Employment Arrangement Research Articles

The living wage crisis in Australian industrial relations

ABSTRACTThe recent proliferation in Australia of systematic wage underpayment, or wage theft as it is known in the US, is stripping workers of the ‘living wage’, once a cornerstone of Australia’s industrial relations system. This paper considers the dimensions of this phenomenon and some of the policy recommendations for regulatory reform to reduce employer non-compliance with minimum wage standards. The paper concludes with proposals for other measures that may also help arrest what is becoming a living wage crisis and restore fair and reasonable wages to workers, regardless of employment arrangement or status.1

Informality in the Indian Labour Market: An Analysis of Forms and Determinants

Defined as any employment which is not accompanied by social security benefits, informal employment has persisted in India’s labour market, manifested predominantly as self-employment or employment in informal enterprises. In recent years, informal employment within formal enterprises has emerged as a prominent employment arrangement. Juxtaposing job attributes alongside enterprise characteristics based on internationally accepted conceptual framework, the paper contrasts broad trends across forms of informal employment by region, industry and gender. Using a multinomial probit model with correction for selection bias, a comparative examination of the determinants of employment choice reveals that informal workers in formal enterprises are more educated and experienced than their counterparts in informal enterprises. Notably, highly educated individuals and those in high-skill occupations were more likely to secure informal employment in formal sector, rather than formal employment, with the impact exacerbated amongst women. In addition, the results suggest greater inflexibility in informal work in formal enterprises. The analysis in this paper challenges conventional notions of the informal labour force as being comprised of the very old or very young, illiterate or under-educated individuals.

Employment arrangement, job stress, and health-related quality of life

ObjectiveWe aimed to understand the characteristics of U.S. workers in non-standard employment arrangements, and to assess associations between job stress and Health-related Quality of Life (HRQL) by employment arrangement. BackgroundAs employers struggle to stay in business under increasing economic pressures, they may rely more on non-standard employment arrangements, thereby increasing the pool of contingent workers. Worker exposure to job stress may vary by employment arrangement. Excessive exposure to stressors at work is considered to be a potential health hazard, and may adversely affect health and HRQL. MethodsWe used the Quality of Worklife (QWL) module which supplemented the General Social Survey (GSS) in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. GSS is a biannual, nationally representative cross-sectional survey of U.S. households that yields a representative sample of the civilian, non-institutionalized, English-speaking, U.S. adult population. The QWL module assesses an array of psychosocial working conditions and quality of work life topics among GSS respondents. We used pooled QWL responses from 2002 to 2014 by only those who reported being employed at the time of the survey. After adjusting for sampling probabilities, including subsampling for non-respondents and correcting for the number of adults in the household, 6005 respondents were included in our analyses. We grouped respondents according to their employment arrangement, including: (i) independent contractors (contractor), (ii) on call workers (on call), (iii) workers paid by a temporary agency (temporary), (iv) workers who work for a contractor (under contract), or (v) workers in standard employment arrangements (standard). Respondents were further grouped into those who were stressed and those who were not stressed at work. Descriptive population prevalence rates were calculated by employment arrangement for select demographic and organizational characteristics, psychosocial working conditions, work-family balance, and health and well-being outcomes. We also assessed the effect of employment arrangement on job stress, and whether job stress was associated with the number of reported unhealthy days and days with activity limitations. These two health and well-being outcomes capture aspects of worker HRQL. ResultsOur results underscored the importance of employment arrangement in understanding job stress and associated worker health and well-being outcomes. Between 2002 and 2014, the prevalence of workers in non-standard employment arrangements increased from 19% to 21%; however, the observed trend did not monotonically increase during that period. Compared with workers in standard arrangements, independent contractors and on call workers were significantly less likely to report experiencing job stress.For workers in standard arrangements and for contractors, we observed significant association between perceived job stress and reported unhealthy days. We observed a similar association for reported days with activity limitations, for workers in standard and temporary arrangements. ConclusionThe major contribution of our study was to highlight the differences in job stress and HRQL by employment arrangement. Our results demonstrated the importance of studying each of these employment arrangements separately and in depth. Furthermore, employment arrangement was an important predictor of job stress, and compared with non-stressed workers, stressed workers across all employment arrangements reported more unhealthy days and more days with activity limitations.

Social movement unionism in contemporary Japan: Coalitions within and across political boundaries

This article on social movement unionism in Japan examines the particular ways in which labor unions form coalitions when undertaking disputes that concern the dismissal of blue-collar temporary agency workers. The triangular employment arrangement nullified the right of labor unions that represent the temporary agency workers to bargain with the user corporations. Against this predicament, labor unions formed alliances by flexibly negotiating the divisions that exist among labor. Labor unions in Japan are largely grouped under national labor federations and by their ties to political parties. Labor unions formed coalitions within the federation boundaries but also found creative ways to bridge across federation membership in an effort to rebuild its associational power. Civil society groups served as a glue that drew in unions across national federation memberships.

Analiza dynamiki natężenia i kierunków migracji ze słabo rozwiniętych województw Polski na tle kraju w latach 2009–2014

The subject of the article is connected with the phenomenon of migration. It is becoming more and more popular. It influences the changes regarding employment and spatial arrangement. This phenomenon takes a special meaning in the areas characterized by a low level of social and economic development. These areas include macro-region - Eastern Poland (provinces: Subcarpathia, Podlasie Province, Świetokrzyskie Province, Lublin Province and Warmia-Masuria Province). It is commonly named an eastern wall, or Poland B. As it is commonly known, this macro-region is a problematic one. One of the problems is the phenomenon of migration which is specially severe in this part of the country. What is worth emphasizing is the fact that the substantial part of migrating people are young people. Taking the above into consideration, the analysis of this phenomenon seems to be absolutely necessary and reasonable. The issues presented in the article allowed us to picture the situation regarding interprovincial migration; within the provinces of Poland. The text has been divided into two parts. In the first one, the research method applied has been described (flow net). In the second part, the results of the research have been presented. Considering the fact that migration is a complex phenomenon which is characterized by numerous aspects, the issues presented in the article concerning migration processes in Eastern Poland, do not exhaust the matter entirely. The applied research approach allowed us to work out the answer to the question: What were the tendencies and directions of people’s relocation in the area of Poland between 2009–2014. Conducting this research in the dynamic frame created the opportunity of identification, assessment and analysis of the existing regularities. The results can serve as the source of information about demographic and social changes and tendencies which took place in the area of Poland in the period concerned.

Employment arrangements diversity and work group performance

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between diversity in work group members’ employment arrangements and the actual performance of the work groups. Design/methodology/approach A field study was conducted on 31 work groups in a public plant belonging to the industrial sector that constitute a unique data set. The 441 employees are contracted under four significantly different employment arrangements and are mixed together in heterogeneous work groups, but perform similar tasks. Findings The results indicated that the influence of employment arrangement diversity on work group performance is best represented as variation, and work arrangements diversity is positively correlated with improved work group performance. Research limitations The study design prevented assessment of employees’ opinions. Rather, the authors used objective type of employment arrangements as the basis for calculating diversity as separation. Using mean Euclidean distance as suggested by Harrison and Klein (2007), the authors arbitrarily set the distance between two different employment arrangements as one. Practical implications The research results help in the stages of recruiting, structuring and development and application of necessary work team. Formal emphasis of diversity in work arrangements improves performance. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies using unique data set analyzing real-life team diversity and performance in the public sector. The research highly contributes to organizational decision-making processes regarding the importance of incorporating non-standard work arrangements in organizations. Management’s implementation of formal diversity seems to alleviate the negative sides of diversity and increases its positive performance effects.

Does Contracting Pay for Managerial Workers? The Role of Contracting in the Careers of Managers

Against a backdrop of growth in the managerial workforce and increasing interest in alternative working arrangements, we argue that tensions exist between the nature of managerial work and independent contracting. This restricts the viability of contracting as an alternative employment arrangement through which managerial workers can achieve their career goals. The benefits of contracting, in its ability to separate workers from the constraints and frustrations that come with organizational life, are considerable for managers who may experience particular difficulty in balancing their work and personal lives. However, these benefits are offset by costs for managerial workers whose role in coordinating activity and directing resources is situated at the heart of the organization. Rather than offering an opportunity to leverage their expertise for greater returns, we argue that contracting will substantially limit the performance of managerial workers, and their employment outcomes in both the short and long term. Examining the employment spells of MBA alumni of a US business school, we find support for our hypothesized mismatch between contracting and managerial work. Workers with greater managerial responsibilities are less likely to enter contracting and will be financially penalized if they do, both while they work as a contractor and if they return to regular employment. However, we do find that managerial workers benefit from contracting in terms of improved work life balance.

Regulation on Migrant Workers’ Employment in the Israeli Construction Sector

This article deals with a reform in the regulation on employment of migrant workers which was implemented in the Israeli construction industry from 2005. This corporations-based arrangement replaced a restrictive employment arrangement which tied the employee to a specific employer. The new regulation of work conditions and wages, coupled with a significant reduction in the number of work permits issued to construction, has improved work conditions and wages paid to migrant workers, and made their employment less attractive to employers. The reform also included elements designed to reduce the illegal employment phenomenon and to encourage migrant workers to leave the country at the end of their contracts. However, the new arrangement still restricted the mobility of migrant workers to some extent and had negative consequences such as a significant rise in the broker fees demanded of workers.

Knowledge sharing in projects: does employment arrangement matter?

Purpose– The core of project management is the management of a temporary task, often with a high degree of uniqueness. The purpose of this paper is to address project management issues where another type of temporality also prevails; when external consultants on short-term contracts cooperate with the employees of the focal firm. The research question is: do external consultants and employees, working together on a project, engage in different or similar knowledge sharing behaviors? What are the impact of autonomous motivation, organizational support and trust on knowledge sharing?Design/methodology/approach– The empirical setting of the study is subsea activities, which is part the oil and gas industry in Norway. The respondents are regular employees with a permanent contract and external consultants employed by a third party; which is the most common external work arrangement in the industry. The sample consists of employees of a focal firm, external consultants of the focal firm and external consultants identified by their employer (two firms). The survey was administered by e-mail to 323 possible respondents. Of these, 268 were from the focal firm (194 employees and 74 external consultants), and 55 from the two consulting companies. After four weeks of collecting data, 138 responses had been registered. This is a response rate of 43 percent. The response rates were similar in the three categories. The survey was designed using Qualtrics, an online survey software tool and was administered by e-mail in the winter of 2012.Findings– The regression analysis found that there was no difference in knowledge sharing between employees and external consultants. Thus the empirical analysis supports the “project identity” hypothesis, rather than the “employment matters” hypothesis. Further, there were positive, significant impacts of autonomous motivation and perceived organizational support on knowledge sharing. The findings are similar across samples.R2 is quite high in models B (0.447) and D (0.458), indicating that a large share of the variation in knowledge sharing is explained by the full model.Research limitations/implications– Based on the empirical study here, the “employment arrangement” thesis was not supported. The authors believe, however, that combining the two types of temporality (work organization and employment arrangement) is a promising area of exploration and it is not given that further studies will provide similar empirical findings. Further research should explore under what conditions employment arrangements have an impact on knowledge sharing. The research may be extended along three dimensions. First, the study of knowledge sharing when employees and external consultants work together (on projects managed by the focal firm) should be extended to include other firms, other types of competence as well as economic sectors outside petroleum. Second, research on employment arrangements in projects, should consider project contexts that are different from the type emphasized here, such as development projects and projects that have a fundamental inter-organizational character characterized by dual responsibility. Third, a number of others issues, in addition to knowledge sharing, are relevant. Combining the two aspects of temporality may provide opportunities for exploring the impact of organizational context in the field of leadership studies.Practical implications– Management should strive to increase autonomous motivation and provide organizational support for both employees and external consultants. It is possible to use external consultants without negative effects on the level of knowledge sharing. Managers should be aware of the challenges related to both types of temporality.Social implications– Increased awareness of the relevance of both types of temporality in contemporary working life.Originality/value– In previous research, project organization and temporary employment relations are two distinct areas. This is one of the first empirical studies that have analyzed both aspects of temporality. The paper contributes to the literature on antecedents of knowledge sharing in organizations, and suggest avenues for further research in this issue. Further, in addressing both types of temporality, a number of other research themes are suggested.

Health promotion funding, workforce recruitment and turnover in New Zealand

Almost a decade on from the New Zealand Primary Health Care Strategy and amidst concerns about funding of health promotion, we undertook a nationwide survey of health promotion providers. To identify trends in recruitment and turnover in New Zealand's health promotion workforce. Surveys were sent to 160 organisations identified as having a health focus and employing one or more health promoter. Respondents, primarily health promotion managers, were asked to report budget, retention and hiring data for 1 July 2009 through 1 July 2010. Responses were received from 53% of organisations. Among respondents, government funding for health promotion declined by 6.3% in the year ended July 2010 and health promoter positions decreased by 7.5% (equalling 36.6 full-time equivalent positions). Among staff who left their roles, 79% also left the field of health promotion. Forty-two organisations (52%) reported employing health promoters on time-limited contracts of three years or less; this employment arrangement was particularly common in public health units (80%) and primary health organisations (57%). Among new hires, 46% (n=55) were identified as Maori. Low retention of health promoters may reflect the common use of limited-term employment contracts, which allow employers to alter staffing levels as funding changes. More than half the surveyed primary health organisations reported using fixed-term employment contracts. This may compromise health promotion understanding, culture and institutional memory in these organisations. New Zealand's commitment to addressing ethnic inequalities in health outcomes was evident in the high proportion of Maori who made up new hires.

Profiles of commitment in standard and fixed-term employment arrangements: Implications for work outcomes

This paper develops and tests a framework for understanding the relative importance and predictive efficacy of commitment to one’s profession, organization, supervisor and job in both standard and fixed-term employment arrangements. Drawing from the commitment and employment arrangement literatures, we test a set of hypotheses identifying distinct patterns of commitments (i.e., commitment profiles) to these four targets that should yield desired work-related outcomes in standard and fixed-term employment arrangements. We test our hypotheses using latent profile analysis on data collected from two Finnish universities (N1 = 235, N2 = 233). A high macro profile, characterized by high commitment to profession, organization and job, and moderate commitment to supervisor, emerged for employees in standard employment relationships, and this profile was associated with significantly higher positive work behaviours and work effort and lower turnover intentions than the other profiles. For employees with fixed-term employment contracts, a high cosmopolitan profile emerged, characterized by high commitment to the profession and job and low commitment to the organization and supervisor. For these employees, this profile was associated with positive work behaviours and work effort comparable to the high macro profile. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.

Early clinical leader Lawrence Borgsdorf dies at 67.

Lawrence R. Borgsdorf, Pharm.D., FCSHP, who started his decades-long clinical pharmacy career as a full-time practitioner–educator in a school of medicine, died on October 14 in Bakersfield, California. He was 67 years old. The unusual employment arrangement in the 1970s made the residency-trained Borgsdorf a clinical pharmacist independent of a pharmacy department and a pharmacy school. Years later, as an ambulatory care pharmacist for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Program in his native California, he provided innovative services that caught the attention of the HMO’s physicians. He was a member of the ASHP Commission on Credentialing in 1997–2000. In 1992, he served as the president of the California Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP). Two years later, CSHP recognized Borgsdorf as its Pharmacist of the Year. “He was a top-flight clinician,” said William E. Smith, Jr., who was serving as pharmacy director at Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Long Beach, California, when Borgsdorf started his career.

Contemporary employment arrangements and mental well-being in men and women across Europe: a cross-sectional study.

IntroductionThere is the tendency in occupational health research of approximating the ‘changed world of work’ with a sole focus on the intrinsic characteristics of the work task, encompassing the job content and working conditions. This is insufficient to explain the mental health risks associated with contemporary paid work as not only the nature of work tasks have changed but also the terms and conditions of employment. The main aim of the present study is to investigate whether a set of indicators referring to quality of the employment arrangement is associated with the well-being of people in salaried employment. Associations between the quality of contemporary employment arrangements and mental well-being in salaried workers are investigated through a multidimensional set of indicators for employment quality (contract type; income; irregular and/or unsocial working hours; employment status; training; participation; and representation). The second and third aim are to investigate whether the relation between employment quality and mental well-being is different for employed men and women and across different welfare regimes.MethodsCross-sectional data of salaried workers aged 15–65 from 21 EU-member states (n =11,940) were obtained from the 2010 European Social Survey. Linear regression analyses were performed.ResultsFor both men and women, and irrespective of welfare regime, several sub-dimensions of low employment quality are significantly related with poor mental well-being. Most of the significant relations persist after controlling for intrinsic job characteristics. An insufficient household income and irregular and/or unsocial working hours are the strongest predictors of poor mental well-being. A differential vulnerability of employed men and women to the sub-dimensions of employment quality is found in Traditional family and Southern European welfare regimes.ConclusionsThere are significant relations between indicators of low employment quality and poor mental well-being, also when intrinsic characteristics of the work task are controlled. Gender differences are least pronounced in Earner-carer countries.

Area-Level Unemployment and Perceived Job Insecurity: Evidence from a Longitudinal Survey Conducted in the Australian Working-Age Population

RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: Job insecurity, the subjective individual anticipation of involuntary job loss, negatively affects employees' health and their engagement. Although the relationship between job insecurity and health has been extensively studied, job insecurity as an 'exposure' has received far less attention, with little known about the upstream determinants of job insecurity in particular. This research sought to identify the relationship between self-rated job insecurity and area-level unemployment using a longitudinal, nationally representative study of Australian households. Mixed-effect multi-level regression models were used to assess the relationship between area-based unemployment rates and self-reported job insecurity using data from a longitudinal, nationally representative survey running since 2001. Interaction terms were included to test the hypotheses that the relationship between area-level unemployment and job insecurity differed between occupational skill-level groups and by employment arrangement. Marginal effects were computed to visually depict differences in job insecurity across areas with different levels of unemployment. Results indicated that areas with the lowest unemployment rates had significantly lower job insecurity (predicted value 2.74; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.71-2.78, P < 0.001) than areas with higher unemployment (predicted value 2.81; 95% CI 2.79-2.84, P < 0.001). There was a stronger relationship between area-level unemployment and job insecurity among precariously and fixed-term employed workers than permanent workers. These findings demonstrate the independent influences of prevailing economic conditions, individual- and job-level factors on job insecurity. Persons working on a casual basis or on a fixed-term contract in areas with higher levels of unemployment are more susceptible to feelings of job insecurity than those working permanently.

Associations between Birth Health, Maternal Employment, and Child Care Arrangement among a Community Sample of Mothers with Young Children

Although a large body of literature exists on how different types of child care arrangements affect a child's subsequent health and sociocognitive development, little is known about the relationship between birth health and subsequent decisions regarding type of nonparental child care as well as how this relationship might be influenced by maternal employment. This study used data from the Los Angeles Families and Neighborhoods Survey (L.A.FANS). Mothers of 864 children (ages 0–5) provided information regarding birth weight, maternal evaluation of a child's birth health, child's current health, maternal employment, type of child care arrangement chosen, and a variety of socioeconomic variables. Child care options included parental care, relative care, nonrelative care, and daycare center. Multivariate analyses found that birth weight and subjective rating of birth health had similar effects on child care arrangement. After controlling for a child's age and current health condition, multinomial logit analyses found that mothers with children with poorer birth health are more likely to use nonrelative and daycare centers than parental care when compared to mothers with children with better birth health. The magnitude of these relationships diminished when adjusting for maternal employment. Working mothers were significantly more likely to use nonparental child care than nonemployed mothers. Results suggest that a child's health early in life is significantly but indirectly related to subsequent decisions regarding child care arrangements, and this association is influenced by maternal employment. Development of social policy aimed at improving child care service should take maternal and family backgrounds into consideration.

Psychosocial working conditions in a representative sample of working Australians 2001–2008: an analysis of changes in inequalities over time

BackgroundA number of widely prevalent job stressors have been identified as modifiable risk factors for common mental and physical illnesses such as depression and cardiovascular disease, yet there has been...

From Graduation to Employment: A Guide for the New Nurse Practitioner

Just as completion of the academic requirements for the nurse practitioner (NP) was a well-defined process, there are multiple steps to complete after graduation and before entering into an employment arrangement. Completing the process in order will save you employment delays and frustration. BEFORE GRADUATION If you have not been keeping your paperwork organized during your academic program, it is never too late to start. You will need to keep copies of your course(s) descriptions, course number, number of credit hours, and year taken. Detailed copies of the course syllabi may also be required by an employer to validate that your academic program contained specific didactic content and clinical labs necessary to support procedural privilege requests. This information is also needed by the certification organizations

Day Labourers' Work Related Injuries: An Assessment of Risks, Choices, and Policies

Literature and theory surrounding the informal economy in international contexts suggest that informal work arrangements may entail assuming various levels of risk, and that the higher the level of risk in an employment arrangement, the higher the premium paid to the worker. This study is designed to assess if a wage compensation for risk exists within the United States' day labour job market - the most visible sector of the United States' informal economy. Using data from the 2005 National Day Labour Survey we find a statistically significant wage premium indicating that a risk-wage tradeoff within the day labour informal economy exists. Ultimately, we argue that current policy interventions facilitated through day labour centres into the day labour market appear to be effective in mitigating the risks associated with this type of employment. Evidence of a risk-wage premium in the day labour market suggests there is an incentive to assume higher levels of risk in work arrangements which presents significant concerns for worker safety. Higher levels of work related risks assumed by day labourers, may be minimized if they receive proper safety training through a formal venue such as a worker centre. Worker centres only serve 20 per cent of all day labourers in the United States, suggesting a need for the establishment of additional worker centres in other connected or industry based work sites, to help mitigate potential work related risks and injuries in the day labour market.

The Employed Surgeon

To identify trends and characteristics of surgeon employment in the United States. Surgeons are increasingly choosing hospital or large group employment as their practice environment. DESIGN American Medical Association Physician Masterfile data were analyzed for the years 2001 to 2009. Surgeons identified within the American Medical Association Masterfile. Surgeons were defined using definitions from the American Medical Association specialty data and the American Board of Medical Specialties certification data and included active, nonfederal, and nonresident physicians younger than 80 years of age. Employment status and trends. The number of surgeons who reported having their own self-employed practice decreased from 48% to 33% between 2001 and 2009, and this decrease corresponded with an increase in the number of employed surgeons. Sixty-eight percent of surgeons in the United States now self-identify their practice environment as employed. Between 2006 and 2011, there was a 32% increase in the number of surgeon in a full-time hospital employment arrangement. Younger surgeons and female surgeons increasingly favor employment in large group practices. Employment trends were similar for both urban and rural practices. General surgeons and surgical subspecialists are choosing hospital employment instead of independent practice. The trend is especially notable among younger surgeons and among female surgeons. The trend denotes a professional paradigm shift of major importance.

Precarious employment, psychosocial working conditions, and health: Cross‐sectional associations in a population‐based sample of working Australians

Precarious employment has been associated with poor health, but the potential mechanisms are unclear. We examined the relationships between precarious employment and health, and investigated psychosocial working conditions as potential mediators. A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted in South Australia in 2009 (N = 1,016 employed). SF-12 measures of mental and physical health were modeled using logistic regression in relation to employment arrangement, controlling for socio-demographics, years in job and psychosocial working conditions. There was no association between casual full-time or part-time employment and poor mental health in multivariate analyses. Conversely, there was a significant association between casual full-time employment and poor physical health (compared to permanent full-time workers, OR = 3.14, 95% CI 1.26-7.85). The association with physical health was unaffected by adjustment for psychosocial working conditions. Casual full-time employment was strongly associated with poor physical health but not with poor mental health. This association was not mediated by the psychosocial working conditions measured in this study, but may be related to other (unmeasured) working conditions.