The Relativity of Work

Abstract

The case of the call center industry in the Philippines illustrates the relativity of work. Jobs, the author argue, should be evaluated not in relation to some universal standard, but in relation the larger horizon of options and possibilities available to workers. According to this relativistic approach, call center jobs in the Philippines are less digital assembly lines than veritable lifelines. To project the future of these jobs is a difficult task. Automation could render them obsolete. Workers could turn their literal voices into political voice via unionization. This concluding chapter emphasizes how tenuous are the bonds connecting firms and workers, given the fluid nature of contemporary capitalism.