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2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

6. Sinners and Saints: Morally Stigmatized Work

Authors : Gina Grandy, Sharon Mavin

Published in: Stigmas, Work and Organizations

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US

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Abstract

Morally dirty work refers to organization, occupation or employment tasks regarded as sinful, dubious, deceptive, intrusive or confrontational. For those who perform such work (dirty workers), moral taint serves as a stain on the individual’s integrity, a defect of character that may stick even after the individual stops performing the work. Often such work can be simultaneously viewed in positive and negative terms, thus performed by individuals who, we suggest, can paradoxically be considered both saints and sinners. In this chapter, we explain what we understand by moral taint and the implications at the individual, group and organization levels. We discuss what we provocatively refer to as the most obvious sinners (e.g., casino workers, HIV/AIDS/addiction caregivers, genetic termination nurses, border patrol agents), the sometimes sinners (e.g., correctional officers, truckers, private detectives), and new and surprising sinners (e.g., bankers, nursing as pornography, secretaries). We conclude with areas for future research.

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Metadata
Title
Sinners and Saints: Morally Stigmatized Work
Authors
Gina Grandy
Sharon Mavin
Copyright Year
2018
Book
Stigmas, Work and Organizations

Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57571-5

Electronic ISBN: 978-1-137-56476-4

Copyright Year: 2018

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56476-4_6

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