Changing Attitudes toward Worksharing: Evidence from Quebec

Abstract

This paper evaluates five recent experiences of worksharing in Quebec since 1994: Bell Canada, Alcan, Scott Paper, Sico, and the Ministere de l'environnement et de la faune. Based on survey evidence showing that desired work hours tend to approximate actual work hours, previous studies have raised doubts about the likelihood of successful worksharing initiatives. However, in the cases we have studied, participation rates in voluntary worksharing programs were high, especially where workers' sacrifice (lost wages) was not great and where workers had privious experience with reduced and flexible worktime. Worksharing initiatives were less successful when they were mandatory. The programs studied point to the importance of labour-supply responses in policy design. Governments have a role to play in designing policy that makes worksharing more attractive to workers and then changes their attitudes toward it. Our findings are consistent with the recommendations of the federal government's Advisory Group on Working Time.