Non-Standard Employment and Perceptions of Job Characteristics and Labour Market Situation: An Intra-Nordic Comparison

Abstract

This chapter deals with temporary and part-time work in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. After reviewing the relevant literature, I will empirically test the hypothesis that these forms of non-standard employment (NSE) are increasing in the Western capitalist world, including the Nordic countries. Using data from national labour force surveys as presented by Eurostat, I will describe the development of part-time and temporary work in the Nordic area since the late 1990s. Subsequently, I will study how people in NSE perceive various aspects of their jobs and their labour market situation. This analysis is based on data from the European Social Survey (ESS) collected in 2010. Four topics are scrutinized with regard to job characteristics: whether respondents experience variety in their work, whether they think that their job necessitates learning new things, whether they can choose when to start and finish work, and whether they feel that the job demands very hard work. Concerning the labour market dimension, I focus on three issues: whether respondents consider their job secure, how they judge their opportunities for advancement in the workplace and how easy it would be to find another, similar or better job elsewhere. Throughout the chapter I look for cross-national similarities and dissimilarities. The Nordic countries are fairly similar in terms of welfare state arrangements and labour market institutions, at least in comparison with other countries (Andersen et al., 2007).