Skip to main content

Mindfulness: A Politically Sensitizing Concept. Care and Social Sustainability as Issues

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

Abstract

Mindfulness is introduced as a sensitizing concept not only in the organizational but also in the political realm, exemplified by issues of global sustainable development and care:

In the first part the ongoing epochal changes in the social organization of work are outlined with respect to their impact on gender relations in the context of globalisation. The second part describes the changes in the contemporary world of work as neglect of human needs and rights and as an expression of political mindlessness with regard to the function of care for human well-being and social cohesion of societies. Social sustainability is in danger when care responsibilities or activities are neglected, ignored or devalued. The third part discusses two recent political initiatives to overcome the neglect of the vital care activities on the basis of a new political mindfulness for sustainable social development: The new ILO-Convention 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers and the “Recommendations” of the EU-Social Platform for a Caring Society in Europe, both from 2011. The ILO-Convention 189 deals with employment conditions in the household under the perspective of rights at (paid) work, the other applies a broader perspective acknowledging the human rights character of care activities. The paper concludes with a reflection on the relationship between mindfulness in the political and in the organisational context.

(forthcoming 2013 in. Guido Becke (ed.): Mindful change in times of permanent reorganization, (Springer International)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    See Gerhard (1979) with respect to the situation of women in Germany in the nineteenth century.

  2. 2.

    This is elaborated in Senghaas-Knobloch (2000).

  3. 3.

    They rely on a study of Hoffmann and Rodrigues (2010), who do not differentiate between unpaid family care and informal care as defined by the ILO.

References

  • Acker J (2006) Inequality regimes. Gender, class, and race in organizations. Gend Soc 20(4):441–464

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brundlandt-Report (1987) UN world commission on environment and development A/42/427: our common future, Geneva. http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm#I. Accessed 5 Aug 2012

  • Daly M (2011) What adult worker model? A critical look at recent social policy reform in Europe from a gender and family perspective. Soc Polit 18(1):1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schutter De O (2010) The right to food. Geneva/New York: United Nations Publications. http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/otherdocuments/factsheet34en1.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov 2012

  • Esping-Andersen G (1990) The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2010) Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, COM(2010) 2020 final. Brussels. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:2020:FIN:EN:PDF. Accessed 15 Oct 2012

  • European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (2012) Fifth European working conditions survey. Dublin. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/htmlfiles/ef11821.htm. Accessed 1 Nov 2012

  • Fraser N (1997) Justice interruptus. Critical reflections on the ‘postsocialist’ condition. Routledge, New York/London

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerhard U (1979) Verhältnisse und Verhinderungen. Frauenarbeit, Familie und Rechte der Frauen im 19. Jahrhundert. Frankfurt/M: Edition Suhrkamp

    Google Scholar 

  • Giullari S, Lewis J (2005) The adult worker model family, gender equality and care. The search for new policy principles, and the possibilities and problems of a capabilities approach, UNRISD pp-spd-19, paper 19. http://www.unrisd.org/__80256b3c005bccf9.nsf/0/bb78cf0f20c2104fc1256ff6002ba3f5?opendocument&panel=seriespapers&click=. Accessed 2 Nov 2012

  • Gottschall U, Schwarzkopf M (2010) Irreguläre arbeit in privathaushalten. Arbeitspapier 217. Düsseldorf: Hans Böckler Stiftung. www.boeckler.de

  • Heintz J, Lund F (2012) Welfare regimes and social policy. A review of the role of labour and employment. UNRISD pp-gd-17, paper 17

    Google Scholar 

  • Heintze C (2012) Auf der Highroad – der skandinavische Weg zu einem zeitgemäßen Pflegesystem. Ein Vergleich zwischen fünf nordischen Ländern und Deutschland. Expertise im Auftrag der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Bonner Universitäts-Buchdruckerei, Bonn

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild AR (2000) Global care chains and emotional surplus value. In: Hutton W, Giddens A (eds) Global capitalism. The New Press, New York, pp 130–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann F, Rodrigues R (2010) Informal carers: who takes care of them? Vienna: European Centre for Social Welfare. Policy Brief. April 2010

    Google Scholar 

  • International Labour Organization (2011) Press release 16 June 2011. http://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/100thSession/media-centre/press-releases/WCMS_157891/lang--en/index.htm?ssSourceSiteId=global. Accessed 1 Nov 2012

  • Jenkins H, Lee E, Rodgers G (2007) The quest for a fair globalization three years on. Assessing the impact of the world commission on the social dimension of globalization. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Laville J-L (2007) L’économie solidaire. Une perspective internationale, Hachette Littératures

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall TH (1950) Citizenship and social class and other essays. University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez D (2004) The world of work in the context of economic integration and trade liberalization. From the vintage point of the Americas. Geneva: ILO-Policy Integration Department Paper 145

    Google Scholar 

  • Meadows D, Meadows DH, Randers J, Behrens III, William W (1972) The limits to growth. Universe Books

    Google Scholar 

  • Palley TI (2007) Financialization. What it is and why it matters. http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_525.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2012

  • Justitia et P (2011). Menschenwürdige Arbeit für Hausangestellte – eine Frage von Geschlechtergerechtigkeit und Solidarität. Documentation of contributions to a conference on domestic workers, Cologne. http://www.justitia-et-pax.de/Dokumentation_-_final_-_Internet.pdf. Accessed 22 Feb 2011

  • Peter G (2008) Soziale Nachhaltigkeit im Epochenbruch. Von der Notwendigkeit ihrer Einbettung in eine Konzeption primärer Arbeitspolitik. In: Guido B (ed) Soziale Nachhaltigkeit in flexiblen Arbeitsstrukturen. Problemfelder und arbeitspolitische Gestaltungsperspektiven. Lit Verlag, Münster, pp 59–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi K (1980/1944) The great transformation. New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Razavi S (2011) Rethinking care on a development context. An introduction. Dev Change 42(4):873–903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Razavi S, Arza C, Braunstein E, Cook S, Goulding K (2012) Gendered impacts of globalization. Employment and social protection. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD). http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/search/6E16D1DC33F5D82BC12579D000478859?OpenDocument. Accessed 10 Aug 2012

  • Roach S (2004) How global labour arbitrage will shape the world economy. http://ecocritique.free.fr/roachglo.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2012

  • Schmidt J (2012) Achtsamkeit. Versuch zur Ethischen Theologie. Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 54(1):23–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sengenberger W, Campbell D (eds) (1994) International labour standards and economic interdependence. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Senghaas-Knobloch E (2000) Wohin driftet die postindustrielle Gesellschaft? In Ulrich Menzel (ed) Vom Ewigen Frieden und vom Wohlstand der Nationen. Festschrift für Dieter Senghaas. Frankfurt/M: Edition Suhrkamp. Wohin driftet die Arbeitswelt, Wiesbaden, VS, pp 543–572

    Google Scholar 

  • Senghaas-Knobloch E (2010a) Decent work’ – eine weltweite Agenda für Forschung und Politik. In: Guido B, Peter B, Wolfgang R, Sandra S (eds) Decent work. Arbeitspolitische Gstaltungsperspektive für eine globalisierte und flexibilisierte Arbeitswelt. VS Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp 15–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Senghaas-Knobloch E (2010b) Sisyphos at work. On the efforts to achieve a fair, internationally recognised labour-and social order, University of Bremen, Research Center on Sustainability Studies (artec), artec paper 165. http://www.artec.uni-bremen.de/paper/paper.php?year=2010

  • Senghaas-Knobloch E (2012) Beispiellos und herausfordernd – ein internationaler Arbeitsstandard für menschenwürdige Arbeit von Hausangestellten. Feministische Studien 30(2):119–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Social Platform (2004) Statement of values and objectives, adopted by general assembly 23 April 2004. http://cms.horus.be/files/99907/MediaArchive/SocialPlatformstatementofvaluesENFinal.pdf. Accessed 10 Aug 2012

  • Social Platform (2011) Recommendations for care that respects the rights of individuals, guarantees access to services and promotes social inclusion, Brussels 2011. http://www.socialplatform.org/News.asp?news=28066. Accessed 10 Aug 2012

  • Supiot A (2012) The spirit of Philadelphia. Social justice versus the total market. A new manifesto for global social justice. Verso, Brooklyn/London/Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Trebilcock A (2004) International labour standards and the informal economy. In: Jean-Claude J, Bernard G (eds) Les normes internationales du travail. Mélanges en l’honneur de Nicolas Valticos. International Labour Office, Geneva, pp 585–613

    Google Scholar 

  • Waerness K (1996) The rationality of caring. In: Gordon S, Benner P, Noddings N (eds) Caregiving, readings in knowledge, practice, ethics and politics. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, pp 231–255

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber R (2011) Konfuzianische Selbstkultivierung als Philosphem und Politikum. Polylog 26:19–42

    Google Scholar 

  • WIDE, Women in Development Europe (WIDE Europe) (2009) Report of the WIDE annual conference 2009 ‘we care’ feminist responses to the care crises, 18–20 June, University of Basel, Basel. http://www.wide-network.ch/en/index.php. Accessed 10 Aug 2012

  • Williams F (2011) Towards a transnational analysis of the political economy of care. In: Rianne M, Fiona R (eds) Feminist ethics and social policy. Towards a political economy of care. UBC Press, Vancouver/Toronto, pp 21–38

    Google Scholar 

  • World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization (2004) A fair globalization. Creating opportunities for all. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eva Senghaas-Knobloch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Senghaas-Knobloch, E. (2014). Mindfulness: A Politically Sensitizing Concept. Care and Social Sustainability as Issues. In: Becke, G. (eds) Mindful Change in Times of Permanent Reorganization. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38694-7_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics