“Sociologists of work have stated that work shapes not only the position and social status of individuals within society, but also the character of the company itself. » (Stewart and Zaaiman; 2015). Using the understanding of the quote mentioned previously, this essay will fully develop the three classic approaches to the work of Marx, Durkheim, and Max Weber. Furthermore, the essay will conclude by discussing the overall concept of what work is as defined by sociologists. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In Marx's first classical approach, the theme of alienation is raised. Marx defines alienation as dissatisfaction and discontent with an individual's performance at work or the product of their work. It is an individual's inability to communicate the true essence of their work and the feeling of being a stranger to themselves. Commodity trade in some market systems causes alienation, which then leads to the thought and practice of private property, individual ownership of the means of production. Once these objects become commercial objects, there will only be a small step forward towards the idea of ​​private property. The private property system feeds back into the systems that created it, increasing levels of alienation. Alienation is then increased by the fact that workers do not own the goods they produce because work cannot produce true fulfillment in this sense. For example: “In capitalist countries, the means of production are concentrated in the hands of a small minority. » Marx asserted that “the nature of work in society can only be understood by examining it in terms of infrastructure. He believed that a capitalist infrastructure inevitably produced a high level of alienation. (Haralambos and Holborn; 2004). Workers are reduced to the level of a commodity because they have no control over the products they produce and monetary value is placed on their labor. Their employment is based on the law of supply and demand (wage labor). According to Marx, capitalism can be self-destructive and therefore a communist or socialist society (the specialized division of labor is demolished) can be a solution to the problem of alienated labor. Here, individual and collective needs are met as workers simultaneously produce goods for themselves and the community. According to Durkheim “the division of labor is directly proportional to the dynamic or moral density of a society. This is defined as a combination of the concentration of people and the degree of socialization of a group or society.” (Durkheim; 1893). In the pre-industrial society/mechanical solidarity, the division of labor is not specialized. The internal organization of mechanical solidarity is very similar as it consists of familiar juxtaposed political groups, characterized by little social differentiation, similar beliefs, and people involved in hunting and gathering. Industrial societies/organic solidarity evolve with differences in the beliefs and actions of individuals – an increase in individualism but can only progress on the decline of the conscious collective. Here, the members of society depend on each other because their skills are all specialized, interdependence then forms the basis of organic solidarity. The rapid expansion and specialization of work creates anomie, a threat to social solidarity. Anomia appears with a decrease in behavior.