Division of Labour
The division of labor is a systematic approach to manufacturing where tasks are segmented into various steps, with each worker assigned to a specific step. This method contrasts with traditional manufacturing, where a single skilled laborer managed the entire process from start to finish. The division of labor became prominent during the Industrial Revolution, significantly increasing production efficiency and output in factories, as workers specialized in particular tasks. This shift allowed for mass production and made goods more accessible and affordable. While many scholars, like economists Adam Smith and Émile Durkheim, have highlighted the positive aspects, such as enhanced cooperation and increased material wealth, critics argue that it can lead to worker monotony, reduced skill diversity, and a perceived loss of personal fulfillment. In contemporary settings, the division of labor is less common outside industrial contexts, though it can still be observed in complex projects requiring teamwork. Overall, the division of labor has drastically transformed the landscape of work, presenting both advantages and challenges for modern society.
Division of Labour
Division of labour (also spelled labor) is a system in which workers divide a manufacturing task into various steps, with each worker responsible for performing one step. This system replaced traditional manufacturing processes in which a single expert laborer would perform every step, start to finish, in the creation of a good. Division of labor was a critically important aspect of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of mass production in industrialized nations, and it contributed to an enormous increase in the output and efficiency of factories. Many sociologists and economists have praised the system for its efficiency and cooperative nature, while others have criticized the monotony and limitations it has created for modern workers.
Earlier Forms of Labor
Division of labor was seldom found in societies prior to the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In nonindustrial societies, most crafts were created by individual workers who carried out manufacturing tasks from start to finish, performing every step necessary for the completion of the good. For instance, an artisan making pottery would find and prepare the clay, form each part of the vessel, decorate the vessel as desired, prepare the kiln or furnace, and fire the clay to harden it.
Due to the time-consuming nature of this method, such workers generally completed a very limited number of finished goods per day. That meant fewer manufactured goods were available, and they were generally expensive due to their rarity and labor intensiveness. However, it also meant that workers were able to learn and use multiple skills, arguably better engaging their interests and abilities and contributing to a sense of personal fulfillment.
In modern times, division of labor is still rare in nonindustrial societies, except in cases when physically large or complex objects, such as homes, are being constructed. In these instances, multiple workers may need to work together. It is likely that all workers involved, however, would be capable of performing the full range of manufacturing tasks if necessary.
Development of the Division of Labor
Over time, manufacturing processes changed greatly in many regions. Starting in the eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution brought new machines into the workplace. Many of these devices could almost instantly perform strenuous or complex tasks that would have taken individual workers, even those with the highest levels of skill, hours or days. These machines became part of the burgeoning system of mass production, an intensified level of manufacturing in which a vast multitude of goods is created quickly and inexpensively by large teams of workers. Workers began to specialize, meaning they focused on one step of a larger process rather than attempting to master and perform every step. These changes in industry contributed to the rise and institutionalization of the division of labor in many nations throughout the world.
Division of labor brought an end to the age-old traditions of the craftsperson who worked on every step in a manufacturing process. Eighteenth-century economist Adam Smith summarized this drastic change with an example of a shop that manufactured pins. Originally, the shop had very few workers, and each worker worked independently to perform every task related to creating pins. Smith held that there were eighteen distinct steps involved and even the finest pin-maker would be hard-pressed to completely manufacture a single pin in one workday.
Redesigning the shop with a division of labor, however, completely changed the process and the production rate. By hiring more workers and putting one worker in charge of each of the eighteen manufacturing steps, the company increased its output by a dramatic degree. Workers could stay in one spot, reduce wasted movements, and focus on performing the same task quickly and repeatedly. Smith claimed a shop that once produced a trifling number of pins per day under traditional systems could easily turn out forty-eight thousand pins in the same time thanks to division of labor.
Individual and Social Perspectives
The term division of labor originated with French social scientist Émile Durkheim, who viewed the industrial change and its social effects in a positive light. Durkheim felt that replacing old systems of industry with division of labor was a crucial step in societal evolution. Not only did this method of manufacturing create more goods that could be purchased less expensively, but also, Durkheim claimed, it quelled destructive forces in human society. The sociologist believed that the rapid growth of society and its demand for goods led to intense competition for survival. Having large groups of people contribute to the creation of goods led to a need for cooperation and a sense of interdependence that helped reduce the instinct of individuals to begin harmful quests to gather more goods, power, or money than others.
Other economists and sociologists shared the positive assessments of Smith and Durkheim. Supporters of division of labor have pointed out that the system increases production efficiency, increases supply of goods, and generally decreases the cost of goods, to generally create more material affluence in society. However, division of labor has also gained a number of detractors. Opponents of the system suggest that it has diminished the lives of industrial workers in various ways. Performing a single task, rather than a range of tasks, and often relying on a machine can lead to worker boredom. The deemphasizing of varied skills and tasks can remove pride and challenge from work, making laborers feel little more human than the machines they use. In addition, the lowering of skill requirements means that highly skilled workers are often replaced by inexpensive unskilled workers, and the rate of pay for all workers is in many cases reduced.
Bibliography
Durkheim, Emile. The Division of Labor in Society. Translated by W.D. Halls. New York: The Free Press, 1997.
Evensky, Jerry. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations: A Reader's Guide. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Nickerson, Charlotte. “Division of Labor.” Simply Psychology, 13 Feb. 2024, mises.org/library/human-action-0/html/pp/706. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
Rothbard, Murray N. "Freedom, Inequality, Primitivism, and the Division of Labor." Mises Daily, 9 Aug. 2008, mises.org/library/freedom-inequality-primitivism-and-division-labor. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
Starosta, Guido and Charnock, Greig, editors. The New International Division of Labour. Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.