Documents Gallie, Duncan 25 results

"Drawing on nationally representative data for British employees, the article argues for a more comprehensive concept of job insecurity, including not only job tenure insecurity but also job status insecurity, relating to anxiety about changes to valued features of the job. It shows that job status insecurity is highly prevalent in the workforce and is associated with different individual, employment and labour market characteristics than those that affect insecurity about job loss. It is also related to different organizational contexts. However, the article also shows that the existence of effective mechanisms of employee participation can reduce both types of job insecurity."

"This report explores the opportunities open to employees in workplaces across Europe to participate in decision-making, either in the context of their job or in relation to wider organisational issues affecting their work. Employee involvement is a key component of work organisation, relating to other dimensions such as physical working conditions and work intensity. Two dimensions of employee involvement are covered: task discretion – or the influence that employees can exercise over their immediate work tasks – and organisational participation – or the influence that employees have over work organisation. While in the EU27 as a whole there are limited opportunities for employees to participate in decision-making, the findings point to the clear benefits for employees in working in organisations that give greater scope for their involvement. Crucially, employee involvement has been shown to have a positive effect on employee motivation and psychological wellbeing, critical elements in fostering enhanced work performance and company productivity."

"The quality of working life has been central to the sociological agenda for several decades, and has also been increasingly salient as a policy issue, and for companies. This book breaks new ground in the study of the quality of work by providing the first rigorous comparative assessment of the way it has been affected by the economic crisis. It examines the implications of the crisis on developments in skills and training, employees' control over their jobs, and the pressure of work and job security. It also assesses how changing experiences at work affect people's lives outside of work: the risks of work-life conflict, the motivation to work, personal well-being, and attitudes towards society. The book draws on a rich new source of evidence--the European Social Survey-to provide a comparative view over the period 2004 to 2010. The survey provides evidence for countries across the different regions of Europe and allows for a detailed assessment of the view that institutional differences between European societies--in terms of styles of management, social partnership practices, and government policies--lead to very different levels of work quality and different experiences of the crisis. This comparative aspect will thus forward our understanding of how institutional differences between European societies affect work experiences and their implications for non-work life."

"A trent'anni dall'uscita del numero monografico Qualità della vita e qualità del lavoro (n. 17-18, 1982-83) la rivista propone un fascicolo interamente dedicato alla qualità del lavoro e della vita lavorativa. Più volte negli ultimi anni sono stati affrontati i cambiamenti delle condizioni lavorative, ma in questo caso si è voluto dedicare uno spazio alla riflessione su questo tema, per cogliere da più prospettive le tendenze di cambiamento alla luce delle trasformazioni avvenute e in atto. Il volume presenta quindi una prima parte centrata prevalentemente su quadri teorico-concettuali e metodologici che consentono di delineare un profilo complesso e multidimensionale della qualità del lavoro e della vita lavorativa. La seconda parte dedica ampio spazio ad analisi che riguardano diversi paesi, e, oltre a far conoscere realtà lavorative differenti, consente di mettere a confronto scelte metodologiche operate in contesti diversi. In una fase in cui si discute di lavoro, il dibattito esprime maggiore attenzione per la crescita della quantità dei posti di lavoro, raramente invece affronta il tema della qualità del lavoro e della vita lavorativa, esistente e da creare. È quindi quanto mai necessario rendere operativo il concetto di decent work, soprattutto in una fase in cui i nuovi modelli organizzativi chiedono alle persone di attivarsi e di dare ampia disponibilità. "

"The value that employees attach to the intrinsic aspects of work is important for whether or not job quality issues should have a central place on the social agenda. This article examines whether the importance that British employees attach to intrinsic job quality changed between 1992 and 2006. It uses two nationally representative surveys of employees. It finds no evidence to support the view that there has been a shift towards instrumental job preferences. On the contrary, it shows that intrinsic job preferences rose over the period. The growth in importance of intrinsic orientations is associated with rising levels of education and parental encouragement in education, the improvement of people's jobs with respect to skill, learning opportunities and employee involvement and higher incomes and security."

"There has been a sharp divergence in the literature about the benefits of teamwork. Some have claimed that it is solely in the interests of management, others that it is beneficial for employees and yet others that it makes little difference to either productivity or well-being. This article draws upon the British Skills Survey Series. It shows that while teamwork did expand between the early 1990s and 2006, this was due primarily to the growth of the type of teamwork that allowed employees little in the way of decision-making power. Indeed, there was a decrease in the prevalence of self-directive teamwork. At the same time, our evidence shows that the benefits of teamwork, in terms of both enhancing work motivation and employee welfare, are confined to self-directive teams, while non-self-directive teams suppress the use of personal initiative and discretion at work."

"Task discretion has held a central place in theories of work organization and the employment relationship. However, there have been sharply differing views about both the factors that determine it and the principal trends over time. Using evidence from three national surveys, this article shows that there has been a decline in task discretion since the early 1990s. This contrasts with an increase in other forms of employee involvement such as direct participation and consultative involvement. Many of the arguments in the literature about the factors that favour higher task discretion are supported by our evidence - in particular those emphasizing the importance of skill levels and the broader organizational ethos with respect to employee involvement. However, such factors do not account for the decline in task discretion, implying that existing theories fail to address some of the crucial determinants. It is tentatively suggested that it may be necessary also to take account of macro factors such as competitive pressure, public sector reform programmes and the growth of accountability structures."