Prof. Dr. Jana Costas awarded Kurt Rothschild Prize for ethnography on cleaning staff

Bringing economic issues to the forefront and addressing social challenges are the hallmarks of the Karl Renner Institute’s Kurt Rothschild Prize winners. This year’s honorees include organization scholar Prof. Dr. Jana Costas, recognized for her work, Im Minusbereich: Reinigungskräfte und ihr Kampf um Würde (English edition: Dramas of Dignity). Costas received the award on October 21 at a formal ceremony in Vienna.

Im Minusbereich is the product of Costas’ ethnographic research on cleaning staff at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. Through her study, she explores the daily lives of these workers, shedding light on their ongoing fight for recognition, visibility, and dignity. Her research reveals a sharp contrast between the stigmatized public perception of cleaning staff and their own sense of identity.

Honoring the legacy of Jewish economist Kurt Rothschild

The Kurt Rothschild Prize was presented to the Professor of People, Work and Management by Doris Bures. In her congratulatory remarks, Austria’s Second President of the National Council commended Costas’ focus on a field that is familiar to many yet often overlooked.

The prize is awarded annually by the Karl Renner Institute and the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) Parliamentary Club. Named after Austrian economist Kurt Rothschild, the award celebrates research projects from the field of economics and business that make a lasting impact on academia, politics, and society in Austria. This year, a 12-member jury of scholars and public figures selected five recipients in total.

Im Minus-Bereich: Reinigungskräfte und ihr Kampf um Würde was published by Suhrkamp Verlag in 2023. The English edition, Dramas of Dignity: Cleaners in the Corporate Underworld of Berlin, was released by Cambridge University Press in 2022.