Changes In Employment Relations Research Articles

Urbanization and vulnerable employment: Empirical evidence from 163 countries in 1991–2019

Many urban residents have recently lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has made employment vulnerability in cities attained attention. It is thus important to explore the relationship between urbanization and employment. This study quantitatively analyzes spatiotemporal evolution and data correlation of urbanization and vulnerable employment, and explores the role urbanization plays in vulnerable employment by using historical data on 163 countries in the period 1991–2019 to test the theoretical hypothesis. The results show: It's clearly observed that there is a high correlation between the rate of urbanization and that of vulnerable employment, and the examples of G7 and BRICs are for it. The estimated urbanization yields a negative and statistically significant regression coefficient (−0.168), indicating that urbanization has a negative effect on vulnerable employment. If the urbanization rate increased by 1 %, the rate of vulnerable employment decreased by 0.168 %. The rural–urban sector conversion and changes in employment relationship driven by urbanization account for this. Countries with different income groups or populations have reacted differently to the rise in urbanization. Vulnerable employment in higher-income countries has been more significantly affected by the rise in urbanization, and more populous countries are more sensitive to it as well. These findings provide evidence for how urbanization promotes employment and decent work.

Remembering and Honoring the Life of Professor Bobby M. Wilson

Remembering and Honoring the Life of Professor Bobby M. Wilson Gerald R. Webster (bio) I want to thank Alex Andre Moulton and Derek H. Alderman for organizing the 2021 session to honor Bobby M. Wilson, a friend and former colleague, at the annual SEDAAG conference in Florence, Alabama. Also, thanks to Selima Sultana and Paul Knapp, editors of Southeastern Geographer, for their support to have the session’s commentaries published. Though very accomplished, Bobby was also quite humble and I suspect he would be both surprised and touched by these efforts to honor his life and legacy. I first became aware of Bobby in the early 1980s when I started my Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky, joined SEDAAG, and began receiving Southeastern Geographer. Bobby was a regular contributor having published six articles in the journal including a contribution to a special issue on the “Political Geography of the South” which I guest edited in 2007. Topically, Bobby focused on issues of race, politics, capitalist development, and planning, most particularly as they pertain to Birmingham, Alabama and the South generally. Given our overlapping interests I made an effort to regularly read his publications. As a junior academic I interacted with Bobby at both SEDAAG and AAG meetings in the 1980s. That interaction greatly increased when I took a job at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1989, with Bobby only 60 miles up the freeway at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The move to Tuscaloosa led my work to increasingly focus on southern electoral politics with a particular emphasis on Alabama, making Bobby’s work evermore relevant to my own interests. A couple years after I arrived in Tuscaloosa I came across Bobby’s 1992 article in Antipode entitled “Structural Imperatives Behind Racial Change in Birmingham, Alabama.” I found the article fascinating, thoughtfully structured, and tightly argued. As a result, I began attending sessions at professional meetings specifically because Bobby was a presenter. In 2001, I became departmental chair at Alabama and decided to lobby my dean to consider hiring Bobby for a position in Tuscaloosa. While such a move would clearly be of personal benefit to me, I also believed that Bobby would greatly add to the department’s limited social science and planning expertise. I purchased Bobby’s two recently published books on Birmingham to share them with my dean who reacted very enthusiastically. As a result, we were able to entice Bobby to move his office from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa in the fall of 2002. It was great having Bobby in Tuscaloosa given our overlapping interests and his ability to contribute to the department’s programs. Bobby had great breadth and depth in his [End Page 207] knowledge of the diverse literature relevant to his work, as a perusal of some of his article bibliographies will underscore. A majority of Bobby’s work focused on Birmingham, but not only due to his position at UAB. When the city of Birmingham was incorporated in 1871, its African American population was minuscule, but grew dramatically as Black folks moved from the state’s agricultural areas to take jobs in developing industries including steel. As a result, Bobby’s focus on Birmingham allowed him to study how race, racial relations, and changing employment relationships between Blacks and Whites were initially structured and how they were modified through time due to structural economic changes. While chair at Alabama I made a point of having impromptu drop-by visits with faculty members in their offices on a regular basis to keep abreast of their needs and projects. Most of these visits were only ten to fifteen minutes given faculty workloads and schedules. After Bobby joined the department I quickly learned to drop in on him last because our chats typically went on an hour or more on a long list of topics including the history and development of geography as a discipline, the role of race in southern politics, residential segregation, and the transformation of electoral politics in the South including the rise of the GOP, among other topics. At the time he was working on a new book focused on the role of economic change in the structural...

Changing Stability in U.S. Employment Relationships

We confront two seemingly-contradictory observations about the US labor market: the rate at which workers change employers has declined since the 1980s, yet there is a commonly expressed view that long-term employment relationships are more difficult to attain. We reconcile these observations by examining how the distribution of employment tenure has changed in aggregate and for various demographic groups. We show that the fraction of workers with short tenure (less than a year) has been falling since the 1980s, consistent with the decline in job changing. Meanwhile, the fraction of workers with long tenure (20 years or more) has been rising modestly owing to an increase in long tenure for women and the ageing of the population. Long tenure has declined markedly among older men; this trend may have spurred popular perceptions that long-term employment is less common than in the past. The decline in long-tenure for men appears due to an increase in mid-career separations that reduce the likelihood of reaching long-tenure, rather than an increase in late-career separations. Nevertheless, survey evidence indicates that these changes in employment relationships are not associated with heightened concerns about job insecurity or decreases in job satisfaction as reported by workers. The decline in short-tenure is widespread, associated with fewer workers cycling among briefly-held jobs, and coincides with an increase in perceived job security among short tenure workers.

Contract Labor and the Limits to Worker Representation: The Case of Hyundai Automobile Plants

The employment status of contract workers is generally characterized by precarious work and limited workers’ rights. Based on a case study of Hyundai automobile plants, this article demonstrates contradictions inherent in in-house contracting practices, which involve the deployment of contract workers alongside user firm employees. The use of contract workers has not only carried with it considerable changes in employment relationships, but also has great potential to undermine the rights of workers. Worker representation constitutes an important part of the changes in the workplace. By revealing structural constraints faced by contract workers in attempts to advance their interests in the user firm complex, the present study addresses the ‘representation gap’ between regular and contract workers and the associated problems. The findings of the study also shed light on tensions associated with the diversity of interests among workplace actors with respect to the union participation and representation of contract workers.

The impact of job content on employability and job performance in public organizations

PurposeThe increased expectations regarding job performance accompanied by changes in employment relationships in public organizations require special concern for the employability enhancement of their workers. Literature on the subject points out the importance of job content in the context of employability enhancement. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following question: what are the relationships between job variety, the learning value of the job, employability and job performance?Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents the results of a survey which was carried out in 2016. The sample consisted of 566 pairs, i.e. employees and their immediate supervisors in 147 public organizations which provide key public services in Poland. A model of the relationships between job variety, the learning value of the job, employability and job performance was proposed and tested using path analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsIt was found that both job variety and the learning value of the job were positively connected to employability, which mediated their relationships with job performance. However, the analysis revealed that the examined predictors not only affected employee work outcomes indirectly, through their impact on employability, but also directly influenced the quality of job performance.Originality/valueThe study has provided empirical evidence regarding the relationships between job content, employability and job performance, which was hitherto absent from public organizations. An original conclusion from the research is that employability enhancement brings positive results for both employees and organizations.

After the social crisis: the transformation of employment relations at France Télécom

Abstract This article contributes to debates on the conditions for strengthening collective worker voice in financialized organizations. It examines change in employment relations at France Télécom/Orange (FT) following a social crisis associated with employee suicides in 2007–2009. FT’s labor unions developed creative approaches to study and publicize the negative effects of employment restructuring on workers’ psychosocial health. The common framing they developed became a source of ‘communicative power’, used to influence how the suicides were interpreted both within the firm and in the media. This power was deployed to encourage substantive social dialogue that institutionalized worker participation in management decision-making. Findings demonstrate the potentially transformative role of discursive strategies that assert the legitimacy of worker well-being as both a measure of and input to organizational performance.

Changing Stability in U.S. Employment Relationships: A Tale of Two Tails

We confront two seemingly-contradictory observations about the US labor market: the rate at which workers change employers has declined since the 1980s, yet there is a commonly expressed view that long-term employment relationships are more difficult to attain. We reconcile these observations by examining how the distribution of employment tenure has changed in aggregate and for various demographic groups. We show that the fraction of workers with short tenure (less than a year) has been falling since the 1980s, consistent with the decline in job changing. Meanwhile, the fraction of workers with long tenure (20 years or more) has been rising modestly owing to an increase in long tenure for women and the ageing of the population. Long tenure has declined markedly among older men; this trend may have spurred popular perceptions that long-term employment is less common than in the past. The decline in long-tenure for men appears due to an increase in mid-career separations that reduce the likelihood of reaching long-tenure, rather than an increase in late-career separations. Nevertheless, survey evidence indicates that these changes in employment relationships are not associated with heightened concerns about job insecurity or decreases in job satisfaction as reported by workers. The decline in short-tenure is widespread, associated with fewer workers cycling among briefly-held jobs, and coincides with an increase in perceived job security among short tenure workers.

The impacts of corporatisation of healthcare on medical practice and professionals in Maharashtra, India

A heterogeneous private sector dominates healthcare provision in many middle-income countries. In India, the contemporary period has seen this sector undergo corporatisation processes characterised by emergence of large private hospitals...

Need for a new workplace safety and health (WSH) strategy for the fourth Industrial Revolution.

We are on the cusp of the fourth Industrial Revolution which promises to revolutionize the way we live and work. Throughout history, as society and technology progress, so too have our workplace safety and health (WSH) strategies in regard to better knowledge and enhanced regulation. In this paper, we argue for a new WSH 4.0 strategy which requires us to adopt an adaptive and highly responsive approach to promote Total Worker Health in the face of rapid technological advancements and changes in employment relationships. To do so, we propose a multi-pronged strategy comprising (i) adaptive WSH solutions in regard to surveillance, risk assessment, and control measures leveraging on new technologies; (ii) effective multi-stakeholder dialogues for collaborative and sustainable solutions; (iii) an anticipatory WSH governance framework based upon shared values and cooperative responsibility; and (iv) professional development among WSH practitioners. This new WSH 4.0 strategy will enable WSH professionals to remain effective in this coming Industrial Revolution.

Taking the Leadership Role: Understanding Leadership Across Team and Organizational Boundaries in View of the Changing Employment Relationship

Contemporary knowledge workers cooperate more and more in multiple, temporary, and often virtual teams with peers within and across organizational boundaries. The growing involvement of multiple actors inside and outside organizations has severe implications for how the employment relationship is managed. In the current article it is argued that leadership is becoming not only increasingly distributed but also diffuse. Leadership is no longer “what those in leadership positions do,” but refers to a process by which one or more actors stimulate themselves and each other in order to pursue values, goals, and objectives. Whoever takes on a leadership role, needs to understand the way actors can be motivated and energized to address future needs and requirements in organizations. Building on insights from human resource management, leadership, and organizational behavior literature, how multiple actors are stimulated to take on their leadership roles in order to foster salient outcomes for multiple parties is explored in the current article.

Rethinking Industrial Relations: Appraisal, application and augmentation

This extended introduction to the special issue on John Kelly’s Rethinking Industrial Relations comprises three sections. First, reflections on the changes in employment relations and the way employment relations have been studied since Rethinking Industrial Relations was published in 1998. Second, a critical reading of the initial reviews and reception to Rethinking Industrial Relations. And, third, a commentary on the articles in this special issue in terms of the significance of their contributions and their inter-linkages. The introduction ends by suggesting a revised and updated edition of Rethinking Industrial Relations would make a further very welcome and substantial contribution to the understanding of contemporary employment relations.

Grey zones and triangulation of the employment relationship in globalisation

This article discusses the changes in employment relationships under globalisation and, more specifically, the phenomenon of triangulation and the attendant proliferation of employment grey zones. The first section sets out a framework for analysis of the conditions governing the organisation and exercise of power by employers in such situations by reviewing two types of relationship: an agency relationship and a relationship of intervention. Drawing on fieldwork and a number of case studies, the second part examines how human resources managers in large corporations use their powers of discretion in these situations. The third part analyses this particular form of regulation with regard to the nature of the subordinate relationship of employees to their employers. We show that the existence of employment grey zones reflects not so much a watering down of that subordinate relationship as a shift towards new values and new means of expression.

How multi-optional experts maintain and enhance their employability

How do freelancers and workers with frequently changing employment relationships top up their know-how and make themselves more employable? Highly skilled experts with multiple employment options must stay ahead of the game as they move from one job to market themselves for the next one. This article analyses how multi-optional experts improve their employability. It is based on a qualitative study of 17 multi-optional experts in knowledge-intensive industries such as information technology (IT), the media and consultancy as flexible employment is increasing and employability is critical in these highly dynamic fields. The study shows that multi-optional experts maintain and enhance their employability with various, mainly informal and self-organised learning methods. It identifies four types of worker – Flexible Adapter, Flexible Independent, Permalancer and Independent Freelancer – whose vocational development includes reactive, organisation-focused, active and self-focused strategies. In order to contribute to a better understanding of multi-optional experts’ employability this article focuses on their strategies, particularly on how they select and combine learning methods, and examines their motives to enhance their further development.

Supply Chain Liability: Pushing the Boundaries of the Common Law?

AbstractOn 29 August 2016, in a claim by Pakistani survivors and legal heirs against German retailer KiK for injuries and deaths during a fire at a factory supplying jeans in Karachi, German judges accepted jurisdiction and granted legal aid to the Pakistani claimants to cover the legal fees. The case pending before the German court thus poses the question of supply chain liability. Taking the lawsuit by the Pakistani plaintiffs against KiK in Germany as a case study, this article provides an analysis of the available legal grounds for such liability. Economic changes have ushered in linkages between purchasers and suppliers that call for strong principles of liability – principles that are already embedded in the law but which need fresh articulation and application. English courts have only recently recognised that under certain circumstances, liability might attach to a parent company under the tort of negligence for damage to third parties ostensibly caused by its subsidiary. The KiK case is testing the extension of such liability to certain supply chain relationships. Beyond that, the case is also testing the application of the rules on non-delegable duties and vicarious liability in the supply chain context. Even if the court disagrees with the claimants’ position, the novel arguments advanced in this case are likely to be the starting point for an important debate about the proper fit between traditional tort law and the fast changing commercial and employment relationships of the 21st century.

STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE IN A VESSEL - REFLECTIONS ON THE CREW BEHAVIOR AND SAFETY

With the increasing number of organizations in the XXI century and against a background of rapid changes arising from the globalization process which affect the organizations as a whole, there have been changes in employment relationships, habits and even in the very culture of the organization, triggering conflicts between leaders and their employees. Within the labor world, every profession has its own characteristics and peculiarities which deserve special attention, as is the case of professionals working in the Fluvial Merchant Marine. They work on board vessels, in confined spaces, in some cases for several days consecutively, in a total isolated environment where rest itself occurs in the workspace without family or social life. This makes the vessel an atypical place to work which may generate interference with the right organizational climate. The purpose of this paper is to verify the threats and the opportunities of the organizational atmosphere in which the crew of a vessel are inserted, analyzing the well-being and the safety of officers on board. This study was carried out by means of the results obtained from a questionnaire applied to the river sailors and its comparison with the organizational climate seen in situ.

Location, location, location: Contextualizing workplace commitment

SummaryThe purpose of the present commentary is to discuss the nature and correlates of workplace commitment across cultures. We asked six organizational behavior scholars, who are intimately familiar with Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, or Israel as their country of origin or extended residence, to “contextualize” workplace commitment. They did so by explicating institutional and cultural characteristics of their context on the emergence, meaning, and evolution of commitment by reference to their own research and extant local research. Their responses not only supported the utility of three‐component model of commitment but also revealed the differential salience of various commitment constructs (e.g., components and foci of commitment) as well as possible contextual moderators on the development and outcomes of commitment. The commentators also described changes including the growing prevalence of multicultural workforces within national borders and changes in employment relationships and cultural values in their national contexts and considered future research directions in culture and commitment research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contingent Work Rising: Implications for the Timing of Marriage in Japan

Employment has become increasingly precarious in developed countries, meaning that, for many young adults, jobs provide neither benefits nor security, more work is part time, and employers are increasingly hiring workers from temporary help agencies and contract companies rather than as employees of their own company. These changes in employment relations have profound effects on gender roles and on family transitions of young adults, especially young men and in particular in countries such as Japan, where there are rigid family norms and the male-breadwinner tradition still prevails. The authors examined the effects of the experience of non-regular work on the timing of marriage and whether this differs by sex. Using recent life history data from Japan, they found that men working in non-regular jobs are especially likely to postpone marriage. The implications of the growth of precarious work for changes in work and family institutions in Japan are discussed.

The Political Economy of Borders in a 'Borderless' European Labour Market

AbstractThe reconfiguration of political space lies at the heart of the European project and is the subject of manifold studies on the new shape of the European Union, but relatively little attention has been paid to the ways in which borders are de‐ and reconstructed in a pan‐European labour market. In a pan‐European labour market, state borders shift. Postings made via subcontractors and agencies providing temporary workers also rearrange the borders of the firm. However, we know very little about how these bordering practices interact within the pan‐European labour market. This study argues that while borders have become porous, their porousness is one‐directional, in the sense that it is in favour of capital but impacts negatively on labour rights. In developing a framework for understanding the relationship between changes in sovereign borders and changes in employment relations in the EU, this article integrates insights from international relations, political economy and border research.

Final Year University Students’ Beliefs about Future Employment Relationships

Psychological contract is important construct to understand continuing changes in employment relationships. In that way, anticipatory psychological contract (APC) presents valuable framework to understand graduate students’ beliefs about future employment relationships. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to examine ACP content, i.e. beliefs about employee contributions and employer inducements in the employment relationship. The sample consisted of 271 final year university students form Macedonia and from Serbia enrolled following study programs: psychology and medicine philology/literature and technology and informatics. Questionnaire with 48 statements was administered to measure ACP content. Two-way ANOVA and loglinear analysis were conducted for data analyzing. It was found that students preparing for various occupations from two countries significantly differ in the expressed beliefs about their contributions in the future employment relationship and in their belief about employer inducements in that relationship. In general, surveyed students reported stronger beliefs about employer inducements than about their contributions at work.

Mentoring Culture as Employees’ Career Success Factor in Polish Organizations

Changes in employment relationships and the spread of flexible forms of employment call for the search for such methods of employee development that would better fit the needs of both employees and Polish organizations in a turbulent environment. Studies of litera‑ ture on the subject point out the importance of mentoring culture for the development of employees’ competences and their career success. This paper tries to answer the question: in what way creating the culture of mentoring can contribute to employee objective and subjective career success in organizations? This goal will be achieved by presenting the results of a survey research carried out in 155 organizations operating in southern Poland. Generally, the findings suggest that mentoring culture is positively related to subjective success but it is not connected with objective success of employees.