Organising Care, Labour and Employment
The Organising Care, Labour and Employment theme brings together people who are interested in how care and work connect in everyday life. We explore what it means to “organise care” — in families, communities, workplaces, and wider systems — and how care is valued and supported. Our research looks at both unpaid care, often provided by family members or friends, and paid care work carried out in homes and social care settings. We see care as a vital part of human life that links people, places, and economies across the world.
Key areas of interest
We focus on the many ways care is structured and delivered — from how care services are funded and managed, to how care workers experience their jobs and how people receive support. This includes exploring new and alternative ways of organising care, such as cooperatives, social enterprises, and community-based models. We are also interested in how technology, financial pressures, and global migration shape care work and caring relationships. By looking at these connections, we aim to better understand how care systems can be made fairer and more sustainable.
Members of this theme are studying a wide range of issues, including working conditions in paid care, the impact of low pay and insecure jobs, and the challenges of balancing employment with caring responsibilities. We are also exploring collective action and resistance, from trade union organising to community activism, and how people can work together to bring about change. By combining insights from everyday experiences to global trends, the theme seeks to reimagine how care, labour, and employment can be organised in ways that support both those who give and those who receive care.
About the group
The CIRCLE Organising Care, Labour and Employment theme is led by Dr Diane Burns (Sheffield University Management School), Dr Richard Goulding (Urban Institute/Sheffield University Management School) and Dr Grace Whitfield (CIRCLE, Centre for Care). They have held a series of workshops attracting the participation of researchers from Sociology, Politics and International Relations, Urban Institute, Sheffield Methods Institute, Sheffield University Management School, Neurology. Members continue to meet on a semi-regular basis and are developing ideas about how to progress the theme’s work.