The Clerk Deskilled: A Study in False Nostalgia

In: Journal of historical sociology, Volume 2, Issue 4, p. 357-388

Abstract

AbstractFor some, the history of clerical work epitomizes the way in which technological change and the division of labor result in the deskilling and degradation of work. This paper argues that this perception of clerical deskilling is mistaken, the result of an inaccurate portrayal of traditional clerking, and of a theoretical tendency to (mis)read declines in the prestige and pay of an occupation as stemming from changes in skill. Focusing on Victorian clerks' own descriptions of their work, and moving to the present period, the paper offers an alternative reading of clerical history and of the dynamics of occupational decline.