Workplace Resistance in Western Europe: A Preliminary Overview and a Research Agenda

There has long been a lack of attention to the informal and subtle ways in which employees can resist or shape the rules of work, often within the act of work itself. Yet they are increasingly important in understanding how systems of industrial relations are actually experienced. The paper provides a conceptual framework for analysing workplace resistance. It illustrates the approach through a historical introduction and analysis of the periods of `Fordism' and `post-Fordism'. The main empirical examples are drawn from France and Italy. A central hypothesis is that forms of resistance may have been similar across Europe in early industrialization, diverging under distinct state and employer policies. It is possible that contemporary developments point to a reconvergence. This and related hypotheses are used to propose a future research agenda.