Seeking Attachment in the Fissured Workplace: External Workers in the United States

To save labour costs, many United States employers have externalised all or part of their workforce, turning employees into independent contractors, hiring temporary workers, and relying on subcontracting firms. External workers have jobs in the formal sector, yet they lack many of the legal protections and fringe benefits of standard employment. What do these external workers desire in their jobs, beyond a paycheck? This chapter examines experiences and meanings of work among external contractors in the US. It finds that external workers seek to develop affective ties to their organisation and co-workers in spite of their externalisation. The chapter concludes that belonging and connection are not futile post-Fordist affects. Rather, they continue to provide meaning for workers pushed out of standard employment.