Building Creatures of Uncertainty: Crisis, Storytelling, and Othering in the Norwegian Building Industry

Over the past few years I have spent time at building sites and among builders seeking to understand how they experience the transformations going on in the building industry. A picture has emerged: The builders are concerned by rather immediate things – for example, whether the company they work for might sack all permanently employed carpenters and replace them with temporary workers. Norwegian builders are concerned that they might be forced to queue and compete for short-term contracts with immigrant workers who are known to accept working conditions that fall well below Norwegian standards.