Paper short abstract:

The paper explores ethnographically how financial capitalism becomes tangible at the work place, affects relations in production and working lives and generates new inequalities and values. It is based on fieldwork in two work settings in Bulgaria.

Paper long abstract:

Financialization of capitalism and flexibilization of production over the last three decades had significant repercussions in everyday politics of work and managerial techniques. This paper looks at multiple financial forces that converge to the production site in exploring how to study their interrelation with flexible work. The ethnography is based on research in two privatized factories in Bulgaria which went through significant restructuring since the early 1990's and where the fear of capital flight and shifts in the stock market influence shifts in the organization of production. While profit accumulation is not merely based on production, financial risk and shareholder values play important role at the production space. Moreover, debt and changing pension schemes become central parts of workers' lives, affecting daily practices at work, the labour's bargaining power and household dynamics. In discussing ways to approach the intertwinement of financial forces with flexible work, the paper will take into account both large scale financial flows and workers' financial strategies.