The operation of discipline in the workplace has received little attention in sociology; the control of attendance has attracted even less. Yet they have taken on a growing significance in many firms, and help to throw light on more general issues of new forms of the control of labour. Material from two case studies is used to show why firms are changing their policies and to explore the effect on workplace relations. Disciplinary regimes have been tightened and, although the direct impact on workers has been limited, the symbolic effects of closer managerial attention to individual workers' behaviour are considerable.
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