空间如何塑造劳动关系——双重劳动空间中的育儿嫂与雇主互动

How Does Space Shape Labor Relations?Interaction between Babysitters and Employers in a Dual Labor Space

基于上海市育儿嫂和雇主互动的经验资料,本研究发现,家政服务的劳动空间由工作空间与家庭空间构成,并且此双重劳动空间通过两套有着不同劳动要求与劳动想象的空间逻辑塑造了劳动关系。当劳动者与雇主选择的空间逻辑不一致时,为了获得最佳体验而采取的空间行动会造就双方都无法满意的体验困境,导向紧张的劳动关系。其中,雇主会采取营造亲密关系与全面监管的方式模糊空间边界,而育儿嫂会以强调纯粹的雇佣关系与制造监管死角与之对抗。只有在双方的空间逻辑趋向一致、空间行动协同的少数情况下,劳动关系才是和谐的。通过引入社会空间视角,本文摆脱了常见的背景同质性预设,完善了结构不平等叙事,同时拓展了对劳动者能动性的理解。

Based on the empirical data collected from interactions between babysitters and employers in Shanghai,this paper argues that the spatial context of domestic services comprises a dual labor space constituted by the“work”space and the“family”space.This dual labor space shapes labor relations through two different sets of spatial logic comprised of labor requirements and care expectations.When the spatial logic chosen by the workers and employers differs,the actions taken by both sides to optimize their experiences paradoxically lead to an unsatisfactory experience dilemma,resulting in tense labor relations.Employers may blur the boundaries of the dual space by cultivating intimate relationships and exercising comprehensive supervision.At the same time,babysitters may divide the boundaries by emphasizing purely contractual relationships and creating dead ends of employers' supervision.Only in rare instances when both sides' spatial logic converges and their actions coordinate can labor relations be harmonious.By introducing a social-spatial perspective,this paper moves away from mainstream assumptions of homogeneity in the spatial context,refines the prevailing narrative on structural inequality,and concurrently broadens our understanding of workers' agency.