Home as a workplace in the context of social Architecture in Dhaka

Abstract

Social Architecture, in this particular study, denotes a conceptual understanding that combines dwelling and workplace together and brings quite a few issues on the surface such as personal, family and social harmony; level of satisfaction and earnestness regarding work; sense of belongingness; family bonds and perceptions, good relationships among the members and the communities to underpin the concept. Home-Based Work (HBW) is indeed a significant component in changing the socio-economic conditions of many slum-dwellers in the third world cities using the menus of social architecture. Notwithstanding, the developing economies of the many countries have already recognized the significance of HB workers in the form of informal economic activities and alternative means of employment. In Bangladesh, the vast majority of (HB) workers suffer from multidimensional poverty and they generally are not organized into any form of group or social network. In fact, they are still unacknowledged in both local and national policy devising mechanisms. This research examines from the perspective of social architecture the community and nature of work opportunities which already exist or could be achieved through basing it at home; the prospects of integration of the home and workplace ; and the modality of government initiatives, and to address the issue for constructing a conceptual framework for integration or reintegration of home and workplace on the basis of data from Dhaka which is one of the largest megacities of the world with acute shortage of housing and clogged up traffic system. The study also considers the Non-Home-Based (NHB) households aimed at comparing the socio-economic conditions with HB households. The study was carried out in four thanas of Dhaka city using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. The survey method deployed multistage random sampling technique with semi-structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential (chi-square) data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0. A wellbeing ranking technique was used to compare the relative position of both HB and NHB workers in the light of various socio-psychological factors as part of the qualitative method. The study reveals that HB workers were engaged in different types of HBWs as primary occupation aimed to secure their livelihoods. It was also found that they earned a significant portion of their total household income from HBWs. The key potentials of HBWs were found embedded in their greater ability to retrieve the old family values, emotional attachment, and psychological bond between the parents and children than those of NHB workers. The study showed that except the economic conditions, HB workers were found in higher ranking of leading much better life socially and psychologically than NHB workers irrespective of their dwelling area both from user’s and researcher’s perspectives. Even, the HB workers were also found in a better position in terms of social capital, security, and norms and values, livelihoods, children’s life in better environment, women’s empowerment, low gender discrimination scenario etc. These findings underscore the crucial relevance social architecture in reducing urban poverty and increasing well-being in developing countries. It is expected that the findings of the study will be highly useful for policymakers, planners, civil society organizations, academic researchers, and other supportive individuals and organizations to undertake poverty reduction and improve human well-being in exploding Third World cities like Dhaka.