Beyond Knowledge Capitalism’s Happy Labour Subject

This article unravels the workings of happiness as integral to knowledge capitalism’s ‘emotionality rule’ from perspectives two cohorts ‘knowledge workers’: digital creatives and academics. It analyses ways in which study participants make work a site personal fulfilment they strive become ‘happy’ labour subjects. Despite their different worklife trajectories, both appeal promise happy entrepreneurial productivism. attaches workers privileges that downplay its costs. However, dominance subject is challenged by backgrounded significance work’s social benefits accounts. As such, this argues individualised depoliticisation contemporary work’ can be re-valorising contributions.