Employment In Ireland Research Articles

‘Well they Weren’t Married!’: The Marriage Bar at Radio/Telefís Éireann 1962–72

This article examines the use of the marriage bar at the Irish national broadcaster Radio/Telefís Éireann from 1962, when the station went to air, until 1972, when the station lifted the bar. The marriage bar was a regulation that required women to give up their jobs upon marriage. It applied, on a statutory basis, to all female civil servants, and as a cultural practice for most lines of white collar employment in Ireland. This article takes the Irish national broadcaster as a case study to examine the implication of the bar in the media sector in Ireland. It looks at multiple classes of women at the national broadcaster and examines the varied implementation of the bar and its impact on female workers. To that end, it looks first at women at the higher levels of the station who worked as department heads and producers. It then moves on to discuss the marriage bar’s impact on women who worked on screen at Radio/Telefís Éireann. Finally, it looks at women in the lower ranks of programme making roles who worked as Production Assistants and Research Assistants. It argues that the Irish national broadcaster utilised the marriage bar similarly to other public sector bodies in that it was used to reinforce a male breadwinner ideal within the organisation. This article will discuss multiple classes of women workers at the station drawing out some of the differences and similarities in the bar’s implementation across classes. It will first discuss the ways in which the marriage bar was applied to producers and directors, the highest-ranked female workers at the station. It will then move on to the treatment of married women who worked on screen before addressing women who worked as production assistants and research assistants. Significantly, those who worked as PAs and RAs represented some of the lowest ranking women at the national broadcaster. Finally, the article will discuss the end of the marriage bar at the station.

12 Older workers in low paid employment in Ireland: finance, fit and flexibility

Abstract Background The demographic shift to an older population has sparked research interest on the working lives of older people. Policy awareness is generally directed towards extending working lives, primarily due to pension related fiscal concerns or evoking an active ageing paradigm. This research focuses on a previously unexplored cohort, older workers in low paid employment in Ireland; bringing together themes of ageing populations, labour market participation, earnings adequacy, and active ageing to answer the question. Why do older workers enter and remain in low paid employment? Methods A mixed-methods approach explores the characteristics and experiences of older workers in Ireland. Quantitative analysis of the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) data provides a profile of the individual, sectoral and household characteristics of low paid older workers. This data informs the qualitative sampling strategy. Semi-structured interviews, online and by phone, were conducted with 20 workers aged 50 and over in Ireland. Results The older workers interviewed indicate that financial need is a significant driver into taking up, and remaining in, low paid employment—some beyond official retirement age. Other reasons identified, broadly categorised as ‘fit and flexibility’, encompass skills, location, social drivers, and a gender dimension related to motherhood. Decisions taken earlier in the life course in relation to employment and family reverberate into older age. Findings indicate that while some older workers are ‘stuck’ in low paid employment due to an array of constraints, others choose to be there. Conclusion Understanding the reasons why older workers participate in low paid employment has important implications for policies relating to older people in general; not only in relation to labour market participation and extended working lives, but additionally in relation to a living wage income and pension inadequacy, wellbeing and social inclusion. These findings therefore are of interest not only to policy makers, but to older workers, employee representatives and employers.

Skills narratives amongst media degree graduates and students: Discourses of hard and soft skills in education-to-work journeys

This article focuses on media students and graduates’ subjective understanding and expression of skills acquired while undertaking an undergraduate media studies degree programme. It reports on a single undergraduate media studies programme in Ireland and draws from two questionnaires: a 2019 questionnaire of graduates who reflected on the skills developed during their education as well as their employability; and, following a subsequent skills development intervention in the media programme, a 2021 questionnaire of final-year students who undertook a newly introduced module focusing on media and non-media work, skills development and employment in Ireland. This latter questionnaire had the dual purpose of assessing whether students had benefited from this new module and, more generally, of understanding students’ perceptions of their skills and employability. This study was concerned to ascertain whether the provision of a new module that reflected on skills development through a media programme aided students’ understanding of how their knowledge and skills related to employability. Ultimately, the study found that the module was successful in developing students’ understanding of the alignment between transversal skills and employment. However, despite the intervention, students still perceived employability as related mainly to practical skills and supplemental career development activities.

Breast cancer survivorship and employment in Ireland: Legislative systems and the return to work of women with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in females worldwide. While work is important for well-being, 84% of women in Ireland temporarily or permanently cease working up to six months post-breast cancer diagnosis. Under Irish law, there is a right to reasonable work accommodations, however paid sick leave has only recently been state-mandated. Legislation internationally varies across nations. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of women who have had breast cancer returning to, and/or remaining in work, in the context of employment legislation. Fifteen women with breast cancer, fifteen healthcare professionals, and nine employers nationwide participated in a qualitative-descriptive design, using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and data analysed using thematic analysis. Thirty-nine participants were recruited. A prominent theme from interviews was that most women with breast cancer and healthcare professional cohorts were not aware of employment rights in the context of cancer diagnoses. This is in contrast to employers. Experiences of sick leave and pay entitlements varied amongst women with breast cancer with financial pressure and expediated the return to work evident for some participants. Most women did not report any discrimination on returning to the workplace, although there were examples of indirect discrimination where unfair expectations were being placed on women by colleagues. Education and awareness on employment rights and entitlements during and after cancer treatment is warranted. This could be incorporated into work-focused interventions to support those living with and beyond cancer to transition back into the workplace.

Spatial Microsimulation for Regional Analysis of Marine Related Employment

This paper presents a modelling framework that facilitates marine policy impact assessment at a scale that is below the national level. The spatial microsimulation approach provides a regional level of analysis not generally possible when dealing with ocean economy statistics that are often even difficult to compile at a national level and offers a powerful modelling tool for maritime spatial planning. The spatial microsimulation model is used to profile the spatial distribution of marine related employment in Ireland. It is then used to carry out a micro-level regional assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions on the distribution of employment in the Irish ocean economy. The results demonstrate that many of those made unemployed in the ocean economy during the first lock down were outside the main urban centers, particularly in the case of marine tourism and leisure and the marine natural resource based industries. The paper argues that the use of such spatial microsimulation approaches can facilitate a more evidence based policy response to an economic shock, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, in terms of industry and regional specific supports and can also inform more effective marine spatial planning.

Chimney Sweeps, Climbing Boys and Child Employment in Ireland, 1775–1875

The identification of the involvement of young boys in cleaning chimneys as a social problem in the late eighteenth century, and its effectual elimination in the second half of the nineteenth, provides a yardstick against which one can measure changing attitudes to child labour during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The involvement of children as young as five in this trade and the injuries and illness to which they were subject prompted an incrementally more vigorous demand for its elimination that was fuelled by the increasing societal influence of the respectable. Based on an analysis of the practice, the abuses it permitted and the efforts of reformers to convince the public and politicians that the invention of the sweeping machine meant it was no longer necessary to involve children in this dangerous trade, the article explains how the combination of revulsion at the mistreatment of climbing boys, organised opposition and an attitudinal shift brought about a change in the law that effectively brought it to an end and established the principle that child labour was immoral as well as unnecessary.

Precarity, gender and care in the neoliberal academy

This article examines the rise in precarious academic employment in Ireland as an outcome of the higher education restructuring following OECD (Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development), government initiatives and post‐crisis austerity. Presenting the narratives of academic women at different career stages, we claim that a focus on care sheds new light on the debate on precarity. A more complete understanding of precarity should take account not only of the contractual security but also affective relational security in the lives of employees. The intersectionality of paid work and care work lives was a dominant theme in our interviews among academic women. In a globalized academic market, premised on the care‐free masculinized ideals of competitive performance, 24/7 work and geographical mobility, women who opt out of these norms, suffer labour‐led contractual precarity and are over‐represented in part‐time and fixed‐term positions. Women who comply with these organizational commands need to peripheralize their relational lives and experience care‐led affective precarity.

Blurring boundaries: informal practices in formal employment in Ireland

AbstractFormal and informal employment have traditionally been perceived as separate. This division usually has a social, geographical and temporal character. However, it has also been argued that formal and informal economic practices are not necessarily distinctive and often coexist within the same spaces, firms or even jobs. This article explores the blurring boundaries between formal and informal work. By using examples from four sectors of the Irish economy, we demonstrate how some employers ‘informalise’ working conditions of their formal employees. As we show, such informalisation is mainly focused on cutting employment costs and setting earnings below the minimum wage. This has resulted in a further erosion of the formal–informal division in some sectors of Ireland's post‐recession labour market.

Estimating the Effect of an Increase in the Minimum Wage on Hours Worked and Employment in Ireland

On the 1st of January 2016 the Irish National Minimum Wage increased from A¢â€s¬8.65 to A¢â€s¬9.15 per hour, an increase of approximately six percent. We use a difference-in-differences estimator to evaluate whether the change in the minimum wage affected the hours worked and likelihood of job loss of minimum wage workers. The results indicate that the increase in the minimum wage had a negative and statistically significant effect on the hours worked of minimum wage workers, with an average reduction of approximately 0.5 hours per week. The effect on minimum wage workers on temporary contracts was higher at 3 hours per week. We found a corresponding increase in part-time employment of 2 percentage points for all minimum wage workers and 10 percentage points for those on temporary contracts. We find no clear evidence that the increase in the minimum wage led to an in-creased probability of becoming unemployed or inactive in the six-month period following the rate change. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Practices and roles of Irish occupational therapists’ with adults with intellectual disabilities who access supported employment services

Purpose Work is good for one’s health and well-being. Work for people with disabilities should be encouraged because it is therapeutic and improves participation in the society, leading to better health outcomes. It develops interpersonal relationships and enhances life quality. Work is an aspiration for many people with intellectual disability. Within research literature, there appears to be a lack of research into the experience of occupational therapists in Ireland who refer adults with intellectual disabilities to supported employment services. The purpose of this paper was to explore the experience of Irish occupational therapists who refer adults with intellectual disabilities to supported employment services. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with four occupational therapists recruited through the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland (AOTI). Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Themes that emerged were as follows: occupational therapy participants did not directly refer adults to supported employment but received referrals; occupational therapy roles included assessments, task analysis and development of client’s skills are major components of current practice; pragmatics involved factors that facilitate and challenge; and future roles. Originality/value This paper contributes to occupational therapy practice knowledge by providing a perspective on supported employment in Ireland. Occupational therapists should continue to work in the area of supported employment to support social inclusion and enable participation. Further research with occupational therapists working in this field is required to inform practice.

Collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurship in tourism: a case study of how design thinking created a cultural cluster in Dublin

Tourism accounts for 7.3% of national employment in Ireland and tourists with a craving for culture, the 'culturally curious', are a key market-segment. Following Ireland's economic collapse, the national tourism agency has evolved its role from funding tourism infrastructure to facilitating collaborative innovation. This paper presents the revelatory case study of Merrion Square, a tourism local innovation system (TLIS) of mainly cultural organisations who collaborated using design thinking, which incorporated ethnographic research, involving customers, tour operators, historians and artists to develop a portfolio of entrepreneurial and novel ideas for enhanced tourism experiences. The result was a series of successful new enterprises and the development of a sustained higher level of cooperation between the institutions. 85% of the institutions involved report increased visitor numbers as a consequence. This paper makes a valuable contribution by establishing design thinking's role in collaborative, multi-sectoral tourism service innovation and entrepreneurship.

Collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurship in tourism: a case study of how design thinking created a cultural cluster in Dublin

Tourism accounts for 7.3% of national employment in Ireland and tourists with a craving for culture, the 'culturally curious', are a key market-segment. Following Ireland's economic collapse, the national tourism agency has evolved its role from funding tourism infrastructure to facilitating collaborative innovation. This paper presents the revelatory case study of Merrion Square, a tourism local innovation system (TLIS) of mainly cultural organisations who collaborated using design thinking, which incorporated ethnographic research, involving customers, tour operators, historians and artists to develop a portfolio of entrepreneurial and novel ideas for enhanced tourism experiences. The result was a series of successful new enterprises and the development of a sustained higher level of cooperation between the institutions. 85% of the institutions involved report increased visitor numbers as a consequence. This paper makes a valuable contribution by establishing design thinking's role in collaborative, multi-sectoral tourism service innovation and entrepreneurship.

Farm income variability and off-farm employment in Ireland

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the potential relationship between farm income variability and off-farm employment decisions in the short and medium term for the case of Irish farm operators. Design/methodology/approach Panel probit models of off-farm labour supply are estimated using Teagasc National Farm Survey data for Irish farms. The framework is based largely on standard expected utility but includes a constraint for recent employment history. Findings The analyses identifies some evidence of a positive association between farm income variability and off-farm employment in the medium term but no significant relationship in the short term. This suggests that off-farm employment is part of a wider portfolio decision but is not a strong solution to short-term farm income shocks. Practical implications European farmers increasingly face high income variability but financial risk management tools are not sufficiently developed or widely accessible to assist farmers in managing the associated risk. This deficiency can have negative implications for household economic welfare and future farm investments and hence the future farm income. Off-farm employment can form part of a wider medium-term portfolio strategy but more effective tools are also required for risk management particularly in dealing with short-term volatility and where off-farm employment is not a realistic endeavour given time constraints and/or demographics. Originality/value The estimation of farm income variability includes a detrending method thus reducing the likelihood of overestimating farm income variability for farms in deliberate expansion or decline. While previous research has typically focused on the short-term response of farmers to historical farm income variability, this research has distinguished between the short and medium term.

The Flexicurity System in Ireland

This article discusses the implementation of the flexicurity system in Ireland. As the percentage of dependent employees in temporary employment in Ireland grew from 5.3% in 2002 to 10.2% in 2012, it is clear that flexible working relationships are on the increase. This development in flexibility should be balanced by the creation of modern forms of security for workers. Therefore the paper examines the provisions for developing employment security, i.e. active labour market policies and income security in Ireland. In highlighting the deficiencies of the Irish provisions, the paper exposes some of the difficulties of achieving worker security under the flexicurity system

Innovation processes: do they help or hinder new product development outcomes in Irish SMEs?

Abstract Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make a considerable contribution to the development and diffusion of innovation as well as accounting for the bulk of economic activity and employment in Ireland. A formal process for managing the stages of innovation projects is generally cited as a key component of best practice in new product development (NPD). Successfully managing innovation is an important business objective for SMEs, and yet, relatively little is known about how innovation-active firms approach innovation and, specifically, whether firms use formal processes to manage their NPD activities. This study of innovation-active Irish SMEs finds that three quarters of firms report that they do not operate a formal innovation process, yet this is not associated with poorer performance in terms of revenues from new products and services; and there are few differences between firms with formal innovation processes and firms with informal innovation process across each stage of the Innovation Value Chain. Having a more formal innovation process is, however, associated with success at bringing novel products to market. This study contributes to our understanding of the management of innovation in SMEs and to the emerging literature on SMEs that has emphasised both the prevalence and the effectiveness of informal management processes.

Short‐Term Labour Migration: Brazilian Migrants in Ireland

AbstractShort‐term low‐skilled labour migration has increased internationally during the past two decades of rapid economic growth, in response to deficiencies in local labour supply in developed countries. Ireland was one of the newer states to recruit labour internationally on a large scale from the late 1990s until the global economic downturn in 2008. Various forms of short‐term migration, as well as both documented and undocumented employment, followed. This paper discusses the experience of Brazilian migrants in Ireland who assume particular interest because of being a new migration stream over a great distance, which involved relatively short sojourns in Ireland for many before returning to Brazil. Changing government work permit policies for non‐European Economic Area citizens, European Union enlargement, and economic recession all contributed to reduce the opportunities for legal employment in Ireland. This paper is based on research with workers who were initially recruited for the agricultural processing sector in two small towns in western Ireland through an existing link with the province of Goiás in Brazil. The evidence differs from some other studies of international labour migration in that data collection took place in both Ireland and Brazil. It highlights in particular the vulnerability of short‐term migrants to labour policies and the economy in host countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An Examination of the Factor Structure and Scale Reliability of the Work Motivation Scale, the Motivation Sources Inventory

This study examined the factor structure and scale reliability of the Motivation Sources Inventory (MSI; Barbuto & Scholl, 1998), an instrument designed to measure the motivational concepts contained within the meta‐theory of motivation (Leonard, Beauvais, & Scholl, 1999). Participants were comprised of financial‐service professionals, health‐industry administrators, and retail and distribution workers, all engaged in full‐time employment in Ireland. Data were collected through the administration of the Motivation Source Inventory (MSI) to a sample of working professionals (N = 252). Factor analyses, scale reliabilities, and inter‐item correlations were conducted. Results of the current study did not support the scale structure reported by the instrument developers. The implications of these results and suggestions for future research are presented.

Inclusion or Exploitation? Irish Women Enter the Labour Force

This article seeks to examine the division of women into committed and uncommitted workers by gender theorists. The article uses interview data from a study of women in service sector employment in Ireland to ask how (or even if) women actually make the decision to enter the workforce and why they stay there. Moreover, we explore how some Irish women themselves experience these changes.

Information Technology, Gender Segmentation and the Relocation of Back Office Employment: The Growth of the Teleservices Sector in Ireland

The movement of routine back office activities from the central business districts of metropolitan regions in advanced economies to remote locations is leading to a distinctive global division of labour in office employment. While facilitated by the development of information and communication technologies, this process of relocation is primarily driven by the desire to reduce operating costs, mainly by moving to sources of cheap female workers. This reflects a classic gender segmentation process in patriarchal societies whereby back office work is mainly done by women and, accordingly, involves relatively low levels of remuneration. This provides direct parallels with the offshoring of routine manufacturing work associated with the new international division of labour. Ireland has been to the forefront in acting as a host for internationally-mobile routine office work, initially involving mainly data processing and, more recently, teleservices. As elsewhere, teleservices employment in Ireland is characterized by a combination of female predominance, low pay, difficult working conditions and high turnover rates. However, the Irish teleservices sector is unusual in its foreign language requirement, the high education levels of workers and its concentration in a prosperous metropolitan location. The resultant labour shortages, combined with growing use of Internet-based business-to-consumer transactions, are likely to place the sustainability of the sector under increasing pressure. Plans to upgrade the types of back office functions being located in Ireland may pose further challenges for women workers due to male dominance of the higher-level jobs involved.

Developmental significance of part-time employment for Irish adolescents

Research in both Britian and the United States has established that paid employment is part of the normal experience of most adolescents in the middle and later years of schooling. Evidence is also available suggesting that such work may have an impact, sometimes beneficial and sometimes harmful, on the education of those who work, as well as on their social and cognitive development. Interpretation of research data is complicated by the fact that those doing least well at school may be most inclined to seek employment. Research on adolescent employment in Ireland has so far been limited, but it would appear that Irish children are about as likely to have part-time jobs as children in Britain. Since the possiblity of cultural differences makes generalization between societies problematic, it is proposed that research is needed on both the extent of adolescent employment in Ireland and on its educational and psychological impact.