This paper interrogates the ideas of 'sustained' and 'inclusive' growth that are intrinsic to one of three UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8 - Decent Work and Growth) adopted by the UN World ...Tourism Organisation's (UNWTO) 2030 sustainable tourism agenda. It provides a Marxian-inspired political economy critique of the UNWTO's embrace of SDG8 and highlights the blind spot within the UNWTO's inclusive growth-led SDG agenda with respect to questions of equity and social justice. The paper contends that the UNWTO's SDG-led agenda is contradicted by the logics of growth, competitiveness and profit-making that drive the continued expansion and development of tourism. Rather than addressing the structural injustices that entrench inequalities and reproduce exploitative labour practices, the notion of sustained and inclusive growth reinforces the primacy of capital and market notions of justice and continues to perpetuate a growth driven tourism development model. The paper contributes to a critical theorization of sustainable tourism and offers an informed critique of the current political agenda for sustainable tourism and its potential outcomes.
•Issues of paid and unpaid social reproductive work need to be aligned to sustain decent work agenda.•Growth indicators for SDG 8 targets neglect the value and costs of social reproduction.•Decent ...work agenda is unsustainable if it neglects persistent gender inequality globally (SDG 5).
SDG 8 calls for promoting ‘sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’. Even as it highlights the importance of labour rights for all, it also makes visible some significant tensions. We note, for example, that despite many critiques of narrow economic measures of growth, the focus here remains on GDP and per capita growth. This is problematic, we argue, because the GDP productive boundary excludes much of social reproductive work. This puts SDG8 in tension with SDG 5 which calls for the recognition of the value of unpaid care and domestic work. There has been a significant increase in the rate of working women in the formal and informal sector. However, there has not been a subsequent gender shift in the doing of social reproductive work. In this paper we argue SDG 8’s focus on decent work and economic growth is inadequate; that productive employment and decent work for all men and women by 2030 needs to take into account the value and costs of social reproduction. We trace key historical debates on work to argue that both gender and labour rights have to underpin SDG 8 if its promise of inclusive, sustainable and decent work is to be realized.
This study extended research on Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) by examining the connection of decent work to work fulfillment and general well-being in 346 predominantly U.S. adult workers ...diagnosed with Chiari malformation (CM), a chronic health condition involving a structural malformation affecting the posterior region and base of the skull, and commonly presenting with chronic head and neck pain and related physical (e.g., fatigue) and psychological (e.g., anxiety, depression) complications. Participants completed an online survey containing measures of PWT’s outcomes of decent work constructs as well as the domain-specific marginalization constructs of condition severity and workplace limitations. Results of structural equation modeling analyses supported 12 of 19 hypotheses. Decent work directly and positively predicted survival, social contribution, and self-determination needs; social contribution and self-determination needs directly and positively predicted work fulfillment; survival and self-determination needs directly and positively predicted general well-being; decent work indirectly (via social contribution and self-determination needs) and positively predicted work fulfillment and indirectly (via survival and self-determination needs) and positively predicted general well-being; and condition severity directly and negatively predicted general well-being. Consistent with PWT, attaining decent work contributes to meeting needs for survival, social contribution, and self-determination, which in turn contributes to greater work fulfillment and general well-being in workers with CM.
While decent work has emerged as the central theme of the psychology of work theory and a global concept and directive for promoting social, political, and economic justice, it has garnered ...increasing scientific and political attention in the past two decades. However, until now, no defined measurement scale for the pharmaceutical supply chain exists. The present study aims to design and validate key performance indicators (KPIs) for 'decent work' in the pharmaceutical industry supply chain of Iran, using the Decent Work Daffi Scale (2017) as a reliable framework with five sub-scales and 15 items, tested and validated. For the validation of the Decent Work Scale, a quantitative survey study was conducted among selected pharmaceutical industry experts with a sample size of 228 individuals in the year 2023. The current study adopted an exploratory factor analysis approach using SPSS software and a confirmatory factor analysis through AMOS version 24 software. In this context, the factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were examined. The results showed that the five-factor structure outperforms the one-factor model with evidence supporting the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the five-factor scale. Thus, the measurement of decent work in the pharmaceutical industry of Iran comprises five sub-scales: occupational safety conditions, access to healthcare, adequate remuneration, Free time and rest, and alignment of organizational values with family and societal values. This scale can serve as a useful tool for industrial and organizational psychology research, as well as for studies on the sustainability of social supply chains.
Decent work is positioned as the centerpiece of the recently developed Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016). However, to date, no instrument exists which ...assesses all 5 components of decent work from a psychological perspective. In the current study, we developed the Decent Work Scale (DWS) and demonstrated several aspects of validity with 2 samples of working adults. In Study 1 (N = 275), a large pool of items were developed and exploratory factor analysis was conducted resulting in a final 15-item scale with 5 factors/subscales corresponding to the 5 components of decent work: (a) physically and interpersonally safe working conditions, (b) access to health care, (c) adequate compensation, (d) hours that allow for free time and rest, and (e) organizational values that complement family and social values. In Study 2 (N = 589), confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that a 5-factor, bifactor model offered the strongest and most parsimonious fit to the data. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance models were tested demonstrating that the structure of the instrument did not differ across gender, income, social class, and majority/minority racial/ethnic groups. Finally, the overall scale score and 5 subscale scores correlated in the expected directions with similar constructs supporting convergent and discriminant evidence of validity, and subscale scores evidenced predictive validity in the prediction of job satisfaction, work meaning, and withdrawal intentions. The development of this scale provides a useful tool for researchers and practitioners seeking to assess the attainment of decent work among employed adults.
Public Significance Statement
This study describes the development of a self-report measure of decent work, entitled the Decent Work Scale (DWS), which was designed based on guidelines offered by the International Labor Organization (ILO). This measure will be useful for researchers, practitioners, and policy analysts who are interested in assessing the quality of work that people experience.
Supply chains are fundamental to whether decent work flourishes or not. Not only do supply chain dynamics shape employment practices and working conditions, but they also influence business models ...and capabilities which structure opportunities for decent work. As scholars and policymakers race to strengthen labor standards in supply chains and confront barriers to their effective implementation, management scholars can both benefit from and advance an understanding of the role of supply chains in giving rise to indecent work, especially the business practices commonly described as forced labor and modern slavery. To help realize this potential, this article draws from my research on the business of forced labor to emphasize three points. First, there are clear and discernible patterns with respect to the root causes of forced labor in supply chains. Second, forced labor in supply chains cannot be understood in isolation of broader dynamics of work and employment, since low‐waged workers tend to move in and out of conditions of forced labor in relatively short periods of time. Third, on‐the‐ground studies of the effectiveness of buyer‐centric governance programs reveal serious gaps between corporate social responsibility standards and business practices when it comes to indicators most relevant to forced labor. I conclude with a discussion of future directions in this research agenda and highlight the potential for business scholars to make a contribution.
Decent work is a comprehensive concept expressing people’s aspirations for their working lives. This concept has had great legitimacy since it was proposed by the International Labour Organization, ...the United Nations agency for labour issues, which is the well-established institutional world forum for cooperation. Furthermore, decent work has joined various research subjects in labour-related disciplines, gaining a central role as a research subject and intervention compass. This paper aims to discuss the consequences of societies’ cultural complexity for decent work intervention. After highlighting previous research subjects in labour-related disciplines that are closely related to the decent work dimensions, the consequences of cultural complexity for intervention are pointed out. The tension between universal human values, cultural diversity and culture as an evolving social phenomenon is the trigger for proposing a balance expressed in several propositions concerning culture-sensitive intervention in decent work.
Emotional labor—the management of emotional displays as part of one’s work role—has emerged as a growth area of study within organizational behavior and customer service research. In this article, we ...call attention to the human costs of “service with a smile” requirements with little benefits. We first review the evidence showing that requiring positive emotions from employees induces dissonance and depleted resources, which hinders task performance and threatens well-being. We articulate how formalized emotion display requirements limit self-determination by threatening the autonomy, competence, and belongingness needs of employees. Further, via an organizational justice lens, we argue that emotional labor is an unfair labor practice because employees in such circumstances are (1) undervalued by the organization (constituting distributive injustice); (2) disrespected by customers (constituting interactional injustice); and (3) self-undermined by organizational policies (constituting procedural injustice). We then argue for bringing light to the dark side of emotional labor with a “modest proposal”: Organizations and customers should abandon formalized emotion display expectations and replace such efforts with more humanistic practices that support and value employees, engendering positive climates and an authentically positive workforce.
Decent work (DW) is a topic that has only recently attracted the attention of psychology researchers. The Decent Work Scale (DWS) is an instrument developed to assess five dimensions of decent work: ...Safe Working Conditions, Access to Health Care, Adequate Compensation, Free Time and Rest, and Complementary Values. The aims of this study were to understand decent work in a Brazilian context both quantitatively and qualitatively. A total of 307 Brazilian working adults took part in the study. First, we adapted the DWS to Brazilian Portuguese and examined its psychometric properties. Mirroring the results o previous studies, a five-factor bifactor model showed the best fit to the data. Additionally, positive correlations with job satisfaction and work meaning, and negative correlations with withdrawal intentions provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The meaning of decent work was investigated through a qualitative content analysis, which allowed the identification of already known aspects of decent work and a new aspect related to the idea of contributing to the common good. These findings suggest that the decent work construct and DWS are applicable within the Brazilian context, but also that other elements of decent work deserve further investigation.
•The Decent Work Scale (DWS) was adapted to Brazilian Portuguese.•Evidences of validity and reliability were comparable to other studies.•Meaning of decent work was investigated qualitatively.•Common good emerged as an aspect of decent work not previously reported.
The purpose of this study was to adapt the Decent Work Scale (DWS; Duffy et al., 2017) and extend the research on the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT; Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016) within ...the Swiss context. The results indicated that the Swiss French, German, and Italian versions of the DWS are valid measurements. We then tested PWT predictors and outcomes of decent work. Work volition fully mediated the negative link between unemployment, quantitative job insecurity and low education, and decent work. Perceived social class and qualitative job security predicted decent work with partial mediations through work volition. Work volition and decent work predicted job and life satisfaction. With the exception of age and social class, work volition or decent work fully mediated the relation between predictors and outcomes. Qualitative analyses on an open-ended question showed that the perceived components of decent work covered both the PWT dimensions of decent work and the needs that work is expected to satisfy. These findings highlight the pertinence of using the DWS and applying the PWT in Western and prosperous countries, such as Switzerland.
•The Swiss adaptation of the Decent Work Scale shows good psychometric properties.•DWS scores can be compared across gender and languages (French, German, Italian).•Age, social class, and qualitative job security predict decent work.•Work volition and decent work predict job and life satisfaction.•Perceived components of decent work confirm the pertinence of the PWT.
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