Dignity at Work: Broadening the Agenda

The paper seeks to broaden concerns about dignity at work beyond issues of bullying and harassment to the whole range of circumstances which support or tend to undermine employees' dignity, and argues for their consideration by critical management studies. It does so by drawing both upon empirical studies and moral philosophy to improve understanding of the nature and sources of dignity. It deals first with the relationship of dignity to autonomy, dependence, seriousness and trust, and discusses how dignity and respect might be maintained in a context in which instrumental relations to others are dominant. It then examines the difference that inequalities make to the maintenance of dignity, and addresses the ways in which particular kinds of work afford employees dignity, or make it difficult to maintain. The conclusion summarizes the main ways in which dignity at work can be supported.