Documents Grunau, Philipp 5 results

"This study investigates the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on actual weekly working hours using the second wave of the German Linked Personnel Panel, a unique employer-employee dataset. ICT usage is widespread among employees in the private sector. Half of the establishments equip all managerial employees with mobile devices. We confirm the findings of previous studies that show a positive correlation between ICT usage and working times. Employees work approximately 30 minutes longer per week if they use modern digital technologies for work. Furthermore, our multivariate analyses reveal that this correlation is especially strong for managers and in establishments that equip all of their employees in leading positions with mobile devices."

"This study examines the potential impact of works councils and unions on the deployment of fixed-term contracts and agency temps. We report inter al. that works councils are associated with a higher number of temporary agency workers when demand volatility is high while the opposite holds for fixed-term contracts. These disparities likely reflect differences in function, with agency work being more directed toward the protection of a shrinking core and fixed-term contacts being as much a port of entry as a buffer stock. We are also able to identify the number of new hires with a fixed-term contract as well as the number of FTC conversions (into regular employment) and renewals, the correlates of which flows are broadly consistent with the stock data."

"Using subjective information provided by manager respondents on the stance taken by the works council in company decision making, this paper investigates the association between a measure of works council dissonance or disaffection and plant closings in Germany, 2006-2015. The potential effects of worker representation on plant survivability have been little examined in the firm performance literature because of inadequate information on plant closings on the one hand and having to assume homogeneity of what are undoubtedly heterogeneous worker representation agencies on the other. Our use of two datasets serves to identify failed establishments, while the critical issue of heterogeneity is tackled via manager perceptions of works council disaffection or otherwise. The heterogeneity issue is also addressed by considering the wider collective bargaining framework within which works councils are embedded, and also by allowing for works council learning. It is reported that works council dissonance is positively associated with plant closings, although this association is not found for establishments that are covered by sectoral agreements. Taken in conjunction, both findings are consistent with the literature on the mitigation of rent seeking behavior. Less consistent with the recent empirical literature, however, is the association between plant closings and dissonance over time, that is, from the point at which works council dissonance is first observed. Although the coefficient estimate for dissonance is declining with the length of the observation window, it remains stubbornly positive and highly statistically significant. Finally, there is evidence that establishments with dissonant works councils are associated with a much higher probability of transitioning from no collective bargaining to sectoral bargaining coverage over the sample period than their counterparts with more consensual works councils."

"Die Präsenzkultur weicht dem Social Distancing in vielen deutschen Unternehmen. Die Corona-Krise zeigt, wie gut Homeoffice in Deutschland funktionieren kann, aber auch wo es Nachholbedarf geben könnte. Bisher wurde in fast allen Unternehmen der Privatwirtschaft das Potenzial für Beschäftigte, im Homeoffice zu arbeiten, noch nicht voll genutzt. Insbesondere in administrativen Berufen, IT und Naturwissenschaft, aber auch im Handel schlummerte noch Potenzial. Zu diesen Ergebnissen kommt eine Kurzexpertise des ZEW Mannheim gemeinsam mit dem Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB)."

"Als Reaktion auf den Ausbruch der Covid-19-Pandemie im Frühjahr 2020 verlagerte sich die Arbeit für viele Erwerbstätige – erstmalig oder verstärkt – ins Homeoffice. Zwei aktuelle Onlinebefragungen des IAB zeigen, in welchem Ausmaß sich die Homeoffice-Nutzung in Deutschland seit der Pandemie verändert hat, welche Hindernisse dabei abgebaut wurden und wie sich Beschäftigte die eigene Homeoffice-Nutzung in der Zukunft vorstellen. Zu Beginn der Pandemie arbeiteten 81 Prozent der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten, die nach eigener Einschätzung die Möglichkeit dazu hatten, ganz oder teilweise von zu Hause. Die große Mehrheit der Homeoffice-Nutzenden ist mit dessen aktuellem Umfang zufrieden, rund 60'Prozent nehmen Homeoffice als hilfreich und als wenig oder nicht belastend wahr und die meisten Beschäftigten im Homeoffice empfinden ihre Arbeit als effizienter als vor der Pandemie. Nur wenige wünschen sich für die Zeit nach der Pandemie eine komplette Rückkehr zum Präsenzbetrieb."