This book contains nine papers that were presented to the Sociology and Social Policy section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The first paper, "Introduction: Work and Employment in the 1990s" (Richard Brown), puts work and employment in a historical context and examines how globalization of the economy has changed the context for work and employment in Great Britain. The remaining papers, which focus on particular aspects of the organization and distribution of work and their implications for other areas of social life, are as follows: "The Changing Practices of Work" (Huw Beynon); "What Is Work For? The Right To Work and the Right To Be Idle" (Sheila Allen); "Flexibility and Security: Contradictions in the Contemporary Labour Market" (Richard Brown);"Gender and Changes in Employment: Feminization and Its Effects" (Harriet Bradley); "Informal Working, Survival Strategies and the Idea of an 'Underclass'" (Robert MacDonald); "Economic Change and Domestic Life" (Lydia Morris); "The Culture of Ownership and the Ownership of Culture" (Ian Roberts); and "'Empowerment' or 'Degradation'? Total Quality Management and the Service Sector" (Stephen Taylor). (Contains 337 references. Subject and author indexes are included.) (MN)