This got me thinking about whether public procurement processes could have had any influence here. But actually it looks like the UK is at the bottom of the European league table of % SME participation in public procurement by number of contracts awarded (just over a quarter in UK vs over half in EU). Equally, I sometimes work with big firms that subcontract a lot of work to independent consultants. Presumably the firms like that because it shifts risk to the consultants, rather than having employees on their books…?
So the industrial conditions of the time created it - and once the sector exists, it role models more people to keep trying the model? (Of course, privatisation was another driver in certain sectors, as Harrowell mentioned.)
Of course, problem conditions (esp managerial/business model) remain. It's interesting how many people there are who have gone independent in SOC codes which the stats say are occupations in short supply.
All plausible, but I think this leaves something out - delayering, rightsizing, etc.
We could also throw in the waves of recession at various points, all of which helped destabilise the perception of job security?
I get the impression that the British are much more cynical about work than Americans. Americans tend to romanticize the work place and focus on the people, not the insanity of the place. Look at how the comic strip Dilbert evolved. It no longer attacks the workplace. Instead it focuses on the foibles of various workers. Is it still running somewhere? I'm sure someone knows. The Japanese take romanticization to an even greater extreme with their keiretsu novels which read like trashy romances except they are the romances between big companies and their subcontractors. In contrast, British cynicism makes it easy to recognize a British author by how they describe people's work lives.
George Orwell once said that the British ruling class was rubbish. Once, they could claim their rights and privileges because they were the warrior caste. They'd fight and die for their country. They were no longer warriors, but they weren't going to give up the goodies, so their new excuse was that they were stupid. The whole way the system was set up was stupid, but they were too stupid to do better. When you consider the number of absolute twits that show up, often as heroes, in British fiction, this makes some horrible sense.
I've seen a few Carry On movies. The one with Cleopatra and Up the Khyber were pretty good for what they were. I imagine this one is execrable or possibly even one step down, excretable, so I'll take your advice and avoid it. Still, I'm willing to bet the Carry On folks caught the moment. The 70s were the last years the unions had any real power, and some of it was quite comical.
Yeah, not really. Up above, someone mentions "I'm All Right Jack" (Sellers), but there's also The Man In The White Suit (Guinness), and Chance Of A Lifetime (More). There're probably (quite a few) others.
Oddly, on New Years Eve, one channel was showing a few Carry On films, including Carry On Matron, where the set-up is a plot to steal contraceptive pills from the local hospital. Diverse Alarums ensue, but it's basically there to get A Bloke In A Dress (nurse's uniform, fnarr) on screen.
Still, it did strike me as a tad oddly specific, so off I went through the British Newspaper Archive to see if such nefarious activity had been reported. Zilch. Maybe in Hong Kong, I think, once, but otherwise, nothing.
Well, the contemporary experiment to run the primary and secondary school system as a giant exercise in rent-seeking may create 'funny' results in the long run.
It's been many years since I saw it last, but I think 'I'm Alright, Jack' covers some similar themes and, as a bonus, is actually quite funny...
Not bad. Now do The Coca Cola Kid for Oz.
This is kind of making me miss the Carry On films.
This got me thinking about whether public procurement processes could have had any influence here. But actually it looks like the UK is at the bottom of the European league table of % SME participation in public procurement by number of contracts awarded (just over a quarter in UK vs over half in EU). Equally, I sometimes work with big firms that subcontract a lot of work to independent consultants. Presumably the firms like that because it shifts risk to the consultants, rather than having employees on their books…?
So the industrial conditions of the time created it - and once the sector exists, it role models more people to keep trying the model? (Of course, privatisation was another driver in certain sectors, as Harrowell mentioned.)
Of course, problem conditions (esp managerial/business model) remain. It's interesting how many people there are who have gone independent in SOC codes which the stats say are occupations in short supply.
All plausible, but I think this leaves something out - delayering, rightsizing, etc.
We could also throw in the waves of recession at various points, all of which helped destabilise the perception of job security?
I get the impression that the British are much more cynical about work than Americans. Americans tend to romanticize the work place and focus on the people, not the insanity of the place. Look at how the comic strip Dilbert evolved. It no longer attacks the workplace. Instead it focuses on the foibles of various workers. Is it still running somewhere? I'm sure someone knows. The Japanese take romanticization to an even greater extreme with their keiretsu novels which read like trashy romances except they are the romances between big companies and their subcontractors. In contrast, British cynicism makes it easy to recognize a British author by how they describe people's work lives.
George Orwell once said that the British ruling class was rubbish. Once, they could claim their rights and privileges because they were the warrior caste. They'd fight and die for their country. They were no longer warriors, but they weren't going to give up the goodies, so their new excuse was that they were stupid. The whole way the system was set up was stupid, but they were too stupid to do better. When you consider the number of absolute twits that show up, often as heroes, in British fiction, this makes some horrible sense.
I've seen a few Carry On movies. The one with Cleopatra and Up the Khyber were pretty good for what they were. I imagine this one is execrable or possibly even one step down, excretable, so I'll take your advice and avoid it. Still, I'm willing to bet the Carry On folks caught the moment. The 70s were the last years the unions had any real power, and some of it was quite comical.
Yeah, not really. Up above, someone mentions "I'm All Right Jack" (Sellers), but there's also The Man In The White Suit (Guinness), and Chance Of A Lifetime (More). There're probably (quite a few) others.
Oddly, on New Years Eve, one channel was showing a few Carry On films, including Carry On Matron, where the set-up is a plot to steal contraceptive pills from the local hospital. Diverse Alarums ensue, but it's basically there to get A Bloke In A Dress (nurse's uniform, fnarr) on screen.
Still, it did strike me as a tad oddly specific, so off I went through the British Newspaper Archive to see if such nefarious activity had been reported. Zilch. Maybe in Hong Kong, I think, once, but otherwise, nothing.
Strange.
Well, the contemporary experiment to run the primary and secondary school system as a giant exercise in rent-seeking may create 'funny' results in the long run.