Individual Employment Research Articles

Socially stratified associations between self-employment and health among Chilean older people.

Non-standard forms of employment, such as self-employment, are among the most prevalent routes for older people to access the workforce. While the financial benefits of any form of self-employment in later life have been widely acknowledged, less is known about their impact on health. This study explores the association between self-employment and 16 health outcomes among older people with different social stratification characteristics in Chile, a developing country experiencing rapid population ageing. We rely on a rich representative life history survey of Chilean men and women between the ages 65 and 75years (N=802) living in the capital Santiago, weighted sequence analysis to reconstruct employment histories and weighted regression analysis to measure the association between self-employment and health in later life. All our analyses are adjusted by both individual lifetime health indicators and employment trajectories. Our results show that being self-employed relative to not working is positively associated with health in seven out of 16 outcomes. More surprisingly, those in a self-employment position seem to enjoy better health outcomes, particularly among the less educated and lower-income levels. These stratified associations raise questions about how these individuals enjoy better health despite facing adverse social conditions.

Return to work after medical rehabilitation in Germany: influence of individual factors and regional labour market based on administrative data

BackgroundThe influence of both individual factors and, in particular, the regional labour market on the return to work after medical rehabilitation is to be analyzed based on comprehensive administrative data from the German Pension Insurance and Employment Agencies.MethodFor rehabilitation in 2016, pre- and post-rehabilitation employment was determined from German Pension Insurance data for 305,980 patients in 589 orthopaedic rehabilitation departments and 117,386 patients in 202 psychosomatic rehabilitation departments. Labour market data was linked to the district of residence and categorized into 257 labour market regions. RTW was operationalized as the number of employment days in the calendar year after medical rehabilitation. Predictors are individual data (socio-demographics, rehabilitation biography, employment biography) and contextual data (regional unemployment rate, rehabilitation department level: percentage of patients employed before). The estimation method used was fractional logit regression in a cross-classified multilevel model.ResultsThe effect of the regional unemployment rate on RTW is significant yet small. It is even smaller (orthopaedics) or not significant (psychosomatics) when individual employment biographies (i.e., pre-rehabilitation employment status) are inserted into the model as the most important predictors. The interaction with pre-rehabilitation employment status is not substantial.ConclusionsDatabase and methods are of high quality, however due to the nonexperimental design, omitted variables could lead to bias and limit causal interpretation. The influence of the labour market on RTW is small and proxied to a large extent by individual employment biographies. However, if no (valid) employment biographies are available, the labour market should be included in RTW analyses.

Characteristics of individuals with disabilities receiving transportation services in vocational rehabilitation

BACKGROUND: Adequate, accessible public transportation is essential to fully address social and economic disparities that exist among individuals with disabilities. Despite removal of many physical barriers within transportation systems, significant barriers to public transportation for people with disabilities are still widespread. OBJECTIVE: Transportation is commonly cited as an obstacle to employment for individuals with disabilities, and as a result, a thorough analysis of specific factors influencing the use of public transportation by individuals with disabilities is necessary to fully understand patterns of use. METHOD: The current study used a national sample of individuals with disabilities in pursuit of employment to investigate characteristics that predict the receipt of transportation services by vocational rehabilitation personnel. RESULTS: Results indicate individuals who were not employed, who were receiving welfare and/or TANF, who were homeless, who were living in rehabilitation facilities, and/or who were living in substance abuse treatment centers were more likely to receive transit services from vocational rehabilitation programs. Also, individuals with substance use problems, mental health disorders, HIV/AIDS or other immune deficiency disorders, and/or people from racial or ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to receive transit service support from vocational rehabilitation programs. CONCLUSION: Improvement in transportation services for individuals with disabilities is needed on a systems and individual level. State rehabilitation counselors can evaluate the extent high-risk clients identified in this study can benefit from transit services as well as other wrap around services that can improve their engagement in VR services leading to better employment outcomes.

Gamified Recruitment: A Way to Win the Talent of Tomorrow?

Organizations are faced with increased competition in the war for talent, and their sustained competitive advantage may depend on the ability to attract suitable candidates. The gamification of HR recruitment processes can be one solution, as it creates employer brand awareness and enables candidates to better assess their fit with the organizational culture and job requirements. Based on a comprehensive literature review and through focus groups and qualitative content analysis, we develop guidelines for effective application design and implementation. Our findings are mirrored against UTAUT 2 theory and consolidated in a Model for Acceptance of Gamified Recruitment Elements. Results suggest that gamified recruitment is an effective option to support traditional recruitment processes in orienting candidates and companies about the individual employer fit, ultimately increasing the quality of applications and strengthening organizations’ talent pools. From the results, we derive guidelines on how to effectively implement design features.

Workplace Context to Prevent Substance Misuse in the United States: Associations Between workplace Policies and Employee Substance Use Disorders

Workplace policies are important because employee rates of alcohol and drug misuse can be associated with work-related risk factors in the United States. To explore the associations, this study analyzed the 2010–2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health datasets. The overall sample size was 130,726, and the SUD outcome variables included alcohol, marijuana, pain reliever, and illicit drug use disorders. 20% of participants reported no substance use policies in their workplace. Significant associations were identified between all four measured SUD outcome variables, the presence of specific substance use workplace policies, and individual employment sectors. Specifically, comprehensive policies out of six policies were significantly associated with decreased SUDs in nearly every employment sector. The results of this study suggest that workplace substance use policies are important to prevent the development of employee SUDs and comprehensive policies in place can be most effective.

Education and active labour market policy complementarities in promoting employment: Reinforcement, substitution and compensation.

This paper theorises and empirically assesses how education and active labour market policy (ALMP) relate to each other in shaping individuals' employment chances in Europe. It provides a theoretical base for assessing policy complementarities building on sociological skill-formation literature, varieties of capitalism and social investment literature. Two hypotheses of complementarity are advanced: reinforcement whereby higher investment in general skills via education boosts ALMP effectiveness; and substitution-compensation whereby investments in either policy suffice, rendering individual employment chances less dependent on ALMPs at higher (prior) educational investment levels. The advanced theoretical propositions are empirically tested by looking at how individual employment chances are affected by national ALMP efforts conditional on workforce education, distinguishing between individual- and national-level educational attainment. Analyses draw on micro-level EU-SILC longitudinal data 2003-2015 from 29 European countries and 285 country-years applying mixed-effects dynamic panel regression models. Results highlight the complementarity of education in the functioning of ALMPs and show that the education-ALMP interplay follows different dynamics when individual or national education are considered, with substitution-compensation for the former and reinforcement for the latter. Higher individual educational attainment is associated with lower marginal returns from national ALMP efforts, with higher ALMP effectiveness among the lower-educated. By contrast, higher national educational attainment is associated with increased ALMP effectiveness, with ALMPs tending to be far less effective at low levels of highly educated workforce. Different interaction patterns are observed for youth, indicating increased difficulty in activating this risk group.

Insights and Innovation: How a Local Public-Private Partnership is Building Home Care.

Recent national reports asserted an urgent imperative for transforming working conditions for the direct care workforce in the US. These clarion reports identified key influencers in reform as federal and state governments, workers' unions and coalitions, individual and organizational employers. Equally essential and well-positioned local actors have been overlooked in the conversation-namely, municipalities, area agencies on aging, higher education, philanthropic entities, and community. Although deemed "essential," direct care workers have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines an early public-private partnership initiative designed to recruit and train PCAs in Virginia.

The needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorder when transitioning into the labour market

INTRODUCTION: South Africa, like other regions of the world, has an increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The transition of these individuals into the labour market is of concern. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of individuals with ASD and their parents in terms of their unmet needs in relation to transitioning into the labour market and the role an occupational therapist can play METHODS: A qualitative explorative descriptive research method was used. Purposive sampling selected young adults with ASD currently or previously employed in the open labour market. Data were collected using email interviews with individuals with ASD and face to face interviews with their parents. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis RESULTS: Two themes were identified: Transitioning was really hard, and Occupational therapists can do more. The results emphasised the lack of services in preparing adults with ASD for finding and maintaining employment, as well as suggestions for the role of occupational therapy in facilitating prevocational skills, job seeking skills and supported employment CONCLUSION: There is a lack of services for individuals with ASD transitioning into the labour market particularly in relation to vocational orientation and rehabilitation. Occupational therapists are ideally situated to provide services to meet needs of individuals with ASD transitioning into the world of work Implications for practice • Occupational therapists need to play a role in developing vocational rehabilitation services in preparation of individuals with ASD into the labour market. • There is a need to investigate what is currently offered and what can be added regarding occupational therapy programs supporting transition from school into employment for individuals with ASD in South Africa. • Vocational rehabilitation services and transition programs should be developed in conjunction with individuals with ASD to ensure issues that are relevant to the population of individuals with ASD are addressed.

Employment Situation and Career Preferences of Persons Who Use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in Germany

Purpose: Little is known about employment situations as well as career preferences and aspirations of people who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), especially from the perspective of these individuals themselves. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore 1) employment situations of the persons who use AAC; 2) their satisfaction with the employment situation; and 3) their career preferences. Methods: An online questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this study. Twenty-one persons, aged 16 to 65, participated in this study. Results: Ten participants (47.6%) were employed in disability specific workshops, five (23.8%) attended adult day centres for people with disabilities, two (9.5%) were unemployed, two (9.5%) were students, and two (9.5%) did not specify their employment status. Nine participants (42.9%) were satisfied with their current employment situation to some extent, while another nine were not satisfied (42.9%). Out of 21 participants, 15 (71.4%) desired a change of their situation, of which nine (42.9%) aspired to employment in the general labour market. Conclusions: Future research is needed to address specific barriers and facilitators related to accessing meaningful employment for individuals who rely on AAC and accommodations needed to support such employment.

Формирование индивидуальной карьерной траектории выпускника вуза

The article deals with the problems of employment of students after graduation, provides employment schedules for 2021 graduates of Sevastopol State University. The methods of work of the University for solving problems in the field of employment of students and graduates are considered. A model of an individual educational trajectory as a modern method of working with youth is considered. The concept of a «tutor» and their influence on the construction of the career trajectory of students are considered. The authors predict a possible positive effect of the IET model in the educational environment. The Russian system of higher education is one of the largest in the world, and the employment issues are extremely relevant. In the conditions of mass development, the current system of «educational pipe» is not effective due to the dynamically changing labor market. In order to increase the efficiency of the «educational pipe», increase the number of graduates employed in the specialty, which should be both wide and narrow, the education system is in constant search for optimal ways to transform the educational process. We believe that an individual trajectory of employment for each graduate should be introduced into the educational process. In the United States, for example, the standard for many universities is free education, where students study according to open curricula and independently choose courses for study. At Columbia University and the University of Chicago, education is built on the «nuclear program» model. The presented programs imply the formation of an individual employment trajectory for university graduates. In Russian universities, it is also possible to introduce the experience of organizing such methods of training personnel, but taking into account the existing features and difficulties that will be discussed in this study.

EUROPEAN MODEL OF PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION (GDPR) IN THE PRACTICE OF EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES WITH REGARD TO THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The authors deal with the issue of determining the appropriate legal bases for the processing of personal data by employee representatives. The main objective of this paper is to assess the use of the relatively new European legislation on the protection of personal data in the specific environment of individual and collective employment relationships on the part of employee representatives. In the paper, the authors try to confirm that employee representatives in addition to the consent of a natural person concerned are entitled to act in line with another legal basis - the public interest (or fulfillment of legal obligations) given their position in the implementation of individual and collective labor relations. According to the authors, the choice of a specific legal basis will be based on the assumption that the employee representatives process personal data of the natural persons concerned, e.g. for the purposes of exercising the competencies granted by the relevant labor law regulations or for the purposes of managing internal relations of employee representatives (trade union membership as a personal data of a special category, fulfillment of rights arising from the trade union membership by a natural person). The authors substantiate their claims with relevant references to the practice, international legal documents and subsequently emphasize their use within specific labor law institutes.

Exploring Test Takers’ Perceptions and Characteristics in Predicting TOEIC Validity Arguments

TOEIC is one of the most impactful English proficiency tests in South Korea. This study examined test takers’ perceptions of TOEIC validity following the Assessment Use Argument (AUA) framework and further explored validity arguments’ interconnectedness and effects of test takers’ characteristics. A total of 106 employees of South Korean companies completed an online survey developed for this study, rating their opinions about TOEIC’s beneficence towards society and individuals’ English proficiency improvement, its uses in employment decisions, and score interpretation. In multiple hierarchical regression analyses, this study used the predictors of validity arguments and individual characteristics to predict three criterion variables: social beneficence (Model 1), individual beneficence (Model 2), and employment decision (Model 3). The validity predictors were entered first in step 1, followed by individual characteristics (age, gender, company size, and business partner types) in step 2. The results revealed diverse patterns and interconnectedness of significant validity predictors in three models. The prediction power of individual characteristics differed by models. Business partner types were a significant predictor of individual beneficence and employment decision, while gender was a significant predictor of employment decisions. Further discussions are presented from the perspectives of gender differences and the proxy of English proficiency.

Might Digital Revolution be a threat for Employability?

The present study aimed to discuss the 21st Century digital revolution and its impact on the employability of individuals, and how they can be prepared to reinvent themselves to face the new demands of the labor market. Recent developments in computing, robotics and artificial intelligence have developed even more powerful systems, showing to be capable of performing complex tasks, previously performed only by humans. In this sense, when analyzing societies connected by a bunch of technological resources integrated into a networked system leads us to think about the employment scenario in near future, considering the importance of preparing ourselves to guarantee our existence in a highly challenging and, yet unknown context. The likely outcomes of this revolutionary transformation depend on how the gains are distributed as it is already perceived a deterioration of inequalities in the labour market. What is expected is that impacts generated by the digital revolution on employability might be more socially fair and economically prosperous for all parts involved.

A Review on Development of Constructivism Learning Model as Attributors of High-Level Thinking Skills on Accounting Skills

The value of individual employability can be enhanced through the provision of quality aspects of Education. Therefore, the development of constructivism learning models is one of the main drivers to the attributes of students' high-level thinking skills. The focus of this study is to study and present ideas to improve students' high-level thinking skills through the building elements of the constructivism learning model in accounting skills. It is concluded that Constructivism Learning Model as Attributors of High-Level Thinking Skills on Accounting Skills. Previous researchers' findings were also included to support the arguments used in the study.

Adaptation of the legal regulation of labor, civil, tax relations to the gig economy

The subject of the article is impact the gig economy to the legal regulation of labor, civil, tax relations.The purpose of the article is to identify the problems of legal regulation of relations between gig workers and digital platforms in the gig economy and suggest ways to improve it.The methodology includes systematic approach, comparative method, formal-logical method, formal-legal method, analysis, synthesis.The main results of the research. The transition from a “classic” industrial employment relationship between an employer and an employee to one based on the gig economy, using digital platforms to link the employee to their job, has created problems in classifying employment arrangements in labor law. In the current situation, the state needs to do a lot of work: (1) the sphere of the gig economy requires the compilation of clear terminology, as well as the analysis and identification of the functions of digital platforms and gig workers, then it requires amendments to labor legislation; (2) it is necessary to develop criteria for gig workers or independent contractors, one of the criteria can be proposed: the performance of work by a gig worker without the control of the hiring firm. The hiring firm's control should be limited to accepting or rejecting the results a gig worker achieves, not how they achieve them; (3) It is necessary to delimit the sphere of regulation of hired labor from the sphere of regulation of gig-employment, to withdraw gig-employment from the regulation of labor legislation.An analysis of the current legislation and law enforcement practice shows that the cornerstone of legal regulation in the field of the gig economy is the issue of legal registration of relations between digital platforms and their partners. Thus, with a rigid approach that identifies these relations with labor relations, the gig economy loses its specificity, digital platforms lose their competitive advantages in many ways, and in some cases, their ability to function. At the same time, the current relations in the field of employment of individuals on digital platforms allow us to speak about the presence of certain differences between such relations and labor relations, which are manifested mainly in greater freedom on the side of the "employee" and less control on the part of the employer – the digital platform, and also the unstable nature of this form of employment and its subsidiarity to more traditional forms. The specificity of the relationship between platforms and its counterparties also raises the question of the need to reform the provisions on civil liability, aimed at formulating special grounds for the responsibility of digital platforms, the distribution of this responsibility between them and their partners. Such provisions may be based on the existing norms on the liability of the employer for harm caused by his employee.Conclusions. The change of labor relations between employees and the employer to the relationship between the digital platform and gig workers predetermines the transformation of tax legal relations, in terms of the following aspects: what taxes should a gig worker pay, should there be any special tax regime; how the issue of paying insurance premiums should be resolved, whether they should be mandatory or voluntary; what role digital platforms will play in tax relations, whether they should act as tax agents or data providers; what requirements for gig workers, as taxpayers, should be imposed by tax legislation in terms of record keeping and reporting; how tax control should be exercised over gig workers and digital platforms.

Infrastructure and poverty reduction: Assessing the dynamic impact of Chinese infrastructure investment in sub-Saharan Africa

Infrastructure investment is essential for African countries to enhance economic activities and reduce poverty; however, the conclusions from national-level studies remain ambiguous. Combining geo-coded Chinese infrastructure project data from 2000 to 2014 and Demographic and Health Surveys information, we employ a spatiotemporal estimation strategy and explore the dynamic effectiveness of Chinese infrastructure investment on local multidimensional poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and its mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate that infrastructure projects can continuously alleviate local multidimensional poverty following project completion, primarily by improving living standards through local industrialization and increasing individual employment stability. Further investigating heterogeneities, we determine that Chinese infrastructure projects are more effective for self-dependent recipients, in rural areas, and when overseen by state-owned enterprises. Our findings provide insights into the long-term effectiveness for underdeveloped countries to reduce local poverty with Chinese infrastructure investment.

Short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and income of the Russian population: which groups were affected the most?

The paper analyzes short-term factors of job loss, wage reduction and factors of household income reduction in Russia in the context of the coronavirus crisis. Panel data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE) served as empirical basis of the study. According to the study results, the highest risks of job loss are registered among females, young employees, unskilled workers, workers without professional education, and workers with low wages. However, almost the only factor of wage reduction (in case of retained employment) is employment in the most affected industries. Household income prior to the pandemic is the key determinant of household income reduction – the higher the level of material wellbeing, the higher the risk of income reduction. Increased probability of income reduction is also reported for families with children. The study has confirmed the hypothesis about negative impact of vulnerable employment on employment and wages of individuals, as well as household income.

Determinan Wirausaha Perempuan Pengguna Transaksi Digital Selama Pandemi Covid-19 Di Indonesia

This study aims to examine the factors that influence women entrepreneurs to use digital transactions for their business ventures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The data used in this study is individual data sourced from the 2020 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas). Sakernas is a labor force survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) on individual socio-demographic information, education, and employment. Binary logistic regression model was used to answer the research objectives. The results showed that the variables of age, college education, high school / vocational education, living in urban areas, having experience, and training and business fields in the trade sector had a positive effect on the tendency of women entrepreneurs to use digital transactions. Meanwhile, age, marital status and number of household members have a negative effect on the opportunities for women entrepreneurs to use digital transactions. By using digital transactions, it is hoped that it will further facilitate and expand the access of women entrepreneurs in maintaining their businesses, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

Introduction: Worldwide patterns of legal segmentation in employment law

AbstractThis Special Issue aims to enrich the discussion on individual employment re‐regulation by introducing the concept of legal segmentation from a global perspective and distinguishing between the standard‐setting, privileging and equalizing functions of employment law. This introductory article draws on a new database created by the authors that allows countries worldwide to be clustered into types of legal segmentation. It presents the authors' methodology and initial findings, which are contrasted with the regional and thematic studies in this Special Issue. Together, these contributions provide policy proposals to support the creation and enforcement of inclusive rules protecting all working people worldwide.

Women's Employment and Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding the Role of Individual and Community Structural Drivers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Empirical findings on the relationship between women's employment and intimate partner violence (IPV) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are mixed. These varied findings may arise because research thus far has given insufficient attention to how individual attributes and community context shape the pathways between women's employment and IPV. Using publicly available Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 20 LMIC settings (n = 168,995), we investigate (1) how women's employment is associated with past-year IPV and (2) if associations differ by household- or community-level structural drivers of IPV: women's attitudes toward IPV, women's participation in household decision-making, and relative wealth. We fit mixed-effects logistic regression models exploring the total, individual, community, and contextual effects of women's employment on past-year IPV; effect measure modification by structural drivers; and cross-level interactions between community-level structural drivers and individual employment. Our analyses reveal positive associations between total (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31; 95% CI [1.27, 1.35]), individual (OR = 1.23; 95% CI [1.19, 1.27]), community (OR = 1.06; 95% CI [1.06, 1.07]), and contextual effects (OR = 1.04; 95% CI [1.03, 1.05]) of women's employment for IPV. Only individual wealth demonstrated statistically significant effect measure modification for the relationship between individual employment and past-year IPV (ratio of OR = 0.95; 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]). These findings suggest interventions that focus only on increasing women's employment may be associated with harmful increases in the occurrence of IPV, even when these interventions enable a large proportion of women in a community to be employed. Structural interventions that change norms of women's autonomy or attitudes toward IPV at the household or community levels may be insufficient to ameliorate these negative effects, whereas interventions that increase household wealth partly may buffer these effects.