ILM (Institutions, Labour, and Movements) Research Group

We bring together researchers interested in work, employment and labour from across the University. 

We are based at the Department of Sociology but also have members and alumni in a diverse range of disciplines including human geography, management, anthropology, history, social policy and politics. 

Our intention is to create links between those who have similar research interests across work, employment and labour issues, broadly understood.

The ILM Research Group was originally founded over 25 years ago. There is a rich history of work and labour studies at Cambridge. Many important studies in industrial sociology were undertaken at the Department of Applied Economics in the 1960s and 1970s by some of Britain’s most well-known social scientists, such as John Goldthorpe, Michael Mann and Rosemary Crompton. Famous projects included Goldthorpe and David Lockwood’s affluent worker studies and Frank Wilkinson’s work on segmented labour markets. Cambridge graduates, such as Michael Burawoy, Jill Rubery, Guy Standing and Judy Wajcman, have also gone on to make significant contributions to the sociology of work.

The Department of Applied Economics was eventually disbanded in 2004, yet one of its former staff, Prof Brendan Burchell, now emeritus Professor of Social Science in the Department of Sociology, contributed to continuing the tradition of high-quality research in work and industrial sociology by founding the ILM Research Group in the year 2000. Originally, ILM was an acronym of ‘Individual in the Labour Market’ but the group was renamed ‘Institutions, Labour, and Movements’ in 2025 when Dr Alex Wood took over running the group.

Format

The ILM group meets on a fortnightly basis during term time to discuss recent publications over tea, coffee and snacks. 

If you are a graduate student or faculty member at the University email Dr Alex Wood (ajw250@cam.ac.uk) to be added to the ILM email list.

Once or twice a year, external speakers are also invited to present their research during special ILM sessions. In addition, a number of social activities are held during the year to encourage the exchange of ideas and the formation of friendships in a more casual setting. We also arrange a free three-day research retreat in Southwold (usually in May) where we discuss research and ideas in greater depth.

Convenors and contact

Dr Alex Wood ajw250@cam.ac.uk

Past meetings

Lent Term 2024

  • Work & Hope, Thursday 18 Jan 

    Examined two recent articles that use the concept of ‘hope’ as a lens to explore the experiences of workers in creative industries.

    Readings:  'Keep hoping, keep going’: Towards a hopeful sociology of creative work. Ana Alacovska (2019) - Hope labour and the psychic life of cultural work. Ewan Mackenzie and Alan McKinlay (2021) 

  • Women in the labour market. Celebrating Claudia Goldin being awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, Thursday 15 Feb 

    Readings: Career and Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity. Claudia Goldin (2021): Chapters 1, 8 & 10

  • Contemporary professions and occupations, Thursday 14 March

    Readings: Data Scientists’ Identity Work: Omnivorous Symbolic Boundaries in Skills Acquisition. Netta Avnoon (2021) - Uberizing the Legal Profession? Lawyer Autonomy and Status in the Digital Legal Market. Yao Yao (2020)

  • Societies at Work Reading Group, Thursday 16 October