SERVICE WORKERS - HUMAN-RESOURCES OR LABOR COSTS

In this article, I describe the work performed by service providers, d efined broadly, and the changes in this work engendered by an increasi ng reliance on encounters as a form of service delivery. This delivery mechanism facilitates the view of service providers as labor costs to be managed and reduced rather than human resources to be nurtured and developed. The provision of services by encounters may be a prelude b oth to the substitution of machine providers for humans and to large-s cale unemployment.