The Dangers of Isolation and Impersonal Control in Work Environments

Please join us as we discuss Eric Trist’s and Ken Bamforth’s 1951 article, “Some Social and Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal-Getting,” published in the journal Human Relations. The article explores how a technological change in the coal-mining industry tore apart the social structure of the workers who were supposed to have benefited from the change. We talk about the story behind the article and explore its lessons in the context of contemporary technological changes and the roles of managers to consider the social impacts of transformational change in their organizations.