Analysis of HR Dissertation: Work, Voluntary Work, and Employment

This report critically analyzes a student's dissertation on the sociological aspects of work, employment, and voluntary contributions, focusing on extending conceptual boundaries within the field of Human Resources. The dissertation explores the impact of workplace dynamics, particularly the increasing complexity and evolving nature of work environments, on employees. It examines the appropriateness of the research methods used, which include a mixed-method approach with qualitative interviews and secondary analysis, and discusses the core concepts of work and its dichotomy between paid and unpaid labor. The report highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the research techniques, such as the use of a deductive approach and the limitations of the descriptive method, and offers a critical perspective on the findings, which are based on interviews with individuals in both paid and unpaid work settings. The analysis also addresses the social context of labor organization, the regulations surrounding volunteer work, and the overall implications for understanding the complexities of work practices and worker experiences. The report concludes with a reflection on the research methods employed and the impact of voluntary work on career development.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE DISSERTATION
Work, Employment, and Society
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Core Concept...................................................................................................................................2
Appropriateness of Using Research Methods (Techniques and Design)........................................3
Criticism based on the use of the research techniques....................................................................5
Discussion and Analysis..................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Title: Extending Conceptual Boundaries: Work Voluntary Work and Employment
Introduction
The conceptual boundaries at the workplace create the significant impact on the
employees. The increasing complexity in the work environment has been excluding the
voluntary works from the sociological understanding of the work. The current work culture
signifies the implementation of the innovative procedures (Holdsworth and Brewis 2014). The
journal article, Work, Employment, and Society discusses the conceptual form of sociology of
work in extending the voluntary boundaries. Currently, the assumptions have taken place by
developing two different and discreet activities, such as unpaid domestic labour in the private
sphere and paid employment in the public sphere (Schulze 2015). The study would present the
critical analysis of the research process used in this journal article. The appropriateness or the
shortfall of using the research approach and techniques would be analyzed in this study.
Core Concept
The conceptual analysis of ‘work’ is currently devalued by the theorists and researchers.
It is assumed that the conceptual analysis of ‘work’ is constituted by two discreet and separate
activities, such as unpaid domestic workers in the private sphere and paid employment in the
public sphere (Taylor 2003). The economic relations or the gender relation models are
conceptualized as two different forms of work that creates the clear understanding among the
individuals. The study develops the ideas about the voluntary work environment, which signifies
the epistemological problems visible at the workplace. It is necessary to re-conceptualize work
before developing the concerns regarding the paid and non-paid working culture. The article
specifies the historical construction of the conceptual dichotomy, which exists within the field of

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sociology of work. Cobb et al. (2014) argued that the work-based theoretical models, such as
gender model and economic models are mere concerns associated with the industrial capitals.
The complete structure of the work identities and work practices determine the development of
the working lives. The conceptual framework is structured to constitute the ideas of the social
theorists who show their keen interests in developing innovative working procedures. The
conceptual framework describes the individual level that provides the glimpse of different form
of labour. In order to express the situational aspects in work practices among the paid employees
in public sphere and unpaid employments in the private spheres, the research process has utilized
a particular form of methodology.
Appropriateness of Using Research Methods (Techniques and Design)
The research process is based on the work sociology visible among the people who work
in both public sphere and private sphere. In order to derive the ideas about the work practices and
culture, the study has followed the mixed method research. In this process, the interviewees have
taken participation in the qualitative session (Cousins and Robey 2015). The findings received
from their discussions are presented in a form of secondary analysis. Some set of findings are
presented in the research study and the further section would establish the critical analysis based
on the appropriateness.
In this research process, twenty-nine people took the participation in the interview
session. The deductive approach is selected in this process to define their perceived values and
assumptions regarding the work culture. Among those twenty nine employees, 13 people worked
unpaid or paid at the ‘North End Community and Refugee Project’, which was located in
London. On the other hand, the rest of the employees worked for a Home Counties branch of

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‘Care Aid’, which is a national health care charity (Barley 2015). The motto of this research is to
identify the volunteering environment within the work culture. It is notable that these two
organizations belong to different spectrum of the voluntary organizations. The paid and unpaid
employees are in the positions ranging from president to office managers. Some of them were
from ESOL teacher to care assistant. The questions asked in the interview session were
concerned with the work practices and ideologies of the workers while performing their activities
at their workplace (Obeidat, Mitchell and Bray 2016). These questions also determined the
visible nature of the relationships between the various forms of works in different point of lives.
The impact of the gender and class identity is also taken into consideration in this interview
session.
It has been observed some of the workers work as the full-time paid employees whereas a
minimal amount of workers work as the part-time employees. The remaining people in the
interview session belong to different groups, such as retired, students, unemployed, or supported
by their families. The major focus of this interview was to identify the formal structure process
of the voluntary works. In this interview session, the working nature of five individuals in the
voluntary work culture was discussed. It has been observed that the people involved with the
voluntary works sometimes may feel the sociological influence even if they are paid or unpaid
by the institutes or organizations. Blomme, Kodden and Beasley-Suffolk (2015) argued that in
today’s world, many of the volunteer management are focusing on the similarities between the
employees and the volunteers. It depends on the procedures followed by both of the groups to
work successfully and achieve the pre-determined goals. However, in this interview session, the
experiences of these individuals have been highlighting mostly the issues in their working life.
The conceptual ideas about the work are also discussed in this interview session.

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It is to be argued that the researcher has used the deductive approach in which the
hypothetical discussion has been developed. The issues regarding their experiences and work
practices have been highlighted in an argumentative way. If the researcher would have used the
inductive approach, it would be clearer to define the underlying concept of work. If the
voluntary management was accepted in the practical form, it would be noticed that it tends to
push the volunteers into uniformity more than the recognition of their potentiality (Brown 2015).
The interview session reveals that the voluntary period at the workplace creates the greater
influence on their careers. The survey process, on the contrary, reveals the quantitative analysis
to understand the dominant perspectives of the people who have been working in the voluntary
work environment.
Criticism based on the use of the research techniques
The descriptive technique is presented in this study to explore the conceptual analysis of
the works in the paid and non-paid spheres. The technique is generally highlighting the obstacles
faced by the individuals in their career path while working as the volunteer. One of the
interviewees revealed the paid and unpaid situations faced while providing the care and support
to the terminally ill patients. Charlwood et al. (2014) explained that not every individual would
like to work I the volunteer positions they would not be getting paid. The non-exempt employees
are usually appointed for employee furlough in which they would be paid for the specific
working hours. The explanatory research would have been more relevant in this aspect. The
explanatory research reveals both the negative and the positive influence of the associated
individuals in the real life scenario. The psychological assumptions are presented in the
techniques used by the researcher in this research study. Williams (2014) revealed that the
working lives of the people usually do not end at their retirement period. Many people continue

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working in the public sphere even as the volunteer. One of the interviewees, Bob, is the example
of such individual who did not give up on his works. He involved with a retirement complex to
help his wife. The job was unpaid and he was associated with the fundraising activities. Bob was
quite devoted to his work even after not receiving the proper wages. The analysis of the
responses received from the interviewees determines that work could be conceptualized in more
inclusively to understand the complexity level. Therefore, it can be argued that the selection of
the different techniques would have revealed the appropriate structure of the work models that
define the perceptive values of the employees those who are paid and unpaid. It depends on the
procedures followed by both of the groups to work successfully and achieve the pre-determined
goals. However, in this interview session, the experiences of these individuals have been
highlighting mostly the issues in their working life. The conceptual ideas about the work are also
discussed in this interview session.
Discussion and Analysis
It is observed that the social context is mostly highlighted in analyzing the social context
of the labour organization. The extent of the unpaid work depends on the subsistence degree,
which is separated from the paid employment in a society. Under the Federal Fair Labor
Standards Act, the local wage and hour laws are regulated (Adams 2015). Therefore, as per the
regulations, the volunteers or the interns are to be involved in both public and private sphere.
Under this regulation, the individuals will not be considered as the employees if they are
associated with the public service, humanitarian objectives, or any religious purpose. In usual
cases, the volunteers serve on a part-time basis and they cannot be appointed in the positions of
the permanent employees (Cushen and Thompson 2016). On the other hand, the volunteer cannot

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permanently take the position of an employee since they do not receive the compensation or any
reasonable benefits.
The findings obtained from the interview session provide the ideas about the issues with
the volunteers. However, apparently, the information lacks the concept clarifications regarding
the voluntary works. The economic relations or the gender relation models are conceptualized as
two different forms of work that creates the clear understanding among the individuals. The
study develops the ideas about the voluntary work environment, which signifies the
epistemological problems visible at the workplace. It is necessary to re-conceptualize work
before developing the concerns regarding the paid and non-paid working culture (Weiss, Klein,
and Grauenhorst 2014). If these workers are not receiving their wages, they would not be
considered as the employees. The focus should be based on their working hours and their job
roles.
It is notable that despite of the negative perception about the volunteering work, people
tend to praise them for their good work. The dedication and enthusiasm level is highly
appreciated by the institutes that appoint them for any particular event. If the voluntary
management was accepted in the practical form, it would be noticed that it tends to push the
volunteers into uniformity more than the recognition of their potentiality (Boxall and Macky
2014). The interview session reveals that the voluntary period at the workplace creates the
greater influence on their careers. Therefore, it has been recognized that the research technique
used in this journal is quite inappropriate. It generally discusses the one side of the voluntary
process whereas the positive aspects are also needed to be revealed. The complete structure of
the work identities and work practices determine the development of the working lives (Chesley
2014). The conceptual framework is structured to constitute the ideas of the social theorists who

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show their keen interests in developing innovative working procedures. The application of more
appropriate techniques would have been better to explore the concept of work practices in the
voluntary field.
Conclusion
The objective of the journal is to present the voluntary work practices of the employees in
the non-paid private sphere and paid public sphere. The paid and unpaid employees are in the
positions ranging from president to office managers. Some of them were from ESOL teacher to
care assistant. The questions asked in the interview session were concerned with the work
practices and ideologies of the workers while performing their activities at their workplace. The
interview session reveals that the voluntary period at the workplace creates the greater influence
on their careers. Therefore, it has been recognized that the research technique used in this journal
is quite inappropriate. It generally discusses the one side of the voluntary process whereas the
positive aspects are also needed to be revealed. The complete structure of the work identities and
work practices determine the development of the working lives. The involvement of the
inductive research assumptions and the evaluation of the explanatory techniques would have
been more appropriate to present the in-depth analysis of the voluntary work practices.

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References
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directions. Work, employment and society, 29(1), pp.154-165.
Barley, W.C., 2015. Anticipatory work: how the need to represent knowledge across boundaries
shapes work practices within them. Organization Science, 26(6), pp.1612-1628.
Blomme, R.J., Kodden, B. and Beasley-Suffolk, A., 2015. Leadership theories and the concept of
work engagement: Creating a conceptual framework for management implications and
research. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(2), pp.125-144.
Boxall, P. and Macky, K., 2014. High-involvement work processes, work intensification and
employee well-being. Work, Employment and Society, 28(6), pp.963-984.
Brown, A.D., 2015. Identities and identity work in organizations. International Journal of
Management Reviews, 17(1), pp.20-40.
Charlwood, A., Forde, C., Grugulis, I., Hardy, K., Kirkpatrick, I., MacKenzie, R. and Stuart, M.,
2014. Clear, rigorous and relevant: publishing quantitative research articles in Work,
employment and society.
Chesley, N., 2014. Information and communication technology use, work intensification and
employee strain and distress. Work, employment and society, 28(4), pp.589-610.
Cobb, C., McCarthy, T., Perkins, A., Bharadwaj, A., Comis, J., Do, B. and Starbird, K., 2014,
February. Designing for the deluge: understanding & supporting the distributed, collaborative

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work of crisis volunteers. In Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported
cooperative work & social computing (pp. 888-899). ACM.
Cousins, K. and Robey, D., 2015. Managing work-life boundaries with mobile technologies: An
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Cushen, J. and Thompson, P., 2016. Financialization and value: why labour and the labour
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Holdsworth, C. and Brewis, G., 2014. Volunteering, choice and control: a case study of higher
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Schulze, M., 2015. Vacancies-eyesores or/and (new) chances of identification for communities:
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Weiss, F., Klein, M. and Grauenhorst, T., 2014. The effects of work experience during higher
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Williams, C.C., 2014. Out of the shadows: a classification of economies by the size and character
of their informal sector. Work, employment and society, 28(5), pp.735-753.