This work investigates how the rapid transition of the Chinese economy from a state-planned system to a market-oriented model has fundamentally altered the nature of labor and workplace relations. Ching Kwan Lee, a prominent sociologist specializing in Chinese labor, utilizes extensive field research to examine the divergent experiences of workers in the industrial north and the coastal south. The book argues that these regional differences create distinct 'regimes of labor' that dictate how workers perceive their rights, organize, and interact with management.

Scholars and sociologists frequently cite this text as a foundational ethnographic study for understanding the human impact of China's economic reforms. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous look at the complexities of labor dynamics in a rapidly changing global economy.