Why "Working" Divides Us - Considering the Division and Solidarity of Wage Labor: A Sociologist Discusses the Modern Class Society

1) Where Does "Division" Originate?

"Wage labor divides people." This provocative statement is not just an emotional slogan. Labor sociologist Nicole Mayer-Ahuja unravels the mechanisms behind this in her latest book, "Klassengesellschaft akut ('Class Society in Progress')—Why Wage Labor Creates Division and How It Can Be Changed." The core issue is that workplaces incorporate "differences" into the logic of competition. Differences such as employment type (regular/non-regular, temporary/contract), skill level, department, gender, and immigrant status directly impact wages, evaluations, promotions, and contract renewals. This leads individual workers to view each other as competitors for "resources."BG · berlinergazette.de · EN|DE

Exacerbating this situation are excessive meritocracy and future uncertainties. Short-term KPIs, performance reviews, outsourcing, and automation pressures encourage self-preservation over collaboration among colleagues. Mayer-Ahuja warns that these lines of division can easily connect to societal conflicts (xenophobia and scapegoating) outside the workplace. However, she also emphasizes that division is not fixed.BG · berlinergazette.de · EN|DE

2) Rebooting "Class"

As a way to discuss division, she proposes the return of the concept of "class." In Germany, the discourse of a "middle-class society" has long been mainstream, making the conflict between capital and labor less visible. However, in light of realities such as wages, working hours, and instability, the concept of class once again becomes a lens to focus on—she has stated this in various interviews. By centering on class, disparate issues such as the insecurity of non-regular workers, immigrant women's care labor, and the excessive responsibilities of skilled workers can be seen as arising from the same structure.freitag.de

3) Simultaneously Addressing "Time, Wages, and Dignity"

To unravel division, it is necessary to simultaneously move three axes.

(a) Time: Shorter and Predictable
Reducing working hours, such as implementing a four-day workweek, can simultaneously alleviate the extreme long hours of skilled workers and the fragmented hours of non-regular workers, creating a "shared margin" that encourages cooperation over competition. This is not merely a welfare measure but a foundation for workplace democratization.Surplus – Das Wirtschaftsmagazin

(b) Wages: Raising the Floor and Ensuring Fairness
While the minimum wage has brought significant improvements in Germany, there is still a substantial segment of the population that does not earn a living wage. Along with raising the floor, it is essential to enforce equal pay for work of equal value and close the "loopholes" created by the multi-layered structures of subcontracting and temporary work.fes.de

(c) Dignity: Redesigning Evaluation
Recognition such as "well done" is not merely praise. The redesign of evaluation systems, including safety, staffing, discretion, and career paths, can shift solidarity from being seen as an "unprofitable act" to the "core of professional pride." By institutionalizing the "voice" of the workplace, the lines of division can be softened. This point is also discussed in Mayer-Ahuja's English essay as the "potential of solidarity politics."BG · berlinergazette.de · EN|DE

4) Circuits from the Field: Bundling Shared Experiences

The materials to overcome division already exist in the field. For example, interviews and discussions that have made visible the fact that low-wage jobs were "essential to society (system-related)" even before the pandemic have highlighted common experiences across different professions. From there, agenda-setting emerges to update the discourse on wages, time, and careers as a whole.X (formerly Twitter)

Moreover, in sectors where multiple professions intersect in the same field, such as education, healthcare, logistics, and retail, cross-departmental negotiations (joint decision-making on shift design, ensuring minimum wages for subcontractors by the main company, etc.) are effective. Building such a foundation aligns with Mayer-Ahuja's argument that "differences" can remain while "conflicts" are weakened.hermann-ehlers.de

5) Resisting the Swirl of Populism

The division caused by wage labor resonates with political division. Feelings of powerlessness and lack of recognition in the workplace can easily lead to xenophobia and hostility. Mayer-Ahuja argues that the "politics of solidarity," which connects improved treatment with expanded opportunities for democratic involvement, is the counter-axis. In light of the growing influence of the right in German politics, her proposal encourages a reconstruction of the route that links labor and social security, beyond the "culture wars."freitag.de

6) The Scope of the NDR Interview (Understanding through Supplementary Information)

The NDR interview is presumed to condense the above discussions for a general audience. In fact, during the same period, WDR radio programs and contributions to various media repeatedly discussed **(1)the social origins of division,(2)the evaluation of policies such as minimum wage and reduced working hours,(3)** workplace democracy and the redesign of dignity.Apple Podcasts

Reactions on Social Media (Highlights)

• Süddeutsche Zeitung (X/formerly Twitter)
  "The statement 'wage labor divides' may sound like an old leftist cliché, but it's not—it's a stimulating book discussing capital, labor, inequality, and new solidarity," introducing the book. A review-style post contrasting the intuition of the "oldness" of the claim with the freshness of the analysis presented.X (formerly Twitter)

• der Freitag (X)
  "Low-wage workers have been 'essential' since before COVID," promoting an interview in the same paper. The point of making visible the value of previously invisible fields was widely shared.X (formerly Twitter)

• NDR Info Instagram Announcement
  "How do you feel when you hear 'work more!'? Mayer-Ahuja offers an alternative—on NDR's interview," providing a lead to the broadcast and article. In the general audience's comment section, the topic of "time and dignity" also resonated.Instagram

As a trend, major newspapers and public broadcasting accounts perceive it as **"an old axis of conflict, but the content is updated," while opinion magazines focus on "recognition of essential labor." Excessive backlash inciting from the right-wing is hard to confirm, and rather, interest in specific policies and workplace systems is increasing.**X (formerly Twitter)