Demanding Work (ebook)

Argumento de Demanding Work (ebook)

"This is a fine piece of work which will make a major impact. It brings together a large volume of excellent research by its author over a number of years. This is the sort of book that applied economists should write, but which few do. All credit to Francis Green for producing such a tour de force."--Keith Whitfield, Cardiff University Business School, author of Researching the World of Work

"Demanding Work addresses a highly significant area of research in the social sciences on a timely topic. Pulling together a range of issues falling under the umbrella of quality of work, Francis Green puts the overall issue prominently on the radar screen of economists, who have long neglected it, as well as higher up the political agenda."--Stephen Wood, Director, ESRC Centre for Innovation and Organisation, University of Sheffield

"This well-written book tells an interesting and important story in a natural way, addressing shifts in various aspects of job quality over recent years before finally summing things up and looking at policy issues. Reading it was an enjoyable--and informative--experience."--Andrew Clark, Department and Laboratory of Applied and Theoretical Economics (DELTA), école normale supérieure, Paris

"A reliable account of the extent to which different key facets of work life are changing."--Journal of Economic Literature

"It is refreshing to see an economist incorporating other social scientist approaches to work, and draw broader conclusions about job quality. . . . [T]his is a well researched, and thought provoking read."--John Neugebauer, Economic Issues

"[A]rguably the best overall account available anywhere of the circumstances of jobs and workers across the developed world. . . . It is an important read for anyone concerned about the state of working people around the world as well as the future of modern economies."--Peter Capelli, British Journal of Industrial Relations0List of Illustrations xi
Preface: The Quest for "More and Better Jobs" xv
Acknowledgments xxi
Abbreviations xxiii

Chapter One: Assessing Job Quality in the Affluent Economy 1
The Paradox of Job Quality at the Millennium 1
Revealing a History of the Present 3
The Changing World and the Everyday Workplace 5
What Makes a Good Job? 8
An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Job Quality 13
From Quality of Work Life to "Quality in Work"? 19
How to Measure a Good Job: Surveys of the Quality of Work Life 22

Chapter Two: The Quality of Work Life in the "Knowledge Economy" 24
An Optimistic Outlook 24
Theories of the Changing Demand for Skill 26
The Concept and Measurement of Skill 28
The Rising Level of Skill 29
Skills Polarization? 35
Skill, Technology, and Work Organization 37
The Skills Balance 40
Conclusion: A Mixed Verdict 42

Chapter Three: Late Twentieth-Century Trends in Work Effort 44
Working Hours, Work Effort, and the Quality of Work Life 44
The Concept and Measurement of Work Effort 47
Work Intensification in Britain 50
Work Intensification in Europe, Australia, and the United States 58
Any Objections? 61
Conclusion: A Summary of Effort Trends 64

Chapter Four: Accounting for Work Intensification 66
The Paradox of Work Intensification in the Affluent Economy 66
The Supply of Effort 67
"Amber Lights" and Effort-Biased Technological Change 69
Big Brother 77
The Changing Balance of Power 78
The Stick, the Carrot, and the Smooth Sell 81
Conclusion: The Role of Technological Change 84
Appendix: Multivariate Analyses 86

Chapter Five: Workers? Discretion 94
The Importance of Influence 94
The Workers' Voice 98
Theory about How Discretion Is Changing 99
Trends in Discretion 102
Conclusion: An Incomplete Account 107

Chapter Six: The Wages of Nations 111
Wages and the Fairness of Wages 111
The Growth of Average Wages 112
The Fairness of Wages 119
Conclusion: Alright for Some 123

Chapter Seven: Workers' Risk 126
Is This an Age of Uncertainty in the Workplace? 126
The Concept and Measurement of Job Insecurity 130
Workers' Perceptions of the Trend and Distribution of Job Risk 131
Objective Proxies for Risk 142
Conclusion: Risk and the Quality of Work Life 146

Chapter Eight: Workers' Well-Being 150
A Question of Well-Being 150
A Digression on the Notion of Subjective Well-Being 151
A Picture of the Changing Well-Being of Workers in the Industrialized World 153
Well-Being and the Quality of Jobs 160
Conclusion: The Quality of Work Life Is Strained 166
Appendix: Multivariate Analyses 168

Chapter Nine: Summary and Implications for Policy on the Quality of Work Life 170
The Rewards and Demands of Work in the Affluent Economy 170
Policy Implications 178
Data Set Appendix 185

Notes 193
References 203
Index of Names 219
General Index 223