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Showing papers on "Job security published in 1994"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the behavioral commitment (intent to stay) of a sample of blue-collar employees from a manufacturing firm in Australia and tested an integrated causal model of behavioral commitment based on four general classes of variables: structural, pre-entry, environmental, and employee orientations.

287 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Wilson et al. as mentioned in this paper conducted a more comprehensive and detailed study of the effects of job insecurity stress on the family by mining the clinical significance of the marriage and family problems reported by a sample of job-insecure individuals.
Abstract: The recent economic recession and slow economic rebound are major stressors for many American families. "The U. S. workplace is in a profound, historic state of turmoil that for millions of individuals is approaching panic" (Dan Lacey, labor consultant, cited in Gwynne, 1992, p. 35). The results of this turmoil include unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity for many Americans. The negative effects of unemployment on individuals and marital and family relations are well documented (Larson, 1984; Voydanoff, 1990; Voydanoff & Donnelly, 1988). In contrast, researchers have virtually ignored the effects of job insecurity upon individuals and on marriage and family relations (Voydanoff, 1990; Wilson, Larson, & Stone, 1993). As businesses and government agencies continue to restructure and downsize, it is expected that the number of job insecure Americans will increase. This insecurity may result from several circumstances, including threat of job loss, job description changes, added responsibility due to the lay-off of coworkers, salary or benefits freezes or cutbacks, forced relocation, or loss of potential for promotion. Some of these circumstances (e.g., threat of job loss, job description changes, and added responsibilities) may create boundary ambiguity for workers. Boundary ambiguity is a construct in stress theory that makes it possible to predict an individual's and family's level of stress (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). When a worker is unclear about who will have a job tomorrow, what his/her job description and responsibilities are, or who is working with him/her, the worker's job boundaries are said to be ambiguous (Boss & Greenberg, 1984). Ambiguity leads to increased stress for both the worker and the worker's family. Studies of the impact of job insecurity and ambiguity on employee mental health and family functioning are almost nonexistent, even though job security is an important prerequisite for establishing and maintaining strong families and job insecurity affects many more workers than does unemployment (Voydanoff, 1990; Wilson et al., 1993). Only three marginally related studies were found in the research literature Cobb and Kasl (1977) found the anticipation period before termination to be more detrimental than actual job loss to the mental and physical health of a group of workers who were later unemployed. Kuhnert (1386) found that job security had a greater impact on the employee's self-esteem and physical well-being than job satisfaction or involvement with the job. The only study on the impact of job insecurity on family relations was conducted by Voydanoff and Donnelly (1988). Results showed that, for wives, job insecurity for themselves and for their spouses was negatively related to overall marital and family satisfaction. However, job insecurity was not significantly related to overall marital and family satisfaction for husbands. Voydanoff (1990), in a review of the research conducted in the 1980s on economic distress and families, concluded "certain changes in American corporate policy, such as mergers, acquisitions, moving jobs to other countries, and forced retirement have created substantial employment uncertainty. The effects of this uncertainty on individual adjustment and family relations have yet to be explored" (p. 1111). The purpose of the present study was to build upon Voydanoff and Donnelly's (1988) research by conducting a more comprehensive and detailed study of the effects of job insecurity stress on the family. More specifically, this study's objectives were to: (a) determine the effects of job insecurity on the marital relationship and specific family dynamics, such as family communication, family role clarity, and family affection; (b) gather information on the number of family problems encountered; (c) deter is mine the clinical significance of the marriage and family problems reported by a sample of job-insecure individuals by comparing them with a nonclinical standardization sample; and (d) determine the types of family services desired by job insecure employees and their spouses. …

173 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examine a selected array of agency-influenced work and employment conditions and demonstrates the contribution of certain contextual and motivational factors to a prediction of job satisfaction or of intent to leave the organization.
Abstract: The authors examine a selected array of agency-influenced work and employment conditions and assess their impact upon social workers' job satisfaction, motivation, and intention to seek new employment. The study makes correlations with past empirical studies on job satisfaction and retention, with staff development concerns as stated in social work administration textbooks, and with conditions subject to administrators' influence. Some specified motivational issues included are salary, fringe benefits, job security, physical surroundings, and safety. The analysis demonstrates the contribution of certain contextual and motivational factors to a prediction of job satisfaction or of intent to leave the organization.

120 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in the city-state of Singapore with regard to the risks involved in the decision to become an entrepreneur and found that risk is more productively seen as a decision-making variable.

97 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: In this article, the difference between the annual hours worked by employed Americans and Germans, decomposes the difference into differences due to vacation and holiday time and to hours worked while on the job, and examines alternative explanations for the difference.
Abstract: This paper documents the difference between the annual hours worked by employed Americans and Germans, decomposes the difference into differences due to vacation and holiday time and to hours worked while on the job, and examines alternative explanations for the difference Employed Americans work roughly 10-15% more hours than Germans Since American employment-population rates exceed those of Germans, adult Americans average some 20% more work time than adult Germans At the same time, Americans show greater preference for additional hours worked than do Germans Both of these differences developed in the past 20 years Two decades ago, Americans worked less than Germans, and it was the Germans who wanted to work more hours Standard labor supply analyses do not appear able to explain this difference We show that differences in hours worked are related to differences in earnings inequality across countries, and hypothesize that the high rewards to success in the US, lack of job security, and low social safety net compared to Germany or other European countries may explain the cross-country differences in an extended supply model

87 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, policy capturing was used to examine how lawyers, as experts, understand the wording in employee handbook passages that promise procedural protections for employees, and how the wording of such handbooks can create both legal and non-legal obligations.
Abstract: In this article, policy capturing was used to examine how lawyers, as experts, understand the wording in employee handbook passages that promise procedural protections for employees Specifically, how the wording of employee handbook passages can create both legal and nonlegal obligations was examined Forty-six lawyers were asked to make the following judgments: whether the handbook passage constituted a legal or moral obligation and the chances of the employer winning or being granted a summary judgment in a wrongful discharge suit Five aspects of the handbook passages were examined: verb strength, specificity, contract disclaimers, legalistic jargon, and the employee's signature

86 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: The authors compared the adjustment of manufacturing employment and hours in West Germany, France and Belgium, three countries with strong job security regulations and well-established short-time compensation systems, with that in the United States.
Abstract: Laws in most West European countries give workers strong job rights, including the right to advance notice of layoff and the right to severance pay or other compensation if laid off. Many of these same countries also encourage hours adjustment in lieu of layoffs by providing prorated unemployment compensation to workers on reduced hours. This paper compares the adjustment of manufacturing employment and hours in West Germany, France and Belgium, three countries with strong job security regulations and well-established short-time compensation systems, with that in the United States. Although the adjustment of employment to changes in output is much slower in the German, French and Belgian manufacturing sectors than in U.S. manufacturing, the adjustment of total hours worked is much more similar. The short-time system makes a significant contribution to observed adjustment in all three European countries. In addition, we find little evidence that the weakening of job security regulations that occurred in Germany, France and Belgium during the 1980s affected employers' adjustment to changes in output. These findings suggest that, given appropriate supporting institutions, strong job security need not inhibit employer adjustment to changing conditions.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

85 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a model of optimal employment contracting describes differences across countries in firing restrictions and short-time compensation systems for workers forced to work shorter hours than other workers in the United States.
Abstract: In this paper, a model of optimal employment contracting describes differences across countries in firing restrictions and short-time compensation systems for workers forced to work shorter hours t...

77 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, the difference between the annual hours worked by employed Americans and Germans, decomposes the difference into differences due to vacation and holiday time and to hours worked while on the job, and examines alternative explanations for the difference.
Abstract: This paper documents the difference between the annual hours worked by employed Americans and Germans, decomposes the difference into differences due to vacation and holiday time and to hours worked while on the job, and examines alternative explanations for the difference. Employed Americans work roughly 10-15% more hours than Germans. Since American employment-population rates exceed those of Germans, adult Americans average some 20% more work time than adult Germans. At the same time, Americans show greater preference for additional hours worked than do Germans. Both of these differences developed in the past 20 years. Two decades ago, Americans worked less than Germans, and it was the Germans who wanted to work more hours. Standard labor supply analyses do not appear able to explain this difference. We show that differences in hours worked are related to differences in earnings inequality across countries, and hypothesize that the high rewards to success in the U.S., lack of job security, and low social safety net compared to Germany or other European countries may explain the cross-country differences in an extended supply model.

67 citations


Posted Content
TL;DR: The consequences of these policies for the unemployment issue are the topic of this paper as mentioned in this paper, and the consequences of social security, provision of public sector services, job security legislation, minimum wages and centrally regulated (bargained) relative wages are important elements of the modern welfare state, each designed to enhance economic security and to redistribute income.
Abstract: Social security, provision of public sector services, job security legislation, minimum wages and centrally regulated (bargained) relative wages are important elements of the modern welfare state -- each designed, often quite successfully, to enhance economic security and to redistribute income. The consequences of these policies for the unemployment issue are the topic of this paper.

63 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper found that both training and worker participation in decision making are more effective when employers avoid layoffs than when they lay off workers in recessions, which raises the costs of firms that have high levels of training, participation and employment security.
Abstract: There is substantial evidence that both training and worker participation in decision making are more effective when employers avoid layoffs. When one company's choice to avoid layoffs affects the relative costs of layoffs for other firms, there is an externality and multiple equilibria are possible. If all firms lay off workers in recessions, then recessions will be deeper. Deep recessions, in turn, raise the costs of firms that have high levels of training, participation and employment security. On the other hand, if all firms have no-layoff policies, then recessions will be shallower, lowering the costs of such policies. In three data sets, training and participation are more common in companies with high levels of job security.

Book
20 Jun 1994
TL;DR: The authors of as mentioned in this paper argue that corporations not only can recover from the negative human consequences of transitions, but can use those transitions as opportunities to build new and better organizations by getting employees to recommit to their organization, on rebuilding teams and departments, and establishing new, performance expectations.
Abstract: During the past ten years, most organizations have experienced mergers, downsizing, or restructuring Those workers who have been lucky enough to keep their jobs feel they are working harder with fewer rewards and little job security At the same time corporations have imposed a flurry of new programmes (total quality, diversity, teams, continuous improvement) often in a seemingly arbitrary manner - with the ensuing turmoil leaving employees alienated, suspicious, cynical and burnt out This book attempts to prove that corporations not only can recover from the negative human consequences of transitions, but can use those transitions as opportunities to build new and better organizations Drawing on his consulting experience, the author offers specific advice on getting employees to recommit to their organization, on rebuilding teams and departments, and establishing new, performance expectations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article found that public sector employees are 1.6 times more likely than private sector employees to be absent from work at least once in the course of a year and that differences in absence behaviour are more likely related to sector variation in job security, competitive pressure and the absetice milieu.
Abstract: Although common perceptions suggest that public sector employees are more prone to being absent from work, little empirical attention has been given to the issue. In this paper, sector differences in absence are examined using data from a large, recently collected national data set—the 1992 Australian Dependent Care Study. After controlling for various demographic, attitudinal and job-related variables, the results indicate that public sector employees are 1.6 times more likely than private sector employees to be absent from work at least once in the course of a year. Further, the findings show that a number of reasons that have been snggested in the past may not be important in explaining sector differences in absence. Instead, differences in absence behaviour are more likely related to sector variation in job security, competitive pressure and the absetice milieu.

ReportDOI
TL;DR: The authors compare the adjustment of employment, hours and inventories to demand shocks in the German and U.S. manufacturing sectors and find that, in the short run, whereas U.,S. employers rely principally on adjusting employment levels to respond to demand fluctuations, German employers rely mainly on adjusting average hours per worker, and that short-time work makes a very important contribution to short run hours adjustment.
Abstract: Like most Western European countries, Germany stringently regulates dismissals and layoffs. Critics contend that this regulation raises the costs of employment adjustment and hence impedes employers' ability to respond to fluctuations in demand. Other German labor policies, however, most especially the availability of unemployment insurance benefits for those on short time, facilitate the adjustment of average hours per worker in lieu of layoffs. Building on earlier work, we compare the adjustment of employment, hours and inventories to demand shocks in the German and U.S. manufacturing sectors. We find that, in the short run, whereas U.S. employers rely principally on the adjustment of employment levels to respond to demand shocks, German employers rely principally on the adjustment of average hours per worker. The adjustment of overall labor input is generally similar in the two countries. Short-time work makes a very important contribution to short-run hours adjustment in Germany. We find little evidence that inventories help to buffer demand fluctuations in either country. Our findings suggest that, given appropriate supporting institutions, strong worker job security can be compatible with employers' need for flexibility in staffing levels.

01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of the post-Fordist approach upon power relations in four work places in the machining industry and found that machinists exercise greater skills in the work place, but they have less power to determine the pace and pay of their work.
Abstract: American industry is shifting to a "post-Fordist" approach to production. The post-Fordist approach includes expanding use of advanced manufacturing technologies, decreasing organizational sizes, decreasing bureaucratization of the work place, and the abandonment of Tayloristic managerial practices in favor of increasing worker participation in decision making processes. This study examines the effects of the post-Fordist approach upon power relations in four work places in the machining industry. Interviews with 44 machinists, employers and community leaders in the case study site "Machinist Valley" show that the shift to post-Fordism is accompanied by declining incomes, fewer employment opportunities, lower benefits, and less job security in comparison to machining work during the Fordist era. While machinists exercise greater skills in the work place, they have less power to determine the pace and pay of their work. Declining worker power primarily results from owners' abilities in Machinist Valley to instill and take advantage of the feeling of individual and collective job insecurity that pervades workers' consciousness. These findings point to the need for further evaluation of the shift to "flexible specialization." Findings of this study suggest that the optimistic scenario of craft control theory (Piore & Sable 1984), which asserts that increasing craft skills enhance worker power in the work place, is unlikely to be born out of post-Fordism in the current market conditions. The experiences of workers in Machinist Valley are more consistent with the projections of fragmentation theory (Lash & Urry 1987), which projects decreasing worker power due to declines in workers' class capacities.

Posted Content
TL;DR: This article examined the structure of management jobs among a sample of companies and observed how those jobs have changed over time, including changes in the skill requirements of jobs by functional area and by level in the organization, changes in "shape" of the organization chart, and changes in compensation for these jobs.
Abstract: The attention of both the research community and the popular press has begun to shift from a traditional focus on production jobs and toward management positions in part because of a perception that a fundamental change is underway in the management ranks. Unlike the temporary layoffs of production workers that were historically driven by business cycles, the changes in management job security seem to be permanent and, in large measure, driven by development inside the firm. The most important of these forces appear to be changes in the structure of management and in the organization of work processes. The authors use a unique set of data to examine the structure of management jobs among a sample of companies and observe how those jobs have changed over time. They examine changes in the skill requirements of jobs by functional area and by level in the organization, changes in the "shape" of the organization chart - the distribution of employees across management job titles - and changes in compensation for these jobs. The data were obtained from Hay Associates, and it included the internal organization of management jobs for 11 life insurance companies. The authors see a sharp expansion in the proportion of line workers, absolute declines in the number of top management positions, and only modest growth in the number of middle managers and supervisors. As a result the organization chart has changed dramatically in these companies, becoming considerably flatter. The "span of control" has increased for every level of the organization and especially for first level management. If the widening of the supervisory span of control resulted from taking decision making and responsibility from supervisors and pushing it down to line workers, it does not seem to have increased the average skill requirements of the exempt line workers. Skill requirements for the other levels rose over the period, especially for top management positions. Overall, the average level of skill in the sample fell substantially between 1986 and 1992 (even though skills rose in two of the four levels) because of a sharp shift in the distribution of employment away from management and toward line positions. The authors suggest that the best description of these patterns is that they represent upskilling of individual jobs and deskilling of organizations. Regarding compensation, none of the levels experienced increases in skill that were statically significant, but top managers received a large (28 percent) increase in pay, middle managers received a modest (10 percent) increase, and the lower two levels received virtually no increases. One conclusion is that earnings inequality is increasing substantially inside these firms in a manner that is not attributable to any increase in skill, and the dividing line for that growth in inequality is no longer exempt/nonexempt but supervisor/manager. A possible explanation for the rising inequality in compensation is that it helps offset change in the probability of promotion. The fact that the span of control is increasing and organizational chart flattening means that the probability of the average worker being promoted is declining. The decline in the probability of promotion might reduce the incentives to work hard. Increases in the compensation of top jobs increase the return to securing a promotion and may offset some of the effect produced by the decline in the probability of promotion. Another explanation is that top mangers are in "better positions to legislate their own pay increases." If true, this sample may actually underrepresent the true extent of income inequality because it consists of companies using an external consultant to help set compensation where internal consistency is an important characteristic of the pay system. These results suggest that "management" as a career will remain attractive, albeit less certain in terms of promotion prospects. Shifts to team-based approaches and the elimination of functional designations would suggest a greater need for generalists than specialists. As technology such as expert systems reduces the need for large units of "experts," the manger's skill will be in recognizing when an expert needs to be called. Leadership skills and the ability to adapt to a changing environment are two qualities that will be sought in the future. Fortunately, these skills will also be useful to team members who are not selected for promotion to mangers. Increasing income inequality may lead to distrust within the organization, though this may be offset by the technical tracks that allow highly skilled non-managers to earn equivalent levels of pay. The fact that insurance companies are relatively unique in facing no major industry-specific shocks from the outside environment suggests that these results should translate well to organizations in other industries.

01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the enlistment decision process of new recruits by grouping recruits according to their enlistment reasons, including historical interest, self improvement, job/skill training, money for education, floundering, time out, get away/escape, and no other jobs prospect.
Abstract: : Past enlistment decision research indicates that individuals join the military for a variety of economic and psychological reasons By evaluating interview data collected from new recruits, the present study sought to understand the enlistment decision process by grouping recruits according to their enlistment reasons The data in this report were collected as a part of an in depth interview effort by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) New recruits were interviewed at selected US military entrance processing stations in six locations Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) Initially analyzed the data and provided a structured presentation of the findings The present paper discusses a second analytic effort that sought to supplement the HumRRO analysis Eight frequently mentioned motivations underlying the recruits' enlistment decision were identified: Historical Interest, Self Improvement, Job/Skill Training, Money for Education, Floundering, Time Out, Get Away/Escape, and No Other Jobs Prospects Other influential factors included the desire for job security, benefits, travel, challenge,meeting new people, and serving the country Additionally, experiences with recruiters appeared to play a role in the decision making process Finally, the level of personal independence and 'goal orientedness' of each individual helped to shape his or her reasons for joining the military

Posted Content
TL;DR: Rama as mentioned in this paper analyzes whether high unemployment rates and long spells of unemployment are the result of profuse legislation of the labor market or of market imperfections that would have prevailed even without government intervention.
Abstract: Sri Lanka has had double-digit unemployment rates for more than a decade And by 1990, 85 percent of the unemployed had spent more than a year searching for a job Rama analyzes whether high unemployment rates and long spells of unemployment are the result of profuse legislation of the labor market or of market imperfections that would have prevailed even without government intervention He shows that not all of the labor market regulations currently in force are highly distortive Despite minimum wages set by wage boards, and despite collective bargaining, real wages are neither too high nor too rigid And despite the freedom of unions, labor relations are peaceful in the private sector A mismatch of skills is only marginally relevant, says Rama Unemployment is better understood as the outcome of job search in a significantly heterogenous job market It is worth remembering that Sri Lanka is a partially closed economy, in which many import-competing activities are greater than they should be, because of protection Rama concludes that it is necessary to repeal the Termination of Employment of Workmen Act to avoid the massive destruction of jobs in those activities, should foreign trade be further liberalized Many firms in the protected sectors would have to restructure and shut down some of their product lines By being prevented from doing so, these firms might just go bankrupt, and many more jobs would be lost as a result Relaxing restrictions on retrenchment would unambiguously increase the turnover rate, says Rama There would be both more hiring and more firing The unemployment rate would increase in the short run but the average spell of unemployment would be shorter This would help solve the explosive problem of unemployed youths This conclusion does not apply to tea plantations, given the few alternative sources of employment for the Indian Tamil workers and given ethnic obstacles to their labor mobility

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors carried out a pilot study on married couples separated because of work related reasons and found that unintentional marital separation would lessen the possibility of positive interaction between spouses and would tend to lower the level of marital satisfaction as perceived by the partners.
Abstract: During the last several years the authors have been involved in a number of research studies in the People's Republic of China (Abbott & Zheng, in press; Abbott, Zheng & Meredith, 1992; Meredith, 1991; Meredith, Abbott, Zhu, 1989). On one visit to southern China we worked with a young Chinese professor whose wife lived and worked in a city over 2,500 kilometers away in northern China. At that time, they had lived apart for over two years, and had not seen each other for six months.Prior to their separation, this couple lived together and worked as English teachers in a school in northern China. They were reasonably content, but desired greater economic opportunities and wanted more political freedom. A plan was devised to achieve these goals. One of them would try to secure a job in a larger, more prosperous city in southern China. If that spouse could change work assignments and relocate, the other spouse might be permitted to join the partner at some future time.The husband secured a teaching job at a university in Guangzhou (Canton) with the hope that his wife would be allowed to join him. They could be reunited if her work unit released her and if his work unit in Guangzhou would hire her. But after three years of separation they were still not together. They decided to take a chance. The wife left her job in the north to join her husband, but she did this without the permission of her work unit. She managed to get a teaching job at her husband's work unit in Guangzhou, but it was only a temporary placement. Because she did not get an approved release from her work unit, she had no job security in her new position and she would receive no government benefits, no health care or other entitlements.As we talked with others we discovered that marital separation due to government work policies was not uncommon in today's China, although it was more prevalent in the past. In modern China, all citizens are guaranteed the right to work, but they are obligated to work at jobs assigned them by the State. Once an assignment is made it is very difficult for most people to change jobs or to transfer to another work unit to do the same type of work. The goal of this policy is to equitably distribute human resources throughout the county. If a couple is separated, one spouse may seek a transfer to the city of the partner's work unit, but permission must be granted from the provincial personnel office. Before such a petition is even considered, however, the person must work several years at the current work unit. There is no guarantee that the couple will be reunited because the needs of the State stake precedence over familial obligations (Bonavia, 1982; Bond, 1991; China Daily, 1990).Given the unique nature of this marital form--at least from an American perspective--we decided to carry out a pilot study on married couples separated because of work related reasons. We hoped to gain some insights into how the separation affected marital satisfaction and if certain factors such as the reasons for the separation, the amount of visitation, the extent of social activity with friends, and the presence of children might moderate the affect of separation on marital satisfaction. We hoped that the results of this small scale study could provide guidance for inductive theorizing from which hypotheses could be tested using a larger sample and more complex design.We did begin the project with a basic theoretical assumption that marital interaction--if rewarding--was positively related to marital satisfaction (Burr, 1976). Marital satisfaction can be defined as an individual's subjective evaluation of the overall happiness and contentment with the marital relationship (Lewis & Spanier, 1979). If a certain quantity and quality of interaction between spouses is essential to marital happiness, the converse should also be true: unintentional marital separation would lessen the possibility of positive interaction between spouses and would tend to lower the level of marital satisfaction as perceived by the partners. …

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors test the predictive accuracy of policy models that describe the cognitive strategies used when subjects evaluate labor contracts, and the results indicated that policy modeling would be a useful method of representing information about an individual's point of view to predict how they might compare contracts when asked to trade off the features.

Posted Content
TL;DR: In sectors of an economy that require a skilled workforce, employers are often willing to provide promises of job security in exchange for lower labor turnover to protect investments in the skills of their workers, facilitate internal flexibility, and improve labor relations as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Measures assuring job security are sought by workers and their representatives to protect themselves against economic fluctuations and the loss of jobs and incomes In sectors of an economy that require a skilled workforce employers are often willing to provide promises of job security in exchange for lower labor turnover to protect investments in the skills of their workers, facilitate internal flexibility, and improve labor relations This contractual exchange serves the interest of both parties and when achieved in a market setting enhances economic behavior Governments, on the other hand, are also interested in job security as an instrument of social policy to address market failures and equity concerns Public interventions to stabilize employment can force firms to become more efficient by focusing adjustment on productivity instead of wages or they can threaten the efficient operation of labor markets by introducing uncertainty and raising labor costs

Posted Content
TL;DR: The authors compare the adjustment of employment, hours and inventories to demand shocks in the German and U.S. manufacturing sectors and find that, in the short run, whereas U.,S. employers rely principally on adjusting employment levels to respond to demand fluctuations, German employers rely mainly on adjusting average hours per worker, and that short-time work makes a very important contribution to short run hours adjustment.
Abstract: Like most Western European countries, Germany stringently regulates dismissals and layoffs. Critics contend that this regulation raises the costs of employment adjustment and hence impedes employers' ability to respond to fluctuations in demand. Other German labor policies, however, most especially the availability of unemployment insurance benefits for those on short time, facilitate the adjustment of average hours per worker in lieu of layoffs. Building on earlier work, we compare the adjustment of employment, hours and inventories to demand shocks in the German and U.S. manufacturing sectors. We find that, in the short run, whereas U.S. employers rely principally on the adjustment of employment levels to respond to demand shocks, German employers rely principally on the adjustment of average hours per worker. The adjustment of overall labor input is generally similar in the two countries. Short-time work makes a very important contribution to short-run hours adjustment in Germany. We find little evidence that inventories help to buffer demand fluctuations in either country. Our findings suggest that, given appropriate supporting institutions, strong worker job security can be compatible with employers' need for flexibility in staffing levels.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 1994

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined the issue of secondary school vocational education reform in North America from a criticalfeminist perspective by linking directly to challenges that women face in pink and blue-collar jobs, and focused on how curricular contexts such as traditional and non-traditional vocational curricula, secondary school-workplace linkages, and nonvocational courses could be reformed to become more responsive to the workplace challenges that current and future female workers face in Pink and blue collar Jobs.
Abstract: This paper examines the issue of secondary school vocational education reform in North America from a critical‐feminist perspective by linking directly to challenges that women face in pink and blue collar jobs. In the first part of the paper we review the research literature on pink and blue collar jobs in the clerical, sales, service, and manufacturing sectors. We explore how occupational sex segregation, job value and job security shape the working contexts of female employees in these jobs. In the second part of the paper we turn our attention to the implications of these challenges for vocational education reform. We focus on how curricular contexts such as traditional and non‐traditional vocational curricula, secondary school‐workplace linkages, and nonvocational courses could be reformed to become more responsive to the workplace challenges that current and future female workers face in pink and blue collar Jobs.

ReportDOI
01 Jul 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, the difference between the annual hours worked by employed Americans and Germans, decomposes the difference into differences due to vacation and holiday time and to hours worked while on the job, and examines alternative explanations for the difference.
Abstract: This paper documents the difference between the annual hours worked by employed Americans and Germans, decomposes the difference into differences due to vacation and holiday time and to hours worked while on the job, and examines alternative explanations for the difference. Employed Americans work roughly 10-15% more hours than Germans. Since American employment-population rates exceed those of Germans, adult Americans average some 20% more work time than adult Germans. At the same time, Americans show greater preference for additional hours worked than do Germans. Both of these differences developed in the past 20 years. Two decades ago, Americans worked less than Germans, and it was the Germans who wanted to work more hours. Standard labor supply analyses do not appear able to explain this difference. We show that differences in hours worked are related to differences in earnings inequality across countries, and hypothesize that the high rewards to success in the U.S., lack of job security, and low social safety net compared to Germany or other European countries may explain the cross-country differences in an extended supply model.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that despite the efforts of US unions in the past decade as essentially ineffective, unions have met the challenges of disintegrated job quality and contributed to the alleviation of job quality deficits in each of the three sectors outlined above.
Abstract: Job quality in the US has traditionally been formulated as a synthetic concept where empirical ‘good’ jobs net a whole array of quality dimensions. ‘Good’ jobs, it was assumed, simultaneously provided high wage levels, a high propensity for wage growth, and good job security. The demise of the postwar collective bargaining system and the process of industrial restructuring, with the accompanying decline in manufacturing employment, have created a situation where this view is no longer warranted. Today’s jobs are unlikely to optimise on all dimensions of job quality, and individual employment is likely to be characterised by tradeoffs between different quality dimensions. These tradeoffs are manifested in the institutional structure of empirical labor market in three ways: a) in the public sector, jobs are highly secure but employees have traditionally experienced lower than average wage increases, b) in the strongly unionised manufacturing sector, wage levels tend to be above average but jobs appear to be less secure than elsewhere in the economy, c) in the dynamic tertiary sector, the possibility of wage mobility tends to be substantial while starting-out wages tend to lie below average. This essay argues that contrary to research which has described the efforts of US unions in the past decade as essentially ineffective, unions have met the challenges of disintegrated job quality and contributed to the alleviation of job quality deficits in each of the three sectors outlined above.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined teachers' class sizes, workdays, workweeks, and work years as well as the broader conditions of employment such as benefits and issues of job security, relying here on various government and union surveys.
Abstract: Good working conditions for teachers make a vital contribution to the educational success of children, and poor working conditions create nearly insurmountable obstacles to student learning. In this article, I examine teachers' class sizes, workdays, workweeks, and work years as well as the broader conditions of employment such as benefits and issues of job security I rely here on various government and union surveys. International data come largely from an American Federation of Teachers (AFT) study (Nelson and O'Brien 1993) synthesizing international studies of teacher working conditions as well as data obtained by the AFT through foreign embassies here, U.S. embassies abroad, teacher unions in foreign countries, and foreign government education agencies responsible for collecting or distributing data. Because data for several years and different sources are synthesized, the information should be considered as generally applicable rather than definitive.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In today's big-business environment of corporate mergers, takeovers, and concentration on the bottom line, employer paternalism and job security are disappearing as discussed by the authors and individuals find it beneficial to focus their efforts on personal and professional growth.
Abstract: In today’s big-business environment of corporate mergers, takeovers, and concentration on the bottom line, employer paternalism and job security are disappearing. Consequently, individuals find it beneficial to focus their efforts on personal and professional growth. Loyalty is not necessarily dead, but, to merit continuity of employment, individuals must maintain capabilities that remain consistent with the direction their companies are taking. Likewise, people who grow professionally will not feel challenged in a static work environment and will leave companies that don’t grow in a manner commensurate with their own. This paper suggests means for professional growth. “Proactive” professionals, with a clear picture of who they are and a vision of the future, can manage their careers—rather than reacting to their environment.

Posted Content
TL;DR: In this paper, policy capturing was used to examine how lawyers, as experts, understand the wording in employee handbook passages that promise procedural protections for employees and how the wording of such handbooks can create both legal and non-legal obligations.
Abstract: In this article, policy capturing was used to examine how lawyers, as experts, understand the wording in employee handbook passages that promise procedural protections for employees. Specifically, how the wording of employee handbook passages can create both legal and nonlegal obligations was examined. Forty-six lawyers were asked to make the following judgments: whether the handbook passage constituted a legal or moral obligation and the chances of the employer winning or being granted a summary judgment in a wrongful discharge suit. Five aspects of the handbook passages were examined: verb strength, specificity, contract disclaimers, legalistic jargon, and the employee's signature.