New social relations of digital technology and the future of work: Beyond technological determinism

This introduction sets out the context for the Special Issue and offers an in-depth reflection on key themes addressed by our contributors. The Special Issue aims to place the social relations of production at the centre of debates about technology and the future of work, and create space for greater critical reflection on what it means to go ‘beyond technological determinism’. We identify ways in which aspects of technological determinism continue to influence debates on technology, the labour process and industrial relations, despite efforts to reject it. We argue that this influence is manifested in some persistent problems within the literature including overly rigid periodisations (such as ‘platform capitalism’), a narrow conceptual repertoire (which reifies notions like ‘algorithmic control’) and a constricted empirical focus. We elucidate the value of a social shaping of technology (SST) approach to overcome these challenges and provide a brief overview of the articles contained within the issue.     

Determinants of financial worry

Grounded in the transactional stress-coping theory and the Tallis and Eysenck (1994) model of nonpathological worry, the present study sought to advance the conceptual and empirical understanding of financial worry (FW). We positioned objective financial stressors (OFS), subjective financial stressors (SFS), and coping resources as key variables in understanding the determinants of financial worry (FW). The cross-sectional data consisted of responses from a representative sample of 19,385 adults, aged 18 and older, drawn from a large U.S. survey. Hierarchical linear regression results revealed that OFS, SFS, household income, and financial capability (FC) are all key determinants of FW. Furthermore, the results revealed adverse effects of OFS and SFS on FW. These effects were moderated by household income, FC, age, and gender. Implications for future research, employers, practitioners, and policymakers are discussed.