In this recognized classic of sociology and the study of labor and the professions, Everett C. Hughes detailed his conviction that a person's work is a clue to the course of his or her life, defining one's social being and core identity. He also argued that work influences a person's social outlooks and attitudes, even across class, gender, and racial lines. The thirteen papers collected in this volume, and much cited over the years and today, explore the social and psychological aspects of work rather than the technical and organizational aspects found in other research, and study the professional and near-professional actor, among other labor roles, rather than the more typically cataloged industrial and bureaucratic occupations. The chapters include the ideas that grew out of Hughes' studies on the organization of work, conceptually, and the nature of the work experience. This is an unabridged hardcover republication of the 1958 book by The Free Press of Glencoe (republished in 1981 verbatim by Greenwood Press). It is now presented in modern format by Quid Pro Books, a leader in the classic-republication world of academic books. Using proper formatting and careful proofreading against the original, adding embedded page numbers for continuity, this is no mere photocopy of the original.