Technology and Social Behavior of Workers in Four Countries: A Sociotechnical Perspective

Social behavior of industrial workers is explained by the technical constraints of the work operations and the technological complexity of the industry, rather than newness of industrial employment and other social factors. Four automobile plants differing in technological complexity were studied in four countries. Four work operations selected in each plant varied in the degree to which they constrained interaction opportunities. The amount and quality of worker interaction was a joint function of the mobility opportunity provided by work operations and the departments' population density. Both mobility opportunity and density were related to the plants' technological complexity. Social interaction at work was moderately related to contact with workmates outside the plant but not to social anomie. These findings cast doubt on the long held belief that anomie results from an oppressive technological environment.