O work concept involves something more than simply performing activities that require effort, physical and/or intellectual It all involves a question of the development of society, from ancient times.

Thus, the concept of work has gradually changed throughout human history. Beforehand, in the society we live in today, work is essential to live in society, in its most different careers. However, in the past, certain jobs were dehumanized and degrading, as in the slavery era.

In this way, it is important to understand how labor relations change with time, focusing on the theories created after the Industrial Revolution, which lasted during the 18th and 19th centuries. work production process in its social and economic aspect.

Dictionary meaning of work

In the dictionary, the meaning of the word work is related to the set of activities that man performs for a certain purpose, using productive or creative processes .

In addition, it also means, in the sense of the term, regular professional activity, which, in return, carries remuneration or salary.

What is work?

The current explanation of what work is is strongly related to Karl Max's concept of work, created during the Industrial Revolution. That is, work is the activity that human beings produce for their own subsistence.

In short, it brought the idea that people do not exist because of work, however, need it to stay alive Thus, to this day, in economic science, work is seen as the physical or mental effort to carry out a productive process.

Consequently, because of these efforts, there is remuneration in cash, usually by means of a monthly salary. Meanwhile, there are numerous professional careers for the exercise of work, and most of them are related to productive processes and financial compensation.

The Concept of Work in Antiquity and the Middle Ages

At this stage of humanity, the manual labor In this sense, the structure of this society was composed as follows:

• 1st State: clergy, whose function was basically only to pray;
• 2nd state: nobility;
• 3rd State: bourgeoisie, manual workers, who carry out production, also called peasants.

However, with the emergence of capitalism in the Industrial Revolution, amidst popular demonstrations, there was a rupture of these feudal institutions, for example, bringing, then, rights and duties to the parties in this labor relationship, to what we now call labor rights.

Concept of work today

Today's labor market is the result of a number of social changes. work characterized by two sides In other words, people are free to exercise their labor activities and, in return, they have the right to be remunerated, financially speaking.

In other words, as said before, the milestone for the change in the concept of work occurred with the Industrial Revolution, because it was from then on that work began to function as a form of product that would be sold in exchange for remuneration or wages.

Concept of work in Sociology

Classic authors of sociology, brought theories that changed social relations about the concept of work, right after the Industrial Revolution. Max Weber (1864-1920), Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), great names in sociology, brought up questions about how work interferes in society.

So, briefly, see how his theories about the work concept :

Émile Durkheim (1977)

In summary, Durkheim understands work as a fact present in all societies, existing a social division Thus, work creates an interdependence between people, that is, some people, according to their abilities, need each other in order to survive.

Karl Marx (1998)

On the other hand, for Marx's theory, work is the service in which a person uses his strength to produce the means for his sustenance. To do so, he creates ways to modify the environment in which he lives, altering his nature, a fact that differs him from the animals. Unlike other theories, for Marx, capitalism was negative, because it brought a conflict between social classes .

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Max Weber (2004)

In short, for Weber, work dignifies man, but under a religious vision. So, for his theory, the concept of work had meaning in human behavior, as a form of glorification to God, making it essential to people.

After all, what is the concept of work today?

However, you can see that the concept of work overlaps with the meaning of the term that we understand as employment relationship, company and employee. development of social relationships .

Today, we live, for the most part, in capitalist societies, where the exercise of professional activities is valued and dignified, according to each person's abilities and capabilities, a fact that is very different from what was employed in ancient times and, in not so distant times, before the Industrial Revolution, between the years 1760 and 1840.

So, did you like to learn more about the social changes and scope of work concept Possibly, we can verify that social relations have evolved, gradually, through the way in which man, with his intelligence, has managed to adapt in his social relations.

In this sense, it involves issues that overlap with the aspects of manual labor and power among minorities, which dominated power mainly on hereditary criteria. Nowadays, people can develop freely, striving to act in whatever best suits their personal characteristics.

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