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Hello, this week we're taking a look at the changing nature of work and the work ethic as it obtains at the end of the 20th century

How's our understanding of the nature and function of work really changed so radically since the beginning of the century?

I'm joined by the sociologist professor Richard Senate whose book the corrosion of character

The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism has just been published

He's currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics

By the historian Theodore Zeldin, who's a fellow of St. Antony's College Oxford

He's just published a book called Conversation and his currently conducting research and experiments into the future of work

And Melanie Phillips is a columnist on the Sunday Times currently working on a book about the sex change state

Which will discuss the division of work Richard Senate can we start with you?

What's really new about work now in the 1990s and why do you think it's worse as it were than it were before?

Well, I think what's new is that the time frame of work is shortening

businesses and

De-government agencies being reorganized so the short-term task-oriented

Labor is replacing obviously jobs for life

But even long associations with companies which themselves are long in business. I do know if it's depressing

But it does create a problem, which is how are people to organize

Their work to realize long-term purposes

how are they to practice traditional work ethic like delayed gratification short-term world and

I think these are problems

That can be solved or at least dealt with but we need to have a conversation about

...