Dignity is essential for a life well lived, or even for one worth living. But what does dignity at work mean? This chapter provides groundwork for answering this question by considering the work of the some of the founding figures in the social sciences. In addition, we consider the theoretical basis for an analysis of contemporary challenges to working with dignity and behavioral strategies for safeguarding dignity at work. The essential meaning of dignity that emerges includes both inherent human rights, such as protection from abuse, and earned aspects of dignity based on taking valued actions.

The starting point for our discussion of dignity focuses on the ideas of the classic social science theorists. We start with the conceptual insights of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber on themes related to working with dignity and the challenges to achieving this goal.

Alienation, Anomie, and Bureaucratic Rationality

The three founding figures in the social sciences, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber, provided groundbreaking ideas on the nature of work and human dignity that set the stage for modern theories of society. Each theorist conceptualized modern industrial society as entailing profound denials of dignity. For Marx, the central challenge to dignity was the control of labor by capitalists and their exploitation of workers, resulting in alienation from meaningful work. For Durkheim, the central challenge to dignity was the breakdown of social norms or rules governing workplace relations due to the drive toward endless expansion generated by modern industry.