Job Quality Index Research Articles

Job quality and institutional investors: Evidence in 17 OECD countries, 1993-2017

This article investigates the relationship between the share of assets held by different institutional investors as a proportion of GDP and a synthetic index of job quality in 17 OECD countries from 1993 to 2017. Our first contribution is to provide a new, multidimensional composite indicator of job quality based only on objective dimensions. According to this measure, a continuous decline in job quality is observed in many OECD countries. Second, the emergence of institutional investors as central financial actors since the 1980s has significantly affected labour relations. In this regard, we argue that the increasing influence of institutional investors through their effects on wages and jobs is associated with a lower level of job quality. Using fixed-effects OLS and IV regressions, we find little support that the share of asset holdings by institutional investors is correlated with a lower level of job quality, mainly due to the small magnitude of the coefficient estimates. Finally, we find that the job quality-reducing effect of the share of assets held by institutional investors is more pronounced in countries that have experienced a decline in union bargaining power, again with a small magnitude of our different estimates.

Digital Revolution and Job Quality of Lower Class Workers: Quasi‐experimental Evidence from the Broadband China Program

AbstractThis study examines the impact of the digital revolution on the job quality of workers with a specific focus on those at the lowest end of the spectrum in China's domestic labor market. Leveraging exogenous timing variations that result from the implementation of the Broadband China Program across different cities, it provides quasi‐experimental evidence concerning the effects of the digital revolution on the job quality of lower class workers, particularly rural‐urban migrant workers. Using data from China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this study reveals that migrants’ comprehensive job quality index increased by 0.0138 (5.33 percent), and its component indices experienced positive effects after the Broadband China Program was implemented. This study also investigates heterogeneous policy treatment effects among workers with diverse demographic and occupational characteristics. Underlying mechanisms are considered, including positive macroeconomic shocks, increased social interactions, and Internet use. In particular, migrants’ attitudes toward local settlement became more positive, suggesting that the positive effects of the digital revolution on livelihood lasted for some time. Taking China as an example, this study contributes valuable empirical evidence of how the digital revolution can affect lower class workers’ employment or living conditions in a developing country. Related policy implications are also considered.

Development of a composite job quality index for LGBTQ+ workers in Quebec (Canada)

When heterosexism and cisgenderism leads to social exclusion at work, it negatively affects the well‐being of LGBTQ+ people. To measure this phenomenon, the authors constructed a specific job quality index based on a sample of 1,761 LGBTQ+ Quebec workers recruited as part of the UNIE‐LGBTQ survey (2019–2020). The index was created using factor scores; it comprises 16 indicators and covers five dimensions. It has acceptable internal consistency and is moderately associated with LGBTQ+ job satisfaction. Its conceptual validity is bolstered by the fact that it reflects anticipated differences between groups.

Job quality in turbulent times: An update of the European Job Quality Index

Job quality in turbulent times: An update of the European Job Quality Index

Intrinsic Job Quality Attributes and Perceived Stress Amongst Social Workers: The Mediating Role of In-Work Social Environment Factors

Abstract Social work is a highly stressful occupation, its practice requiring coping with complex situations integral to serving the most deprived populations. Professionals in this field experience varying degrees of secondary trauma, burnout and psychological distress imperiling their own well-being. This study uses the newest framework of intrinsic job attributes to examine a multidimensional model of intrinsic job quality constructs to explain perceived stress (PS) amongst national sample of social workers in Israel (N = 2,542). Based on cross-sectional data, we employed exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to construct intrinsic job quality index. Structural equation model (SEM) and path analyses revealed the adverse effect of workload and a poor physical working environment on social workers’ PS. Social environment factors relating to superiors’ and co-workers’ support and sense of recognition mediated the effects of workload, job autonomy, physical working environment and meaningful work on social workers’ PS through diverse pathways. These findings may inform policy measures responding to the urgent need to monitor social workers’ workload and suggest how to nurture a stress-reducing social environment in social services in order to promote social workers’ well-being and the quality of the services they provide.

Sustainable human resource management the mediating role between work engagement and teamwork performance.

The present work aims to analyze the properties of the working conditions recorded in the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS); with it, it has being built seven independent indexes about different aspects of work’ quality in the health sector, and these constructs are used to evaluate their effects on work engagement (WE). In this sense, the originality of incorporating teamwork as a modulating variable is included. To analyze the effects of the job quality index (JQI) on the WE, a logistic regression model is proposed for a total of 3044 workers within the health sector, differentiating between those who work or not in a team; in a first stage and these estimates are compared with those obtained using an artificial neural network model, and both are used for the consideration of the research hypotheses about several causal factor. An important contributions of the study, it is related to how work commitment is mainly influenced by prospects, social environment, intensity and earnings, all of them related to job performance. Therefore, knowledge of the determinants of work commitment and the ability to modulate its effects in teamwork environments is necessary for the development of truly sustainable Human Resources policies.

The association of disability status with job tenure for U.S. workers.

Job tenure is a useful economic indicator. To employees, longer job tenure creates higher rewards in pay, promotion opportunities, and job security. For employers, there are fewer costs in recruitment and retraining when job turnover is low. Marginalized populations, such as persons with disabilities, may find work in various economies, but retention is more difficult. They are often the first to be laid off in struggling economies. The purpose of this study is to highlight differences in individual and employment-related factors associated with job tenure for American workers with and without disabilities. Using newly available survey data (N = 1,538), OLS regression is used to estimate job tenure for workers with and without disabilities, controlling for worker sociodemographic characteristics, a job quality index, and job characteristics. All disability types are examined. Multivariate results show that workers with disabilities have shorter job tenure than others when controlling for job quality, individual characteristics and job characteristics. Employees with disabilities have shorter job tenure than those without. Given the benefits of lengthened job tenure, further efforts should be made to explore this issue and to develop effective strategies that help those with disabilities retain jobs long term.

US and them: Job quality differences between natives and immigrants in Europe

AbstractUsing microdata from the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU‐LFS) and aggregate indicators of labour market institutions, this article compares the job quality of native and non‐native workers across European countries and analyses the impact of the institutional settings on the job quality differential between both groups. The LFS is used to measure a job quality index for the period 2005–2017. We find that some immigrant groups fare worse than natives, the contribution of the “composition effect” to explain this differential is large, and the institutional framework affects the immigration gap in job quality. In particular, some labour market institutions (more centralized wage bargaining, stricter employment protection legislation) tend to be detrimental for immigrants relative to natives, while integration policies seem to work well in reducing these differences.

New Model for Measuring Job Quality: Developing an European Intrinsic Job Quality Index (EIJQI)

This article deals with the development of a new model for measuring job quality based on the intrinsic components of work, an European Intrinsic Job Quality Index. The objective is measure job quality on the basis of the characteristics inherent to the labour activity itself, and not from its financial rewards. First, we review the existing literature on current measurement models and justify the need for an index of this nature. Secondly, we explain the fundamental methodological decisions adopted for the construction of the index, and present the descriptive model, the indicators that make up each dimension, and the empirical model. Finally, we present the index scores by European Union countries within the framework of institutional theories. In this work, we have used a quantitative methodology, based on social indicator systems, and it has been carried out mainly with data from the European Working Conditions Survey (2015). The fundamental contribution of this article is the construction of a new model for measuring the quality of work, robust, valid and reliable, which will allow us to monitor the intrinsic job quality of the member countries, and thus provide relevant information that contributes to the framework of public policies.

Job Quality and Well-Being: Evidence from DR Congo

In the context of dualism of the labor market—informal sector labor market and formal sector labor market—this study assessed the impact of job quality on worker’s well-being. Using the first stage of the 2012 national survey data 1-2-3, preliminary results revealed that among 1443 employees, 85.44% were working in the informal sector whereas 14.56% in the formal sector. Given its multidimensional characteristics, the job quality was measured by six components such as job security, existence of union, training, employer’s support, working hours and promotion. In terms of contribution of each dimension, the Multiple Component Analysis was applied and based on the finding, we have selected the first three components with 46%, 39% and 15% respectively as a contribution to the construction of the job quality index. On the other hand, the well-being was measured by worker’s income and two classes— poor employee and non-poor employees—were created using the 2012 monetary threshold according to the place of residence. We estimated afterwards the logit model. Our results have revealed that the effect of job quality was significantly positive on worker’s well-being in both cases workers from Informal Sector and all workers irrespectively of their sector. In formal sector, the evidence of the significant impact of job quality was statistically rejected. The main explanation of this finding can be imputed to the job quality level which was already high in formal sector compared to informal sector. Furthermore, for all workers, this result was a consequence of the dominant effect of job quality on worker’s well-being in informal sector on that in formal sector. In view of above findings, there is a need of controlling and strengthening the job quality in informal sector for an increase in job security index by one unit, the probability that worker’s well-being increases is 0.38.

What happened women working in the hospitality industry when COVID-19 struck?

This original unpublished study explored the impact of COVID-19 on women working in the hospitality industry. The industry is a significant employer and its workforce has been, and continues to be, adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. 1 Worldwide, much of the hospitality workforce is female-dominated2  and, globally, women were most affected by the pandemic and suffered more job losses than men in the unpredictable and changing conditions.3 Therefore, exploring women's employment in the hospitality industry during the crisis is an important issue to investigate. Before COVID-19, women employed in hospitality had poorer quality jobs, with lower pay and fewer career opportunities than men.4 From a critical perspective, women's weaker employment position appears related to three aspects of hospitality organisations. Firstly, the glass ceiling associated with the absence of a gender equality lens in organisations forms invisible barriers that hinder women's careers. 5   Secondly, women's underrepresentation in executive management teams leads to their lack of agency in overcoming long-standing gender injustices.6 Thirdly, negative gender-based stereotypes related to women's presumed domestic skills and the feminised nature of many jobs, for example, housekeeping, retain women at the industry's lower levels; women working in the hospitality industry are stereotyped as prioritising family and household responsibilities. 6, 7 An interpretivist approach guided the collection of secondary data from three mass media news sources with a New Zealand focus: Radio New Zealand, the New Zealand Herald, and the Guardian. A convenience sampling strategy was used to collect 63 relevant news reports, from 23rd January to 23rd September 2020, by selecting keywords such as 'women in COVID-19' and ‘hospitality work’, from the targeted news platforms. Data analysis according to Braun and Clark's (2013) thematic analytical method 8  revealed four main themes related to COVID-19's impact on the hospitality industry, and women's employment. The routine social and physical interactions between people ceased abruptly, or were disrupted by COVID-19, leading to changes in hospitality operations and to the workforce. Women's hospitality employment and careers also changed significantly. Whether they were forced to, or 'voluntarily' stayed home, women  suddenly assumed the role of primary caregiver, along with domestic responsibilities and extra time-consuming commitments, such as children’s schooling. Consequently, women lost their jobs and were unable to avail of any new opportunities posed by the COVID-19 crisis. The key finding of this study is that the historic gender-based stereotyping of women employees (that they will prioritise family responsibilities) became the new reality for many women during the COVID-19 crisis. Following lockdown situations,  while women remained at home, men tended to go back to work. Therefore, as women already held a disadvantaged employment position before COVID-19, this novel crisis only magnified existing problems. The study showed the benefit of using mass media as data sources in hospitality research as they gave ‘real time’ snapshots of the negative effects of the Covid-19 crisis for women workers in the hospitality industry, in New Zealand and globally. The crucial message is that finally, gender equality must become an important priority for hospitality organisations post-pandemic. Corresponding author Lin Chen may be contacted at: tff7821@autuni.ac.nz. References (1) Jones, P., Comfort, D. The COVID-19 crisis and sustainability in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 2020, 32(10), 3037–3050. https://doi-org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0357. (2) Baum, T., Mooney, S., Robinson, R., Solnet, D. Covid-19’s impact on the hospitality workforce – new crisis or amplification of the norm? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 2020, 32(9), 2813–2829. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-03 (3) Wenham, C., Smith, J., Davies, S. E., Feng, H., Grépin, K. A., Harman, S., ... & Morgan, R. (2020). Women are most affected by pandemics—lessons from past outbreaks. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02006-z (4) Santero-Sanchez, R., Segovia-Pérez, M., Castro-Nuñez, B., Figueroa-Domecq, C., & Talón-Ballestero, P. (2015). Gender differences in the hospitality industry: A job quality index. Tourism Management, 51, 234-246. (5) Simpson, R. & Kumra, S. (2016). The Teflon effect: when the glass slipper meets merit. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 31(8), 562-576. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-12-2014-0111 (6) Mooney, S., Ryan, I., & Harris, C. (2017). The intersections of gender with age and ethnicity in hotel careers: Still the same old privileges? Gender, Work & Organization, 24(4), 360–375. https://doi-org/10.1111/gwao.12169 (7) Costa, C., Bakas, F. E., Breda, Z., Durão, M., Carvalho, I., Caçador, S. (2017). Gender, flexibility and the ‘ideal tourism worker’. Annals of Tourism Research, 2017, 64, 64–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2017.03.002. (8) Clarke, V., Braun, V. Teaching thematic analysis: Overcoming challenges and developing strategies for effective learning. The Psychologist, 2013, 26(2), 120–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1262613

The Business of Changing Minds: Returning the Collective Agency of Government to Its Proper Economic Role

The Great Pandemic of 2020 ripped the bandages that have been barely binding our economy together, to expose the festering underemployment on which it was hobbling along. My Job Quality Index resea...

Assessing perceived job quality among seasonal tourism workers: The case of Rimini, Italy

This article aims at discussing the perceived job quality especially among seasonal workers in the tourism industry through the analysis of a sample of 407 seasonal workers hired in the summer of 2013 in the Province of Rimini, one of the most popular sun, sand and sea tourism destinations in Europe. The identification/construction of a job quality index is the most original contribution of this article as it integrates the subjective components with a selection of objective items related to skills endowment and training opportunities and with a set of job holders’ characteristics, qualifications and occupations. The impact of each component is then evaluated and discussed in the article by means of several statistical and econometric techniques including analysis of variance and cluster analyses as well as ordinary least squares regressions. Results show that the perception of seasonal work seems thus to be more multifaceted than usually assumed. Although it is intrinsically precarious and characterized by objectively bad jobs under many aspects, such as stability, career opportunities and skill requirements, workers’ perception of job quality is mixed, being positively influenced by the assignment to part-time and front-line positions. Such evidence provides relevant insights to design better jobs in the tourism industry and improve its long-term sustainability in contexts characterized by high seasonality.

Job quality differences among younger and older workers in Europe: The role of institutions

We compare non-wage aspects of job quality of younger and older workers across European countries and relate the differences between them to the prevailing institutional settings. Microdata from the European Union Labour Force Survey are used to carry out the measurement of a job quality index during the period 2005–2015, while aggregate indicators are used to approximate a set of labour market institutions. Our findings support the notion that the institutional framework affects the age gap in job quality. Among other results, we find that older workers fare better than younger workers, that the employment quality is higher for employees working in countries where the wage-bargaining system is more coordinated/centralized and the employment protection for regular workers is stricter and that these institutions tend to favour the job quality of older workers over younger ones.

Job quality dynamic in Benin

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the job quality in Benin between 2007 and 2011. To do this, the study constructed a multidimensional measure of job quality and identified the determinants of the quality of the job. The measure adopted by the authors includes four dimensions: wages; extra-wage benefits and regularity of employment; conditions and career opportunities; and, finally, social security. Two methods, including the construction of measure of job quality and the estimation of determinants of the job quality index, were used to test the robustness of the effects. The results show that the quality of job improved slightly between 2007 and 2011 and that factors such as experience, the type of contract, the level of education, the formal character of the company and the work hours explain the job quality of workers in Benin.Design/methodology/approachThe measure adopted by the authors includes four dimensions: wages; extra-wage benefits and regularity of employment; conditions and career opportunities; and, finally, social security. Two methods, including the construction of measure of job quality and the estimation of determinants of the job quality index, were used to test the robustness of the effects.FindingsThe results show that the quality of job improved slightly between 2007 and 2011 and that factors such as experience, the type of contract, the level of education, the formal character of the company and the work hours explain the job quality of workers in Benin.Originality/valueThe contribution of this study lies in its analytical approach and in the fact that it reinforces the knowledge that exists on this theme, which is still little studied in African countries.

The mental health impacts of health and human service work: Longitudinal evidence about differential exposure and susceptibility using 16 waves of cohort data.

The health and human care workforce comprise a substantial and increasing proportion of the employed population in high income countries. This diverse workforce is comprised of high skilled workers, such as doctors and nurses, as well as lower skilled workers such as carers and support workers. This paper assessed psychosocial working conditions among health and human care workers compared to other workers. We also examined the effects of psychosocial working conditions on mental health. The data source was 16 waves of the Household Income Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The exposure was a multidimensional, previously validated psychosocial job quality index. The outcome was changes in the Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5). The effect modifier was a multicategory health and human care occupational variable. Random and fixed effects linear regression models were used to unpack between- versus within- person differences. Time varying confounders were controlled for. We found evidence of effect modification. Carers and support workers experienced a 4.90-point decline (95% CI −6.23 to 3.57) on the MHI-5 when reporting 3 or more job stressors compared to no stressors. These workers also reported lower levels of mental health than other occupational groups and had greater exposure to poor psychosocial working environments. Health workers also reported substantial declines on the MHI-5 when exposed to 3 or more job stressors (−3.50, 95% CI −5.05 to −1.94). Understanding the quality of employment in this workforce, and consequent impacts of this employment on mental health is critical to ensuring sustainable individual, organizational and client-related outcomes.

The U.S. Private SectorJob Quality Index

The Job Quality Index (JQI) assesses job quality in the United States by measuring desirable higher-wage/higher-hour jobs versus lower-wage/lower-hour jobs. The JQI results also may serve as a proxy for the overall health of the U.S. jobs market, since the index enables month-by-month tracking of the direction and degree of change in high-to-low job composition. By tracking this information, policymakers and financial market participants can be more fully informed of past developments, current trends, and likely future developments in the absence of policy intervention. Economists and international organizations have in recent years developed other, complementary conceptions of job quality such as those addressing the emotional satisfaction employees derive from their jobs. For the purposes of this paper, “job quality” means the weekly dollar-income a job generates for an employee. Payment, after all, is a primary reason why people work: the income generated by a job being necessary to maintain a standard of living, to provide for the essentials of life and, hopefully, to save for retirement, among other things. This paper presents the rationale for development of the JQI, the mathematical properties of the index, the design of its ongoing release and maintenance, the utility of the JQI in understanding related economic phenomena, and the JQI’s application to economic and market forecasting.

Bad Jobss Recovery? European Job Quality Index 2005-2015

This new Working Paper offers a detailed look at the quality of jobs held by European workers, and shows what aspects of work improved or deteriorated over the last decade. It updates the European Job Quality Index (JQI) – a measure that encompasses a broad range of work and employment characteristics, including wages, non-wage aspects of employment and work organisation, and collective interest representation. The results indicate a decline in non-wage job quality over the past decade and sluggish real wage growth in the years following the crisis. There is great variation across EU member states, with an indication of deepening polarisation on some dimensions of job quality. Moreover, the paper points to a strong positive relationship between job quality and job quantity in the EU.

Gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among doctors in rural western China

BackgroundFew studies about gender differences in job quality and job satisfaction among medical professionals have been carried out in China. So the objectives of this study were to examine whether and to what extent gender differences existed in job quality and job satisfaction of doctors in rural western China.MethodsFrom 2009 to 2011, a total of 1472 doctors from 103 selected county-level health care facilities in rural western China were recruited into the study. Information about the doctors’ demographic characteristics, job quality, and job satisfaction was collected through a designed questionnaire. Besides examining gender differences in single dimensions of job quality and job satisfaction, principal component analysis was used to construct a composite job quality index to measure the differences in the comprehensive job quality, and exploratory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the differences in the overall job satisfaction. Chi-square test was used to calculate differences between proportions, and t-test was used to compare differences between means.ResultsAmong the doctors, there were 705 males and 767 females (ratio 1:1.09). Male doctors had significantly higher monthly salaries, longer working hours, more times of night shifts per month, longer continuous working hours, and longer years of service at current facilities, and marginally significantly higher hourly wage and longer years of service in current professions. However, female doctors showed greater overall job qualities. Significant and marginally significant gender differences were only found in satisfaction with remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion and working environment. But female showed greater satisfaction in the overall job satisfaction and the factor including sub-aspects of working environment, remuneration compared to workload, the chance of promotion, utilization of subjective initiative, and sense of achievement.ConclusionsGender differences in job quality and job satisfaction did exist among doctors in rural western China. The participating female doctors were shown to have better job quality and greater job satisfaction.

Body mass index and psychosocial job quality: An analysis of working Australians from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey

ABSTRACTThe study investigated the association between psychosocial job quality and body mass index (BMI) by sex. Regression models examining potential differences in the job stressor-BMI relationship between men and women were conducted using longitudinal data from working Australians and a psychosocial job stressor index. There was strong evidence of an association between psychosocial job stressors and BMI for females but not males. Compared with no psychosocial job stressors, 1 adversity was associated with 0.13 kg/m2 (95% CI: −0.42–0.67); 2 adversities were associated with 0.53 kg/m2 (−0.00–1.07); and 3 or more adversities were associated with 0.87 kg/m2 (0.30–1.45) increase in mean BMI for females. Females were found to have on average 0.32 kg/m2 (0.16–0.49) increase in BMI per increase in psychosocial job stressor. Psychosocial job stressors appear to have an adverse effect on women's weight.