Constructed Choices:A Study Of "Consent To Manufacturing" By Internet Industry Software Programmers

According to the 49th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development released by China Internet Network Information Center(CNNIC)in 2022,as of December 2021,the number of Internet users in China has reached 1.032 billion,an increase of 42.96 million over December 2020,and the Internet penetration rate has reached 73.0%.Nearly 30 years since the introduction of the Internet,the Internet has been integrated into all aspects of social life.The rapid development of the Internet industry is inseparable from the programmers who develop products.However,the labor process of programmers is full of great physical and mental pressure.It is of great theoretical and practical significance to carry out the research on the programmer group’s consent to high-intensity pressure labor,which can continue Blowe’s manufacturing consent theory to guide the labor process in the Internet era,and truly realize the beautiful vision of independence and creativity in the Internet industry.This paper,starting from Burawoy’s theory of manufacturing consent,through field research on programmers of Shanghai X Company,shows the survival situation of programmers of X Company in the Internet industry.This situation forces programmers to accept the high-pressure labor of the industry.Then,it systematically discusses the logic behind the consent of programmers from the three aspects of flexible working system operation,catching up with progress and technological progress,At the same time,it presents a threedimensional picture of the labor process of programmers.The study found that programmers agree that working hard in the Internet industry is the result of compromising their foothold in the industry.First of all,Company X in the Internet industry operates flexibly on flexible working system,disperses the concentrated working time,and the time exceeds the limit of the workplace,so it is compensatory.At the same time,in order to reduce the uncertainty of products or projects and maximize the work efficiency of programmers,the labor time is gradually blurred,thus shaping the labor rules.The nonlinear time produces a sense of labor freedom,which supports programmers to work in a timely manner.Secondly,project operation characteristics and settings force programmers to complete tasks.On the one hand,project supervision measures have been set up during the development of multiple projects.At the same time,programmers who cooperate to complete projects need to be trusted by other programmers.External factors constitute the consent of programmers;On the other hand,project experience increases the qualification of programmers,and the initiative of programmers constitutes consent.Finally,technological progress constitutes a factor for programmers to agree.Technology is the foundation for programmers.They need to experience the transformation of technical knowledge into labor production and resist the technological anxiety under the mechanism of survival of the fittest.Technology has improved the autonomy of programmers,and the technological connectivity and the "dispersed force" of Internet companies have realized the flow of programmers in the industry.At the same time,the innovative atmosphere of X Company is consistent with the technical feelings of programmers,meeting the practical consideration of programmers to "learn more technology".In a word,the issue of programmer’s consent is the result of the joint action of time control,project arrangement and technical factors.Programmer’s consent includes both the forced consent under the compulsion of Internet companies and the autonomous response made by programmers in consideration of industry competitiveness.The analysis of the programmer’s consent factor is the embodiment of the change and immutability of the labor process and the traditional labor process in the Internet era,the dispersion and squeeze of working time,the universality of labor space,the background of the implementation of the flexible work system,the sense of freedom formed by the flexible work system,and the adjustment of the burnout of overtime culture under the "catch-up schedule".The overtime culture formed by " catching up with the progress " is similar to Burawoy’s "rush game" to describe workshop workers,and the"rush game" has formed a workshop culture.Different from the physicality of the labor production of workshop workers,the virtual nature of Internet labor production requires more active mobilization of "knowledge labor" labor production,giving technical feelings,dreams,creativity,and technical culture to enhance the programmer’s recognition of the company and ensure the progress of "catching up with the progress".These three aspects prove that cultural factors have become the power of the Internet industry to create consent,and the transformation of labor in the process of programmer labor depends more on the comprehensive effect of cultural forces to achieve ideological shaping and self-management behavior.