Well-being In Britain Research Articles

Does housing tenure matter? Owner-occupation and wellbeing in Britain and Austria

This article presents the case for the significance of two neglected domains of sociological enquiry: housing tenure and subjective wellbeing. Our empirical focus is on the relationship between housing tenure and subjective wellbeing in two case-study countries, Austria and the UK, using multivariate modelling of European SILC data to investigate potential associations between tenure and individual wellbeing survey items. Our case-studies are chosen for their distinctive welfare regime characteristics and contrasting housing tenure structures. This framework allows normative as well as empirical analysis. Our results show statistically significant relations between housing tenure and overall satisfaction with life (evaluative wellbeing) but are less significant for our hedonic wellbeing items. Compared to private renters, we find higher levels of life satisfaction amongst owner-occupiers in both Austria and the UK.

Reflecting on the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Businesses, Minority Groups and their Implications for Socio-economic wellbeing in Britain

This article examined the impact of Covid-19 on businesses through the prism of the British government’s strategic policies to stem the pandemic. It argues that the pandemic has paralysed major sectors of the national economy through locked-down measures, which consequently restricted the people’s socio-economic welfare. Also, the article contends that the retailing and pubs sectors of the economy registered dwindled revenue and created shortages of employment in the country. With major terminals of the British Airports shut down, the article demonstrates that several employment opportunities, spanning air stewardess, airport security, cargo handling, restaurants and retailing were stifled. In addition, the article proposes that, the general social and economic fabrics of workers in the aviation industry, majority of whom, belonged to the minority communities were restricted. On the minority groups, the article states that they represent the most afflicted and marginalized population during the pandemic; because, they were easily targeted for redundancies and furlough schemes without the needed representation at executive levels to protect their interests. Regarding the government’s strategies, the article argues that although it implemented political and economic solutions to support businesses and protect families, in order to absolve them from the crises, the major concern was that the measures were late and failed to adequately address the crisis. With respect to perspectives, the article points out that, though furlough schemes and soft loans were provided to guarantee the safety of businesses and citizens; the manner of implementation by the government was not creative enough to resolve the crisis. Lastly, the article argues that regardless of the government‘s policies to redeem thousands of businesses and families from socio-economic distresses, minority groups in Britain were largely disadvantaged, thereby reinforcing the status-quo

Patterns of Organisational Governance and Employee Well-Being in Britain

Organisations bring people together for a common purpose, but ownership of their key productive assets confers residual rights of control to determine that purpose. In publicly traded companies this prioritises shareholder returns which are always likely to trump employee motivational orientations and diminish their subjective well-being. However, the majority of workers in Britain are employed in organisations with different governance models in which residual control rights support other priorities. Co-ownership models are widespread, as are public purpose organisations, and those belonging to the public sector. This paper explores the impact of these various governance models on employee well-being, in terms of work satisfaction, commitment, influence and trust in management. It is argued that many employees seek jobs that provide scope for their intrinsic motivations, hedonic and pro-social, and may trade these against extrinsic rewards. However, because the right to manage gives employers control over the content of jobs after hiring, employees often require credible commitments that management will respect its side of the bargain. It is argued that different models provide scope to enter into different types of commitments, and that employees are more likely to find their desires for intrinsically interesting work satisfied in these types of organisations. Inability to make such commitments may constrain organisations to greater reliance on extrinsic motivators. Linked employer-employee data from the WERS surveys are used to test this argument. The conclusion draws out implications for the current debate on improving employee influence in organisational governance.

Employee well-being in Britain: perspectives from the margins of the labour market

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the employee well-being from the perspectives of: first, individuals who have personal characteristics stereotypically associated with employment at the margins of the labour market and second, of individuals employed in jobs stereotypically associated with jobs at the margins of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach A set of OLS regressions is used to analyse a data set which has its origins in the Skills and Employment Surveys Series Data Set. Findings The expectation was that, for the individuals identified, their well-being as measured by a series of indicators would be relatively low. This proved to be not always the case. To illustrate: individuals without qualifications (relative to those who possess qualifications) reported positive experiences of well-being; and individuals in jobs which took little time to master (relative to those in jobs which took time to learn) also reported positive experiences of well-being. Research limitations/implications The subjective indicators of employee well-being available from the data set offer only a partial psychological perspective of the concept. Originality/value Although the subject of employee well-being is well-researched, this paper focusses upon an increasingly prevalent group of workers within the labour market, often described as “disadvantaged” (or, using Standing’s terminology, the “precariat”). Furthermore, it reports some outcomes which do not conform to the conventional wisdom.

Social Networks and Subjective Well-Being: A Comparison of Australia, Britain, and China

This paper is a comparative study of formal and informal social networks and their effects on subjective well-being in Australia, Britain, and China. Formal social networks are measured by group affiliations, and informal social networks are measured by personal connections with kin, friends, and acquaintances. An analysis of the national representative sample surveys from the three countries shows that the formal networks are of notable importance in increasing people’s subjective well-being in Britain and urban China, but the informal networks have much greater impacts in all three countries, particularly in rural China. We propose a cultural–structural interaction framework to explain the observed differences in the network influence on subjective well-being in the three countries.

The Effect of High Involvement Management on Employee Well-Being in Britain

The effect of High Involvement Management (HIM) on employee well- being has been a subject of perennial controversy. Optimises theories suggest that HIM enhances employee well-being by increasing t...

The impact of Thatcherism on health and well-being in Britain.

Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) was the United Kingdom's prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Her informal transatlantic alliance with U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 played an important role in the promotion of an international neoliberal policy agenda that remains influential today. Her critique of UK social democracy during the 1970s and her adoption of key neoliberal strategies, such as financial deregulation, trade liberalization, and the privatization of public goods and services, were popularly labeled Thatcherism. In this article, we consider the nature of Thatcherism and its impact on health and well-being during her period as prime minister and, to a lesser extent, in the years that follow; we focus mainly on Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales). Thatcher's policies were associated with substantial increases in socioeconomic and health inequalities: these issues were actively marginalized and ignored by her governments. In addition, her public-sector reforms applied business principles to the welfare state and prepared the National Health Service for subsequent privatization.

Beyond the borders: The use of art participation for the promotion of health and well-being in Britain and Denmark

Background: This article compares British and Danish promotion of well-being through participation in art activity to empower the individual. It examines the influence of national, social and political contexts on art and health community projects by comparing practice and project outcomes. Method: Based on two case studies, the article draws on specific evidence in Britain and Denmark. The approach taken is one of the psychosocial inquiries allowing reflection on practice including participants' testimonies. Results: The two cases showed comparable problems with restricted resources, funding and organisational limitations to service delivery. The British case study shows a bottom-up approach in contrast to the Danish case study where the approach is top-down. Although the benefits from participation in art activities in the two countries were influenced by a complex set of different interacting factors, outcomes were typically similarly positive: finding identity, feeling a sense of well-being and increased self-confidence. Conclusion: In terms of practice, policy and research and in the recognition of value of art participation, the comparison demonstrates how different stories, contexts and institutions engage in different ways to facilitate and enable service users as well as generating different challenges; recognising the benefits of developing best practice guidelines in art practice in health settings.

Unhappy working with men? Workplace gender diversity and job-related well-being in Britain

This paper attempts to establish empirically the link between workplace gender diversity and employee job-related well-being in Britain. Using nationally representative linked employer–employee data and accounting for unobserved workplace heterogeneity the paper finds gender diversity to be associated with lower employee well-being for women. Workplace gender equality policies and practices are not found to ameliorate this finding.

The Duration of Bad Housing and Children's Well-being in Britain

Improving children's living standards is a top priority for government policy makers. Whilst the presence of a link between bad housing and child outcomes has been acknowledged in a number of studies, there is little evidence on how long children live in bad housing for and whether the duration of living in bad housing is associated with other poor outcomes for children. This research uses five waves of data from the Families and Children Study, a representative longitudinal study of families with children in Britain, to show that the longer children live in bad housing the more vulnerable they are to a range of other poor outcomes included in the Government's Every Child Matters framework. The research implies that policy makers need to focus on reducing the substantial number of children who live in bad housing for long periods and that interventions in housing provision for families are likely to lead to improvements in many other aspects of children's lives.

Workplace Disability Diversity and Job-Related Well-Being in Britain: A WERS2004 Based Analysis

This paper attempts to establish empirically whether there is a link between workplace disability and employee job-related well-being. Using nationally representative linked employer-employee data for Britain, I employ alternative econometric techniques to account for unobserved workplace heterogeneity. I find that workplace disability diversity is associated with lower employee well-being among people with no reported disability. Tests conducted also indicate that workplace equality policies do not ameliorate this effect.

Unhappy Working with Men? Workplace Gender Diversity and Employee Job-Related Well-Being in Britain: A WERS2004 Based Analysis

This paper attempts to establish empirically the link between workplace gender diversity and employee job-related well-being. Using nationally representative linked employer-employee data for Britain, I employ econometric techniques that account for unobserved workplace heterogeneity. I find that gender diversity is associated with lower employee well-being among women in several of the equations estimated. The magnitudes of the estimated effects also tend to increase with (women's) group size. Workplace equality policies do not appear to ameliorate these effects.

Ethnic diversity in economic wellbeing: The combined significance of income, wealth and assets levels

This paper uses data gathered from the Family Resources Survey to examine ethnic differences in economic wellbeing in Britain. It argues that, although a focus on ethnic variation in income levels is useful, a more comprehensive picture of ethnic economic diversity can be obtained by also taking into account general levels of wealth and assets. This is particularly important in order to obtain a better understanding of how ethnic economic advantages and disadvantages build up over the life-course. It also encourages more attention to be paid to how wealth is accumulated and transferred within families and between generations. The research findings show a complex picture of ethnic economic diversity with some ethnic groups (White, Chinese and Indian) over-represented in the doubly advantaged, asset-rich and income-rich category and a larger number of groups (Black-African, Black-Other, Pakistani and Bangladeshi) who were doubly disadvantaged (being both asset- and income-poor). The paper concludes that the short-term economic position of families in both groups has longer-term consequences in terms of the potential for ethnic economic divisions to intensify.