions. Labour market actions are not end products of reflexive “internal conversations”, but emerge from a dialogue between individuals and their environments – a dialogue which takes place over the entire life course.
chapter 6
Upward mobility over the life course
Introduction
This chapter explores one of the two paths that could potentially lead these men “upwards” in occupational hierarchies over the life course. Because the analysis revealed significant cohort differences on this point, the chapter is structured as a cohort comparison. Questions concerning conditions for upward mobility over the life course provide valuable knowledge on the “open-ness” of society, or what Weber (1978) would term “life chances”.
Upward social mobility over the life course is, arguably, primarily associ-ated with occupations that require tertiary education. People with tertiary (or “higher”) education are expected to have the most prosperous careers.
In contrast, occupations that require qualifications at the secondary level are associated with more stability (not mobility) over the life course. Here, condi-tions are not expected to be favourable towards careers in the same sense.
In the current data, upward mobility was related to an experience of motiva-tion to take charge. As was evident in the previous chapter, not all of the cases experienced this type of motivation to take charge. This is important to point out again because it shows that the general attractiveness of upward mobility cannot be taken for granted (assumed a priori). For the cases that did at some point experience the desire to take charge, however, two types of action were particularly relevant: “starting up” (pursuing entrepreneurship) and “climbing up” (upward mobility in existing work organisations). The former type of action has already been described and discussed in the previous chapter. In this chapter, the following question is addressed: What were the circumstances and conditions under which “climbing up” (upward mobility in existing work organisations) took place in the two cohorts, and what can this tell us about continuity and change over the relevant period?
In order to answer this question, all the cases under study were analysed.
However, only six cases have been selected for presentation in this chapter.
These cases are used to specify the conditions for “climbing up” for the two cohorts. On this point, the analysis reveals both cohort similarities and dif-ferences related to features of the education system and the labour market in the relevant historical periods. In other words, conditions for upward mobility are closely related to institutional context, and are thereby period-specific. In this chapter, cohort differences receive the most attention because these differences indicate important features of social change that took place in the period between the cohorts.
The chapter starts with a brief outline of the main types of further educa-tion considered and pursued among the men in this project. This is important to establish because education was, in different ways, an important factor in “climbing up” for both cohorts. After this discussion follows the main part of the chapter, where the six selected cases are described and discussed.
The three cases from the older cohort (Helge, Knut and Johan) show (among other things) how “climbing up” was possible without further tertiary education. Additional education at the secondary level, or short (often employer-financed) courses were often a sufficient precondition for this to happen. These cases also show how educational qualifications were assessed in the relevant labour market context of the 1970s and 80s. These assessments appear to have involved a high degree of what is referred to as credential flexibility. In the second part of the chapter, three cases from the younger cohort (Roger, Thomas and Tor) are used to show how, by the early 2000s, tertiary education was not only an advantage in the pursuit of upward mobil-ity in existing work organisations, but had become a requirement to a greater extent. When cases from the younger cohort experienced the desire to take charge, they did not experience credential flexibility but, on the contrary, quickly encountered credential barriers.
In the discussion, these findings are related to what Collins (2000: 232) has referred to as the post-war “triumph of the modern university-centred creden-tialing sequence” and what Sennett (2006: 127) has referred to as a process of
“erosion in the value of accumulated experience”. The findings imply that what Bell (1973: 426) called “educated talent” has been given even greater “priority”
over the course of the period in question. Problematic aspects of social change to this effect are discussed.
up ward mobilit y over the life cour se
types of further education: an overview
In order to understand the circumstances and conditions for upward mobility for these men, some context specific information on the relevant types of edu-cation is necessary. The types of eduedu-cation considered and/or pursued were all related to their previous work experience. Education was conceived of as an extension of their previous vocational training, not as a “break” with what they had done before. “Starting over” (å rykke tilbake til start) was just as unthink-able for the younger cohort as it was for the older cohort. The further educa-tion seriously considered by the men was of a kind that would enable them to make use of their previously acquired skills and experience. This is important because it indicates a strong degree of track adherence over the life course in both cohorts.
The following table lists the main types of further education considered and pursued by the men in this project.
These four types of education each have their own history and specific insti-tutional arrangements. Although this four-fold repertoire is similar in both cohorts, the requirements for and content of some of these types of education changed in the period between the cohorts.
The first type of further education, a master’s certificate, is associated with the crafts trades more than the industrial trades. As noted in the previous chapter, it was considered preferable (but not strictly necessary) to obtain this certificate before pursuing entrepreneurship or becoming self-employed. And, as also noted in the previous chapter, the requirements for obtaining a master’s certificate increased in the period between the cohorts. Some of the men in the older cohort were able to obtain this certificate by documenting a specific number of years in the trade (dokumentere fartstid). The younger cohort, in
Table 3 Main types of education (considered and pursued).
Type Example
a) a master’s certificate Murermester, Tømrermester osv
b) short courses Sertifikater, godkjenningsbevis
c) technical trade school Teknisk fagskole
d) engineering college Ingeniørhøyskole
contrast, reported that they had to attend evening classes two nights a week for two years to get it.1
The second type of further education, short courses, represented valu-able additions to a trade certificate (fagbrev) for both cohorts. Similar to the master’s certificate, this type of credential was normally taught in eve-ning classes or through correspondence. It could therefore normally be pursued without reducing a normal workload. As will be noted in the following discussion, short courses provided greater opportunity for upward mobility for the older cohort than for the younger. In other words, the value of short courses in terms of providing opportunity for upward mobility decreased over the relevant period.
The third type of further education, technical trade school, was more equally valuable for upward mobility in both cohorts. This type of education shifted from the secondary to tertiary level in the period between the two cohorts. In both periods, technical trade school was a full-time, two-year programme. But the older cohort typically attended trade school at the age of 15/16, whereas the younger cohort had to wait until they had completed their vocational education and training at 18/19.
The fourth type of further education, engineering college was clearly the most valuable for bringing about upward mobility in existing work organ-isations. However, attending engineering college was uncommon in both cohorts.2 Only a small minority had acquired this type of education. For both cohorts engineering college was three years and tertiary. However, during the 70s and 80s, admission requirements increased. Until the late 70s, admission to engineering college could be gained based on vocational training (fagbrev) and a short start-up course (forkurs).3 Over time, school-ing equivalent to an academic track of upper-secondary (which these men did not have) became necessary. Notably, this development was typical of
1 The exact nature of these changes was trade specific and not possible to determine with accuracy based on the current data.
2 10 percent of the older cohort and 3. percent of the younger cohort had acquired degrees from an engineering college. In other words, the proportion of survey respondents who had pursued engineer-ing college was lower in the younger cohort than in the older cohort. It was not possible based on the current data to shed light on what might have been the background for this slight discrepancy.
3 At the most prestigious engineering college in Norway (NTH/NTNU in Trondheim) admission required an academic type of upper secondary school (gymnas) in both periods. However, none of the survey respondents attended this college.
up ward mobilit y over the life cour se
the period and related to wider processes through which many education programmes at the secondary level were moved to the tertiary level. For instance, nursing, social work, and teaching programmes all gained tertiary status in the 1970s.