Fictional Scenario

Sociologist Dr Nathan Cole carried out a study of identity formation among 19 to 30 year olds in the town of Halewick, a place that had experienced major economic change over the last twenty years. Older residents often described Halewick as a town once built around stable manufacturing work, apprenticeships and a strong sense of pride linked to local factories. However, many of these workplaces had closed or restructured. In their place came warehouse work, short-term contracts, app-based delivery work, customer service jobs and training schemes linked to the digital economy. Cole wanted to explore how production shaped identity in this changing labour market.

His research used in-depth interviews, workplace observation and employment diaries. He followed three groups of young adults. The first group worked in a large distribution warehouse on the edge of town. The second group were employed in a new digital media and coding hub promoted by the local council as part of regeneration. The third group were unemployed or moving in and out of insecure part-time work. Cole was interested in whether work still gave people a sense of self, belonging and purpose, or whether this had weakened in a more fragmented economy.

Among those in stable work, participants often linked employment to adulthood, independence and respect. Several said that having a job gave them structure, routine and a reason to get up in the morning. One respondent who had recently secured a permanent contract in the digital hub said that work had become “part of who I am”, because it shaped friendship groups, aspirations and daily routines. Cole argued that this supported the idea that work still plays a major role in identity formation. Occupation was not only a source of income. It was also a source of meaning and social status.

However, the type of work mattered greatly. Workers in the warehouse described highly repetitive tasks, close supervision and constant monitoring through handheld scanners that measured speed and output. Several said they felt like “part of the machine” and had little control over what they did. Cole used the concept of alienation to explain this. Workers were disconnected from the products they handled, had minimal control over the labour process and often felt detached from any deeper sense of creativity or ownership. Some also believed management pushed targets to maximise profit at their expense, which Cole linked to exploitation.

At the same time, older staff compared current jobs to earlier manual occupations and argued that many roles had been deskilled. Tasks that once required judgement, training and practical knowledge had been broken down into simpler steps. New workers could be trained quickly, but this often reduced autonomy and pride in the job. In contrast, employees in the digital hub spoke about upskilling. They described gaining coding skills, project management experience and specialist knowledge that made them feel more confident and employable. These workers often saw themselves as adaptable and future-focused, suggesting that changes in production can reshape identity in positive as well as negative ways.

The experiences of those without work were especially important in Cole’s study. Some participants who were unemployed for long periods described feeling embarrassed when asked what they did, and several said they felt disconnected from mainstream expectations of adulthood. A few reported boredom, anxiety and a loss of purpose. Cole used the concept of worklessness to describe their position, but he also drew on Durkheim’s idea of anomie. Without the routines, goals and moral regulation that work can provide, some felt uncertain about their place in society. They were not simply without income. They also felt less secure in their identity.

Even so, the study showed that identities were not shaped by work alone. Family support, education, peer groups and local culture also mattered. Some unemployed respondents rejected the idea that paid employment should define self-worth and instead built identity through caring roles, community activity or creative projects. Cole therefore concluded that production remains a major influence on identity, but its effects depend on the kind of work available. Secure and skilled employment can offer status, routine and self-development, while insecure, deskilled or exploitative work may produce frustration, alienation and uncertainty. In a changing economy, the relationship between production and identity remains powerful, but it is uneven and contested.