Employment Choices Research Articles

Job Polarisation: The Change of Nature of Task and Skill Needs

Job polarisation is the growth of high- and low-skilled employment relative to middle-skilled employment, typically in developed countries. Based on Khazanah Research Institute’s (KRI) descriptive study in 2017, Malaysia’s workforce experienced job polarisation over the last two decades. This study uses a different approach, i.e. multinomial logistic regression, to measure the probability of employment choice by different job categories to validate the presence of job polarisation in Malaysia. Unlike past research that used headcounts based on wage quantiles, this paper considers the individual and sectoral effects. This study confirms the job polarisation finding of KRI (2017) by comparing Malaysia’s employment structure between 2011 and 2017. Technology changes the methods and skills required to perform the same tasks. Besides, the adoption of technology depends on the firm’s or industry’s foresight of how technology may change the productivity of the worker. If the investment cost of a technology is greater than the training cost, firms may not adopt the technology. If an industry has the foresight of how technology may change the performance of tasks, and recruit workers in tandem with upskilling programmes, the phenomenon of job polarisation will fade out eventually.

Changes in employment psychology of Chinese university students during the two stages of COVID-19 control and their impacts on their employment intentions

IntroductionThe employment psychology and issues being faced by university students have garnered significant attention after the COVID-19 outbreak.MethodsFocusing on Chinese university students, this study compares the changes in their employment psychology between the initial and normalization stages of COVID-19 prevention and control in China and examines their employment choices during the normalization stage. This study also investigates how the transformed employment psychology of these students influences their employment intentions.Results(1) Chinese university students exhibit stronger feelings of employment confusion, anxiety, stability preference, uneasiness, and inferiority during the normalization stage compared with the initial stage, thus leading to a more negative employment psychology; (2) during the normalization stage, university students display a more pessimistic outlook on their employment situation and show their preference for direct employment, particularly in public institutions, state-owned enterprises, and government organizations. They also show a greater interest in working in first-tier cities than in their hometowns; (3) the employment psychology of these students in the post-pandemic period significantly influences their employment intentions, with employment stability preference psychology playing a crucial role; and (4) the employment stability preference psychology positively and significantly affects the employment intentions of junior college students. Conversely, this employment stability preference psychology has a negative effect on the employment intentions of academic master’s and doctoral students. This paper also proposes some strategies to enhance the employment psychology of university students and improve their quality of employment at various levels, including government, school, enterprise, family, and individual.

Gender inequality in Chinese Civil Service System: Dilemma Faced by the Female in the VUCA world

The role and socio-economic status of women in the public/private sphere are deeply influenced by a country’s historical, political, economic, and social policy development. In today’s VUCA era, the pattern of gender inequality still highlights women’s disadvantages in education, employment, social security treatment, and political participation. In such a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous era, Asian women prefer the relative stability and security of the civil service in their employment choices. Still, they are often disadvantaged in the workplace due to gender discrimination. Despite the measures taken by the Chinese government, the important goal of achieving social equality between men and women has remained an unfinished political agenda due to the lack of a holistic redistributive mechanism that promotes gender equality. In the future, the awakening of women themselves and the development of gender mainstreaming strategies and social policies will have a profound impact on the realization of gender equality in China.

Diverse Paths and Challenges of Employment Choices for College Graduates under the Rural Revitalization Strategy

This research focuses on the employment choice issues of college graduates under the background of the rural revitalization strategy. With the in-depth implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the rural demand for talents is growing, while college graduates are facing employment pressure in cities. The rural revitalization strategy has rich connotations, and talents play a key role in it. The employment of college graduates shows characteristics such as a cold supply and hot demand, and seeking stability in job hunting. Urban-rural differences have a significant impact on their employment. Personal, family, and social factors affect the rural employment choices of college graduates. Under rural revitalization, college graduates can return to their hometowns to serve as village cadres, rural teachers, or start businesses, but they also face challenges such as insufficient demand for jobs, constraints of public opinion, and backward infrastructure. To promote the rural employment of college graduates, the government should strengthen policy guidance and provide support for employment and entrepreneurship; improve the education and training system to enhance the employment ability of graduates; strengthen the construction of social service systems and improve the rural living environment. Future research can focus on the relationship between rural industrial development and the employment of college graduates, the psychology of graduates in rural employment, diversified rural employment models, and the interaction between rural cultural construction and employment.

Human Resource Management 4.0 - Empowerment from a Holistic Perspective

The aim of this work is to examine the communication behaviour of Generation Z in a professional context and to identify their specific wishes regarding the behaviour of superiors. In addition, success factors of contemporary Human Resource Management 4.0 (HRM 4.0) are identified. A further goal of this paper is to demonstrate companies and superiors how they can meet the needs of Generation Z, in order to position themselves as good leaders and as an attractive employer in order to maintain the company's performance in the long term. The most important results of this study show that appreciative leadership behaviour creates trust between employees and superiors. This optimizes Generation Z's communication behaviour towards superiors. Furthermore, for Generation Z, an appreciative management culture that is committed to the well-being of employees is crucial for their choice of employer, their work productivity, their employee loyalty and their fluctuation behaviour. In consequence, it is essential for companies to consider the demands of Generation Z in order to remain competitive.

Sustainability Orientation of Generation Z and Its Role in Their Choice of Employer—A Comparative Qualitative Inquiry of India and United States

This article critically analyses and compares the sustainability orientation of Generation Z in India and the United States and examines its role in their employer selection, using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Our qualitative study employs the Narrative Inquiry method and includes 30 participants—15 from India and 15 from the United States—aged between 19 and 26 years, who are either currently employed or preparing to enter the workforce within the next few years. Data were collected through in-depth interviews. The findings of our research show that subjective norms and contextual realities can play a significant role in shaping Generation Z’s personal attitudes towards sustainability and their perceived behavioural control in making important life decisions, such as choosing an employer. These findings contribute significantly to the literature on Generation Z’s sustainability orientation and bear important implications for the higher education sector and employers.

Research on the Education of Career Outlook for College Students in the New Era under the Guidance of Socialist Core Values

Employment has always been a major issue for livelihood. The overall employment situation in China is still severe, especially for college students who have many confusions and misconceptions about employment choices. Career education is not fully adapted to the needs of college students and needs to be addressed through various measures. In the new era, it is even more necessary to integrate the core values of socialism into the career education of college students, so that it can meet the needs of national development, social development, and college student development. This article first points out the necessity and role of socialist core values leading the education of career choices for college students in the new era, and then emphasizes the main content of socialist core values leading the education of career choices in the new era and the need to handle four pairs of relationships well. Finally, it proposes practical measures for the education of career choices in the new era under the guidance of socialist core values.

Employment Decisions of Newly Graduated Occupational Therapists.

Introduction. Employment decision-making is essential for understanding workforce trends. Current occupational therapy workforce research describes distribution disparities of occupational therapists within geographic locations, services such as acute care or community health, and private or public sectors. New graduates of occupational therapy programs are critical to meeting the demand and distribution disparities of occupational therapy services in British Columbia. However, recent employment decision-making of new occupational therapy graduates has not been well studied. Purpose. This study aimed to examine factors that influence newly graduated occupational therapists' employment decisions. Methods. This descriptive study sampled 122 occupational therapists who were registered in one province and graduated from a Canadian occupational therapy program between 2017 and 2022. Data was collected through an online survey about intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, and past fieldwork experiences that affected participants' employment decision-making. Descriptive data analysis was used to organize participants' responses. Findings. Results identified that work-life balance and mentorship were the highest rated factors that influenced participants' current and first employment respectively. Participants agreed that the variety and number of placements they had as students were more influential to their employment decisions than the length of the fieldwork education. Conclusion. This study identified the intrinsic and extrinsic factors in employment choices that may influence recruitment, retention, and workplace planning of new graduates.

Becoming Self Employed: Israeli Family Physicians' Push and Pull Factors.

As primary care is an important infrastructure for the entire health system, the employment structure choices of family physicians-whether to work in a managed care organization or be self-employed, can impact all effectiveness parameters of healthcare: quality, access, health equity, patients' experiences, and cost-effectiveness. The aim of this study is to assess the push and pull factors influencing family physicians' employment choices. This study employed a qualitative approach to explore the experiences of family physicians (FPs) who choose to work a self-employment practice. We conducted semi-structured interviews with twenty-seven self-employed FPs in Israel, selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The interviews were conducted via Zoom, recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis followed thematic analysis framework. The analysis yielded 10 themes, which were organized into two categories: pull and push factors. Pull factors, i.e., factors that attract family physicians to become self-employed, included professional self-fulfillment, higher income, professional and business autonomy, working with secretaries according to one's personal choice, designing the space of the clinic, and flexibility in working hours. Push factors, i.e., factors that demotivated family physicians to work under managed care and pushed them to choose self-employment included low control over the work environment, workload, decreased professional and organizational autonomy, managerial pressures on quality measures, engagement in marketing activities, and tensions with non-medical staff in the Health Maintenance Organization. There are obvious implications of this work for Health Maintenance Organizations' policy makers. Balancing managerial pressure and tensions between family physicians and non-medical administration and ensuring suitable working conditions increased physicians' control over the work environment, and professional autonomy may decrease push factors and retain family physicians as Health Maintenance Organization-employed. Understanding pull factors may help to develop a strategy for maximizing cooperation with self-employed family physicians and reinforce physicians' linkage to the healthcare system's treatment objectives.

Research on the Management of College Students' Employment Process Based on the Perspective of "Diagnosis and Reform 8-Character Spiral"

Due to the lack of theoretical guidance, some college students lack systematic and scientific planning and process supervision after setting their own career goals, resulting in wavering temporary employment goals in the later stage, missing the best opportunity for employment, and unable to achieve the optimal choice for employment. This article focuses on the dual supervision of students' goal achievement process and results through the "8-character spiral of diagnosis and reform", using both dynamic and static states. It emphasizes both the "completion time" diagnosis and reform and the "progress time" diagnosis and reform. Among them, the "completion time" diagnostic reform aims to stimulate knowledge innovation, while the "progress time" diagnostic reform aims to achieve real-time regulation.

Where to go: Factors influencing Hong Kong university students' attitude towards working in the Greater Bay Area

AbstractThis study explores Hong Kong university students' concerns when making employment decisions after graduation and their attitudes towards working in mainland China, especially in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Two research questions were identified: What are Hong Kong students' attitudes towards working in the GBA? What factors influence Hong Kong students' employment choices? A qualitative research approach was adopted with semi‐structured interviews with 38 final‐year students from eight Hong Kong universities. Based on thematic analysis, the findings showed that Hong Kong university students' willingness to work in the GBA was mainly influenced by their previous connections with the destination and potential career development opportunities. However, Shenzhen was the only city out of nine in the GBA they considered for employment. University students were aware of the economic rationale for their employment preparation, but, more importantly, they placed a high value on professional development opportunities and work–life balance. They also valued opportunities for internationalisation and emphasised the importance of the work culture and environment in choosing employment. The findings have policy implications for graduate employment and the intra‐mobility of talented young people across GBA cities in China.

Immigration regulations as frame of reference: trade-off between precarious employment and precarious legal status among US student-migrant-workers

ABSTRACT Although ‘student-migrant-workers’ is increasingly recognised as an important subcategory of temporary, high-skilled and ‘backdoor’ migrants, research on this group and their participation in the labour market, especially their entering precarious employment, remains limited. Using in-depth interview data with participants in the US F-1 OPT program, a type of post-graduation work permit, this study explores why many student visa holders enter temporary agency work, a precarious employment form. Findings suggest that student-migrant-workers make employment choices within the frame of reference of immigration regulations, weighing their labour market disadvantages against these regulations’ restrictions and offered opportunities. Despite the inherent employment precariousness of temporary agency work, student-migrant-workers find them a viable solution for managing their precarious legal status and the unfavourable labour market position. The employment has the potential to facilitate maintaining their legal residence, extending work authorisations and transitioning to a ‘front door’ entry.

Energy Tax Exemptions and Industrial Production

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of a large electricity tax exemption on production levels, employment and input choices in the German manufacturing industry. For two policy designs, we show that exempted plants increase their electricity use. This effect is larger under a notched exemption policy, where passing an eligibility threshold yields infra-marginal benefits, compared to a policy without such benefits. We detect no significant impact of the exemptions on production levels, export shares and employment. Using counterfactual simulations, we document that notched policies substantially distort firms’ production input choices when financial stakes are high and compliance costs are low.

Research on the Impact of Social Network on the Employment Choices of College Students and Countermeasures

In the digital age, social networking has become an indispensable part of college students’ employment process. Social networks not only provide a platform for college students to network with other professionals, alums, industry experts, etc., but also provide them with numerous resources and opportunities to help them better plan their careers and achieve their employment goals. Job Platform For college students, social networking is not only a social tool but also an important platform for obtaining information, expanding contacts, and finding employment opportunities. Career planning Studying the impact of social networks on the employment of college students can help deeply understand the demand and trend of the job market, provide more accurate and timely employment information for college students, and help them better adapt to the market demand and improve their employment competitiveness. Social networks, as important social capital, have a significant impact on college students’ career development. The study of the impact of social networks on college students’ employment can further explore the role and mechanism of social networks in career development and provide more targeted career development suggestions and guidance for college students.

Entrepreneurship in the Age of Social Media

Abstract Social media is ubiquitous and continuously evolving. This study investigates the impact of social media on the intention toward entrepreneurship/self-employment. Further, we explore the moderating effect of social media on the relationships between women, self-efficacy and leisure activities on intention toward entrepreneurship/self-employment using a survey-based dataset. We find that the ability to take advantage of social media within an entrepreneurial context does not necessarily mean that an individual is propelled towards entrepreneurship, however proactive individuals are able to exhibit this characteristic, as are creative women. A counter-intuitive finding is that entrepreneurship and conventional organizational employment choices are not mutually exclusive. While risk aversion inhibits entrepreneurship as expected, contextual conditions such as being married or being employed affects men and women differently.

Urbanization, female employment, and family care choice

This paper studies new changes in elderly care in urban areas against the background of population aging with data from the China Social Survey 2021. The study revealed that urban families mainly adopt two models—the “living-with-the-elderly” model and the “providing-economic-support” model—and that there is a substitution effect between the two models. Regarding individual characteristics, younger individuals with higher education levels tend to use the providing-economic-support model instead of the living-with-the-elderly model. In terms of family features, the greater the number of underage children in a family is, the greater the probability of giving economic support and the lower the probability of living with elderly people, reflecting a family resource allocation model centered on “children”. This paper further explores the impact of urban female employment on family care model choice and finds that employed women are more inclined to use economic support instead of living with elderly people. The study suggested that the government should gradually improve the public resource support system, promote community service infrastructure development, and expand professional service supply capabilities.

Exploration of Factors Influencing Slow Employment

This article focuses on the causes and characteristics of the phenomenon of "slow employment" of college graduates and its far-reaching impact on individuals and society in the context of current social and economic development. Through a review of relevant literature and theoretical research, the article outlines the definition of "slow employment", i.e., the state in which some graduates, after completing their studies, choose to further their studies, internships, travels or other non-employment activities, or fail to find a suitable job for a long period of time.It is found that the phenomenon of "slow employment" is the result of multiple factors, such as the popularization of higher education, changes in the job market and personal values. The article constructs a research model, and through questionnaire survey and data analysis, explores the influence of individual perceived behavioral control, prior and posterior social capital, and educational environment on the willingness of "slow employment". The results show that factors such as personal behavioral control, family background, educational experience and social network affect graduates' employment choice and speed to different degrees.Eventually, the article puts forward a series of targeted solution strategies, including strengthening the employment guidance services of colleges and universities, optimizing the educational environment, and enhancing the individual's career planning ability, aiming to provide support for the smooth employment of college graduates, and at the same time, provide a scientific basis for the government and colleges and universities to formulate the employment policy, in order to promote the stable development of the social economy.

Can wage transparency alleviate gender sorting in the labour market?

SUMMARY A large share of the gender wage gap can be attributed to occupation and employer choices. If workers are not well informed about these pay differences, increasing wage transparency might alleviate the gender gap. We test this hypothesis by examining the impact of mandatory wage postings. In 2011, Austria introduced a policy that requires firms to provide a minimum wage offer in job postings. To compare the pay prospects of vacancies before and after the introduction, we predict posted wages using detailed occupation–firm cells, which explain about 75% of the variation in wage postings. While we estimate a substantial gender gap of 15 log points, mandatory wage postings do not affect gender sorting into better-paying occupations and firms.

Research on the Reform of College Students' Employment Guidance Curriculum from the Perspective of the Internet

This paper explores the optimisation path of college students' career development and employment guidance courses in the context of the Internet era. With the advent of the Internet era, college students' employment faces more opportunities and challenges. This article first analyses the impact of the Internet on college students' employment, including more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, more diversified employment choices, higher employment ability requirements, and more comprehensive employment guidance. Then, the article points out the major problems in the construction of career development and employment guidance courses for college students, including the lack of awareness of the importance of employment guidance courses for college students in colleges and universities, the vague content of the courses, the imperfect system, the unified form of teaching, the lack of practical teaching, and the lack of capacity of teaching staff. Finally, this paper puts forward the optimisation path for the construction of college students' career development and employment guidance courses in the Internet era, including deepening teaching reform, strengthening team building, cultivating a good campus culture and other suggestions. Through the research of this paper, we aim to provide effective ways and strategies for colleges and universities to improve the quality of talent cultivation and solve the employment difficulties of college students.

More Rational, More Attractive: Industrial Structure Rationalization and Migrant Workers’ Employment Choices in China

Industrial structure rationalization could affect not only the employment structure but also the micro-employment choices of the labor force. Using the national individual-level survey data, we examine how regional industrial structure rationalization influences the employment status and location choices of migrant workers respectively using a probit model. The results show that industrial structure rationalization can significantly increase the probability that migrant workers choose regular and cross-provincial employment and reduce the probability of intra-provincial labor mobility, self-employment, and temporary employment. Higher employee welfare and income are the main mechanisms underlying the effect on migrant workers’ employment choices. Furthermore, the effects of industrial structure rationalization on the employment status and location choices of migrant workers differ according to gender, family size, and industry. These findings deepen the understanding of the relationship between industrial structure rationalization and labor migration and offer references for governments to promote regional sustainable development.