Description
This book examines how the capability approach offers fresh ways to think about work, well-being, and social justice. It argues that work should not only provide income but also empower people to achieve their life goals, develop skills, and participate fully in society. Drawing on research and real-world examples, Jac van der Klink and Sebastiaan Rothmann show how organisations and policies can enhance employees' health, satisfaction, and capabilities. The chapters explore how human resource management, public administration, and organisational leadership can create fairer workplaces by removing barriers that limit potential, improving the quality of work, and ensuring access to opportunities for all. A key theme is equity: work should reduce disparities and foster inclusion across gender, socio-economic, and cultural divides. Timely and relevant, the text appeals to academics, practitioners, policymakers, and advocates seeking practical ways to make work more meaningful. This title is also available Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Table of Contents
Part I. The Capability Model in Relation to Work: 1. The capability model for work: an introduction; 2. Capabilities and work: new developments toward sustainability and well-being at work; 3. The capability approach in relation to contributive justice; 4. The paradox of capability assessment: investigational requirements associated with adopting capability as an informational focus of a theory of justice; 5. Integrative aspects of the capability approach; 6. Integrating the capability approach with other theories of work and employee health and well-being; Part II. Applications of the Capability Model at Different Levels in the Organisation: Conceptual and Practical Considerations: 7. Introducing justice into the governance of corporations; 8. Linking the capability approach for sustainable employability to strategic and inclusive human resource management; 9. The capability model applied to working individuals: decent and flourishing work; 10. Practical applications of the capability approach; Part III. Work Capabilities in Different Contexts: 11. (Cross-)cultural perspectives on the capability approach; 12. Decent work and social justice from the vantage point of the global south: decoloniality and the capability approach as parrhesia; 13. Work capabilities in different occupations and countries; 14. The capability approach: a guiding framework for work capabilities and leadership; 15. Future work and the capability approach: digitalisation, globalisation and climate change.
