Individual Worker Characteristics Research Articles

The evolution of job tenure in transition economies

AbstractThis paper uses labour force survey data to analyse the dynamics of job tenure in seven transition economies of Europe and a comparator country (Türkiye) for an average 13 years per country during the period 1994–2020. The country‐specific age‐period‐cohort decomposition demonstrates that the job tenure of the cohort of workers entering the labour market in the 2000s is 4–9 years shorter than that of workers who started working in the 1970s. This difference is at least twice as large as the difference in job tenure observed among workers from the same cohorts in European Union countries. These trends in tenure persist after accounting for changes in cohort composition, but they are significantly attenuated by controlling for differences in individual worker characteristics. These results suggest that the evolution of tenure in the transition economies of Europe may still be driven by the transition‐induced structural change processes in the labour market.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK CHARACTERISTICS AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING OF EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES.

Aim: To empirically investigate the relationship between work characteristics and subjective well-being of managers and employees in educational organizations. Materials and Methods: Analysis of work characteristics was done using The Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ). The modified BBC Subjective Well-being scale (BBC-SWB) was used to analyze educational staff's well-being. The research data were processed using mathematical statistics: descriptive statistics (mean, std. deviation), Pearson correlation, and independent samples t-test. 345 respondents from the Central region of Ukraine participated in the survey. Results: Although educational staff had a generally positive assessment of work characteristics, there were certain disproportions in their assessments of individual work characteristics: work autonomy characteristics were rated lower than task characteristics, while social characteristics and work context characteristics were rated lower than knowledge characteristics. In addition, educational organization managers rated the vast majority of work characteristics higher than employees, which suggests a more favorable organizational environment for managers than employees. There were three work characteristics groups in the context of their associations with staff's subjective well-being: 1) work characteristics that had a positive statically significant relationship with both managers and employees' subjective well-being indicators; 2) work characteristics that had positive and negative statistically significant relationships with employees' subjective well-being indicators; 3) work characteristics that had positive and negative statistically significant relationships with managers' subjective well-being indicators. Conclusions: The obtained findings may be helpful for managers and employees of educational organizations in promoting staff's subjective well-being and increasing educational organizations' effectiveness.

Moral disengagement mediates the relationship between idiosyncratic deals and core employees' prosocial rule breaking

The majority of past studies on employees' prosocial rule breaking have focused on the effects of individual traits, work characteristics, or leadership behavior. We used social cognitive theory to examine the effect of idiosyncratic deals on core employees' prosocial rule breaking from the perspective of employee–organization relations. Using a longitudinal design, we conducted a survey with 395 Chinese core employees. The results show that idiosyncratic deals were positively related to core employees' prosocial rule breaking, and that moral disengagement played a partial mediating role in this relationship. This study gives new insight into the processes through which idiosyncratic deals increase core employees' prosocial rule breaking, and provides important suggestions for how to reduce prosocial rule breaking in organizations. Theoretical and practical implications and future research prospects are discussed.

Women’s employment exits in Egypt: the roles of marriage, children, job characteristics, and women’s empowerment

ABSTRACT Transition to non-employment is prevalent for women in the Egyptian labor market, particularly those working in the private sector. This paper analyzes women’s labor market transitions, particularly to non-employment and to other labor market states in the time around marriage and childbirth. We test whether individual characteristics, work characteristics, or agency affect women’s transitions. Specifically, the paper answers three main questions: First, what are the explanatory factors for the women’s transition to non-employment? Second, what are the differences between the effect of previous job characteristics and women’s agency on the employment decision? Third, what are the determinants of the transition to other labor market states (multiple employment decisions)? Drawing on panel and retrospective data from the 2012 and 2018 waves of Egypt’s Labor Market Panel Survey, we estimate these relationships using a single risk model and a competing risk model. Results show that marriage and motherhood increase women’s transition to non-employment. The timing of the transition happens at marriage and the year before marriage (anticipation effect). This impact is more considerable for women working in the private sector than the public sector. Women working in non-wage work transition to private wage work in the years before marriage. The results show that the sector of employment plays a crucial role in women’s transition to non-employment. In addition, the availability of external help in the household is considered an important factor that can help retain women in the labor force.

Concurrent 19. Presentation for: Mental health and the resources sector: findings from a research program to promote effective mental health solutions

Presented on Wednesday 18 May: Session 19 This paper outlines a multifaceted national workplace mental health research program that incorporated assessment of individual level, work characteristics and organisational factors on mental health among workers in the resources sector within Australia and internationally. This multistep program included: identification of level of mental health and substance use problems in an Australian national study; examination of risk and protective factors (work roles, social networks and location); attitudes to seeking mental health assistance; organisational policies regarding mental health within a workplace health and safety framework; piloting a resources-specific workplace mental health program for team leaders and supervisors and a workplace suicide prevention program; and application of digital mental health interventions to this sector. Additional linked studies in New South Wales and Queensland in the resources sector assessed personal factors influencing perception of workplace physical risks and hazards, risk behaviours and opportunities for risk mitigation; and links between mental and physical health factors. A summary of the key findings are presented within the context of a program of research addressing mental health within remote settings in the resources sector. Mental health-related problems are highly prevalent among workers in remote resource settings, which has significant implications for workplace health and safety. Strategies to address prevention and effective intervention need to be tailored to the industry and employee characteristics, and address models of mental health care that are feasible and accessible in often remote and challenging environments. To access the presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

Mental health and the resources sector: findings from a research program to promote effective mental health solutions

This paper outlines a multifaceted national workplace mental health research program that incorporated assessment of individual level, work characteristics and organisational factors on mental health among workers in the resources sector within Australia and internationally. This multistep program included: identification of level of mental health and substance use problems in an Australian national study; examination of risk and protective factors (work roles, social networks and location); attitudes to seeking mental health assistance; organisational policies regarding mental health within a workplace health and safety framework; piloting a resources-specific workplace mental health program for team leaders and supervisors and a workplace suicide prevention program; and application of digital mental health interventions to this sector. Additional linked studies in New South Wales and Queensland in the resources sector assessed personal factors influencing perception of workplace physical risks and hazards, risk behaviours and opportunities for risk mitigation; and links between mental and physical health factors. A summary of the key findings are presented within the context of a program of research addressing mental health within remote settings in the resources sector. Mental health-related problems are highly prevalent among workers in remote resource settings, which has significant implications for workplace health and safety. Strategies to address prevention and effective intervention need to be tailored to the industry and employee characteristics, and address models of mental health care that are feasible and accessible in often remote and challenging environments.

KEPUASAN DAN PRODUKTIVITAS KERJA KARYAWAN SAAT BEKERJA DARI RUMAH STUDI KASUS PADA PT. IMS MADIUN

<p><em>Employee job satisfaction and productivity when working from home is influenced by several factors, including job characteristics, individual work styles, and household characteristics. This study aims to determine the effect of job characteristics, individual work styles, and household characteristics on job satisfaction and work productivity. In addition, this research aims to determine the indirect effect of job characteristics, individual work styles, and household characteristics on work productivity through job satisfaction as an intervening variable. The research was conducted at PT. INKA Multi Solutions Madiun. The method in this study was a quantitative method. The population and research sample were employees of PT. INKA Multi Solusi (IMS) Madiun which carried out work from home totals 104 employees. Sampling using the saturated sampling technique. The research instrument used a questionnaire via google form. The data analysis technique used Path Analysis with the IBM SPSS 25 program. The results show that job characteristics and work style have a positive and significant effect towards job satisfaction and productivity of PT. IMS Madiun while working from home. Meanwhile, household characteristics have no significant positive effect on job satisfaction and do not affect the work productivity of PT. IMS Madiun while working from home. Next, job satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on the work productivity of PT. IMS Madiun while working from home. Other results state that individual work characteristics and work styles have a positive and significant effect on work productivity through job satisfaction of employees of PT. IMS Madiun. Meanwhile, household characteristics have no significant positive effect on work productivity through job satisfaction of employees of PT. IMS</em><em></em></p>

Trends in Educational and Skill Mismatch in the United States

We examined trends in the incidence and correlates of educational and skill mismatch in the United States. We focused on trends over time in the associations between various types of mismatch and a range of factors including contextual conditions. We explored whether contextual conditions at the transitional period from school to jobs increase or decrease the probability of mismatch and whether such relationships persist throughout the working career. Our central questions were how the incidence of and relationship between educational and skill mismatch in the U.S. changed between 1994, 2003, and 2012 and how this differed by age, gender, immigration status, educational attainment, and occupation. We used three cross-sectional surveys that had not previously been implemented for such an effort. These were the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) in 1994, the Adult Literacy and Life-skills (ALL) survey in 2003, and the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in 2012. Repeated cross-sectional data provided us with substantial analytic leverage. Our findings point toward the key role of occupational or positional factors rather than individual worker characteristics as being most implicated in trends in mismatch. We describe the importance of our results for labor market theories.

THE INTEGRATION OF EXPERIENTIAL TECHNIQUES IN ADULT EDUCATION AND THE FACTORS INFLUENCING THEIR ADOPTION

The present research is a quantitative approach to the experiential learning provided in adult education. It focuses on the investigation of the experiential teaching techniques adopted and applied by adult educators at Vocational Training Institutes (VTI), based on their individual and work characteristics. The sample consisted of 317 instructors of public and private VTI, which was a product of inventory sampling, and was conducted at national level. A standard questionnaire, that was prepared for the needs of this research was used as a research tool. The results of the research are presented through descriptive, but also inductive statistical methods and confirm that adult educators use a variety of experiential teaching techniques in their work, with some of them being more preferred than others that seem to be less popular. In addition, the individual-work characteristics of educators affect, in some cases, the degree and intensity with which they utilize some experiential techniques, during the teaching process.

Measurement survey using acoustic measurement network and sound environment evaluation system by experience sampling

The use of open-plan offices is increasing as they are effective in improving intellectual productivity by fostering a communication among workers. Previous research on the relationship between the indoor sound environment and intellectual productivity has mostly reported the impact of the sound environment on the tasks that individuals work on. However, there has been no research on the impact of sound environment on office spaces where multiple workers are actually working. In this study, we developed a system that can analyze the individual characteristics of workers in relation to the sound environment by simultaneously measuring their evaluation to the sound environment and the sound environment of the office. The system collected workers' evaluation of their impressions to the sound environment through a regular questionnaire using the experience sampling method. At the same time, it measured the sound environment of the office with multiple small measurement devices. The obtained sound environment evaluation data and the acoustic data of the office were stored in a single database. Finally, this system was run in a working environment to evaluate the sound environment on a trial basis.

The impact of social comparisons of job demands and job control on well-being.

We extended the job demand-control model by including a social comparison perspective and hypothesised that an employee's work-related well-being is to some degree relative to the perceived work environment of coworkers rather than absolute (in terms of isolated effects of individual work characteristics). Hence, we account for the social context when examining the effects of individual job characteristics. Using a lagged study design with two measurement times eight weeks apart, we examined the effects of the (in)congruence between one´s own job demands and job control with the perceived job demands and job control of coworkers on job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficiency. Findings from polynomial regression analyses and response surface methodology revealed that perceiving coworkers as having either higher or lower demands than oneself is associated with lower job satisfaction and higher levels of emotional exhaustion. This provides partial support for our hypotheses. We found first-time evidence that social comparison processes regarding job demands can influence employees´ well-being.

The Organizational Context of Supervisory Bullying: Diversity/Equity and Work-Family Policies

The impact of harmful social relations in the workplace, such as workplace bullying, has become abundantly clear to the social sciences. However, data limitations have prevented researchers from fully examining the organizational component of workplace bullying. Using a sample of linked-employer-employee data collected from the German working population, this paper shows how the interaction of organizational attributes and individual characteristics of workers (specifically, gender) is associated with how workplace bullying manifests itself. A series of diversity/equity and work-family policies are examined. Results show that some programs, but not all, are associated with workplace bullying. More frequent organizational use of mentoring programs for women is associated with higher levels of supervisory bullying, while more frequent use of work-family policies is associated with higher levels of supervisory bullying in cases where the employee and supervisor are different genders.

Job quality, fair work and gig work: the lived experience of gig workers

Despite growing interest in the concept of gig work, the nature and quality of gig work is not well understood. The article builds on recent research by exploring gig work through an application of notions of job quality associated with Scotland’s Fair Work Convention. Further, in recognising the multidimensional nature of job quality and the divide between objective versus subjective approaches to job quality, the article adopts a checklist or job characteristics approach, focusing on objective aspects of quality work, whilst drawing on subjective experiences to capture lived experience of gig work. A key finding is, in spite of a deficit in objective characteristics of Fair Work, the subjective experience varies between platforms as well as in accordance with individual worker characteristics, such as between those undertaking gig work as a primary or supplementary source of income. A further key finding suggests the growth in gig work reflects the normalisation of what in the past would constitute poor working conditions. Taken together, the findings highlight limitations of theoretical models of job quality due to an emphasis on traditional employment.

Global dimension of labor inequality

The transition of the world economy from Keynesianism to neoliberalism at the end of the twentieth century entailed tectonic shifts in the sphere of labor and employment. The organization of the production process on neoliberal principles under the conditions of the post-Fordist regime of capital accumulation has led to instability and insecurity of employment, a high level of labor underutilization, widespread labor poverty, as well as the rapidly increasing inequality that threatens social development today and stability of society. Based on the economic-sociological approach the author examines the reasons for the expansion and the specifics of the manifestation of inequality in the world of work in the context of the post-Fordist neoliberal reform of the global economic system. The article characterizes the key trends in the functioning of the labor market, contributing to the increase in inequality over the past decades (a decrease of the labor share in the national income, a reduction in the relationship between productivity and wages growth, the erosion of the trade union movement and the destruction of the welfare state). The main attention is paid to the study of the phenomenon of labor income inequality, its dynamics and forms of manifestation in the modern world, as well as to identify the impact on this type of inequality, both individual characteristics of workers and the characteristics of the industry, size of the enterprise, as well as the level of socio-economic development of the country. Based on the study of these processes, the author concludes that the redistribution of income in favor of capital and their high differentiation are the quintessence of neoliberal capitalism. The economic and political depletion of nation states in the context of neoliberal reforms led to their low resources, insufficient either to carry out a broad social policy and help those in need, or to adequately combat the consequences of crises characteristic of capitalism or any force majeure situations, such as, for example, the current COVID-19 pandemic. To get the global economy out of the current crisis requires the implementation of fundamental changes not only in the field of economic policy, but also in the entire system of distribution of public goods.

Discrimination against refugees in the Palestinian labor market

PurposeThis paper examines the level and structure of the wage inequality between nonrefugee and refugee workers in Palestine and the extent to which such wage gap reflects any marginalization and discrimination against refugees. It also investigates how the disparities in distribution to individual worker characteristics contribute to the wage inequality in Palestine.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use both Oaxaca and Blinder (OB) (Oaxaca, 1973 and Blinder, 1973) and Fortin et al. (2011) unconditional quantile decomposition approaches to measure the size of the wage gap along with the wage distribution and to decompose the wage differences into productivity (i.e. explained or the composition effects) and wage structure effects (i.e. unexplained or discrimination effects).FindingsResults indicate that most of the wage gap between refugees and nonrefugees is attributed to the wage structure effect (possibly explained by discrimination) against refugees in the Palestinian labor market. The wage gap between refugees and nonrefugees is not uniform throughout the wage distribution and supports the “sticky floor effect.”Practical implicationsThis work introduces important policy implications for the policymakers in the Palestinian labor market. It reveals the economic and social factors, individual worker characteristics as well as labor market characteristics contribute to the wage inequality in Palestine.Social implicationsThis research reveals a crucial social challenge in the Palestinian society, represented by the wage discrimination against refugees in Palestine. This is despite the denial of such discrimination from official bodies, local institutions and many other policymakers. It also captures gender inequality between men and women.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical work in Palestine that contends with a very sensitive issue in the Palestinian society, that is, the discrimination against refugees in the Palestinian labor market. Most of the existing studies have approached this issue from a humanitarian view in order to show the deterioration of social and economic situations in the refugee camps.

Quantifying the employment accessibility benefits of shared automated vehicle mobility services: Consumer welfare approach using logsums

Abstract The goal of this study is to assess and quantify the potential employment accessibility benefits of shared-use automated vehicle (AV) mobility service (SAMS) modes across a large diverse metropolitan region considering heterogeneity in the working population. To meet this goal, this study proposes employing a welfare-based (i.e. logsum-based) measure of accessibility, obtained via estimating a hierarchical work destination-commute mode choice model. The employment accessibility logsum measure incorporates the spatial distribution of worker residences and employment opportunities, the attributes of the available commute modes, and the characteristics of individual workers. The study further captures heterogeneity of workers using a latent class analysis (LCA) approach to account for different worker clusters valuing different types of employment opportunities differently, in which the socio-demographic characteristics of workers are the LCA model inputs. The accessibility analysis results in Southern California indicate: (i) the accessibility benefit differences across latent classes are modest but young workers and low-income workers do see higher benefits than high- and middle-income workers; (ii) there are substantial spatial differences in accessibility benefits with workers living in lower density areas benefiting more than workers living in high-density areas; (iii) nearly all the accessibility benefits come from the SAMS-only mode as opposed to the SAMS+Transit mode; and (iv) the SAMS cost per mile assumption significantly impacts the magnitude of the overall employment accessibility benefits.

Working together to protect women and children from domestic violence: Factors influencing willingness to collaborate between organizations

The high prevalence of co-occurring domestic violence (DV) and child maltreatment requires collaboration between domestic violence organizations (DVO) and child protection services (CPS) to meet family needs. Little is known about how individual worker characteristics and agency level factors interact to influence staff’s willingness to collaborate between these two services. Data from a US statewide survey of 846 DVO and CPS workers was used to examine how worker characteristics (experience, training, education, professional efficacy) and organizational collaboration factors (supervisory support, appropriate workloads, etc.) impact workers’ willingness to collaborate. The results indicate that while agency collaboration factors increase workers’ willingness to collaborate, this relationship is mediated and moderated by workers’ professional efficacy. Other factors that influenced willingness to collaborate included workers’ attitudes, experience, salary, and personally knowing someone who has experienced DV. The findings indicate that while agency support for collaboration is important, worker factors must also be addressed for collaboration to occur.

Occupational Closure and Wage Inequality: How Occupational Closure Effects Vary Between Workers

Occupational closure continuously establishes, contests, or reinforces institutional boundaries around occupations. Occupational closure thereby interferes with wage-setting processes in the labor market. Recent research shows a substantial impact of occupational closure on wage determination processes in Germany. However, research on occupational closure is based on the assumption that all incumbents of an occupation benefit in the same way. We challenge this assumption by showing that occupational closure works differently for different workers. Using the 2006 sample of the German Structure of Earnings Survey, we distinguish nine worker profiles (three educational groups crossed with three career stages). For each of these profiles we investigate the effects of five closure sources (credentialism, standardization, licensure, representation by occupational associations, and unionization) on the expected mean wages of occupations, employing a two-step multilevel regression model. Our results show that occupational closure does indeed differ between workers. We can show that closure plays out differently throughout employees’ careers. For example, representation through occupational associations pays off the most as employees’ careers advance. Closure sources are unequally distributed across occupations and benefit employees with tertiary degrees more than employees with vocational qualifications. Credentialism also yields the largest advantages for workers with tertiary degrees regarding wage rents. However, our analyses also point to complex interactions between credentialism and standardization, demanding further research, to investigate the interplay between individual worker characteristics and the various sources of occupational closure.

Digitization-based automation and occupational dynamics

We examine the relationship between occupational automation probabilities and employment dynamics over nearly two decades. We show that employment and wage shares of occupations with a higher automation risk have declined in Sweden over the period 1996-2013. This has occurred both at the aggregate private business sector but also within firms, where the wage share changes have been larger than the employment share changes. Combining the automation risk in workers’ occupations with individual worker characteristics, we find substantial heterogeneity. This includes that education dampens the automation risk of workers, as the average automation probability of low-skilled workers is almost twice as high as of university graduates. Employment shares in high-risk occupations have moreover declined across all wage levels, and most so in high-wage occupations. Our results indicate that it is not necessarily the level of risk that matter, but rather the heterogeneity between occupations.

Exploring associations of employee reports on safety climate, disability management and labour management with work characteristics and injury at an Australian poultry meat processing plant

PurposeWork-related injury remains problematic in poultry processing, with limited understanding of the organisational factors associated with work injury in this cohort. The aim of this study is to explore associations of employee reports of three organisational domains: safety climate, disability management and labour management with individual and work characteristics and history of work injury within a poultry meat processing plant in Queensland, Australia. Materials and methodsAll employees at one large poultry processing plant in Australia were invited to complete a survey about their perceptions on the three organisational domains, their individual and work characteristics, and work injury history. Domain scores were compared against individual characteristics (gender and age) and work characteristics (employment status, role, shift, work zone and employment duration) within the workplace and work injury. Results311 workers completed the survey, with an analytical sample of 292 respondents after incomplete surveys were removed. Over a third (35%) reported a current or past work-related injury in the last 12 months. Safety climate, disability management and labour management scores were strongly and negatively associated with work injury and positively associated with specific work zones within the meatworks after adjustment for individual and work characteristics. ConclusionOrganisational factors of safety climate, disability management and labour management processes appear to be associated with work injury and location of work within this workplace. The role of organisational factors should be considered in future studies examining interventions aimed at addressing work injury.