The debate on migration has extended the scope of industrial relations research and brought questions of regulation to the centre. We suggest that there is a mutuality to the relationship between the ...debates around migration and regulation within the industrial relations literature: the study of migration has stimulated a new set of debates within industrial relations that allow us to reconsider issues of regulation; in turn, the study of regulation offers a useful perspective on issues relating to migration. The article applies an analytical framework based on the interplay of regulatory spaces and actors to the study of international migration. The framework offers a dynamic approach to mapping the wide range of actors involved in the regulation of migration and the boundaries between regulatory spaces, which may be fluid and contested. Through applying this framework, industrial relations issues relating to migration are located within a wider view of both regulation and the international movement of people.
Current research has shed critical light on the insecurity characterizing temporary agency work. To understand how this insecurity is produced, this article shows that we have to go beyond national ...and industrial regulation and analyse how this regulation shapes workplace practices and access to a collective voice. Thus, connecting the national and workplace levels is crucial in understanding job insecurity for agency workers. Job insecurity is shaped not only by the type of contract; it is primarily formed by how the national regulation, inclusive of collective bargaining and representation structures, shapes the modalities in accordance to which temporary agency workers are used at workplaces. The article is based on a cross-national comparative case study methodology, and compares two similar workplaces in two different institutional settings, those of Sweden and Belgium.
Are party preferences of atypical workers distinct from those in stable employment? The welfare state literature debates this question, but very few empirical studies have been conducted. We examine ...the German case, being an example of a welfare state with strong social insurance traditions where the rise of atypical employment has been conspicuous. In particular, we test the argument that preferences of labour market outsiders may not differ because outsiders share households with insiders. We find that labour market status significantly affects party preferences. Compared with standard employees, atypical workers have stronger preferences for small left-wing parties. Living together with a labour market insider neutralizes these party preferences, but this type of household is not very common. Moreover, atypical workers differ from the unemployed by not participating less in elections than insiders. Therefore, it is expedient to distinguish between different types of labour market outsiders.
While atypical employment contracts offer flexibility in the labor market, these kinds of contracts are inherently insecure and may generate stress among affected workers. This study examines the ...impact of atypical forms of employment (specifically seasonal or temporary jobs or a fixed time contracts) on workers' health. Survival analysis shows that, other things equal, the longer percent of time spent in flexible employment contracts increases the odds of falling into ill health for a variety of health conditions. The results are robust to controlling for the endogeneity in the relationship.
The new forms of atypical contracts increasingly diffused beside standard permanent full-time employment has been argued being detrimental for workers’ mental health. Despite a growing body of ...studies is now appearing on the topic, they generally fail to recognize that atypical workers represent a heterogeneous group. This study addresses such oversight for Italy by scrutinizing the association between four major domains of mental health—vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and general mental health—and six types of atypical contract—temporary, casual, part-time by choice permanent, part-time by choice temporary, not chosen part-time permanent, and not chosen part-time temporary. First, we find that mental health is compromised by atypical working arrangements depending on the specific atypical contract considered. Second, we verify that the choice of the atypical experience is relevant in shaping the relationship with mental health (a novelty for Italy). Third, we prove that, regardless the type of contract, variations across mental health outcomes exist. We conclude that more reflection is needed when designing studies on atypical works and their consequences on workers’ well-being.
Der Beitrag nimmt eine Bestandsaufnahme der mit atypischen Arbeitsverhältnissen (ATB) verbundenen Beschäftigungsmerkmale sowie damit verbundener Risiken und Chancen vor und stellt Überlegungen zu ...wirksamen Ansätzen der Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung an.
Atypical employment over the life cycle Bachmann, Ronald; Felder, Rahel; Tamm, Marcus
Evidence-based HRM : a Global Forum for Empirical Scholarship,
06/2020, Volume:
8, Issue:
2
Journal Article
PurposeThis paper analyses how the employment histories of cohorts born after World War II in Germany have changed. A specific focus is on the role of atypical employment in this ...context.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses data from the adult cohort of the National Educational Panel Study and presents descriptive evidence on employment patterns for different cohorts. In addition, a sequence analysis of employment trajectories illustrates key aspects related to the opportunities and risks of atypical employment.FindingsYounger cohorts are characterised by acquiring more education, by entering into employment at a higher age and by experiencing atypical employment more often. The latter is associated with much higher employment of women for younger cohorts. The sequence analysis reveals that the proportion of individuals whose entry into the labour market is almost exclusively characterised by atypical employment rises significantly across the cohorts. Moreover, a substantial part of the increase in atypical employment is due to the increased participation of women, with part-time jobs or mini-jobs playing an important role in re-entering the labour market after career breaks.Originality/valueThe most important contribution of this article to the existing literature lies in the life course perspective taken for different birth cohorts. The findings are of great interest to the general debate about the success of the German labour market in recent decades and its implications for individual labour-market histories, but also about rising income inequality at about the same time.
In recent decades, Germany has turned away from regular employment for the non-established, with employment entrance becoming the most insecure phase of a career. The public-sector employment regime, ...with its specific institutional setting, has been seen as a "model employer” for disadvantaged groups, but reforms and restructuring are increasingly calling this special status over the private-sector into question. This article examines whether the public sector provides more stable employment for entrants than the private sector. It is investigated whether the institutional structure of the public sector positively influences employment stability. In a decomposition-analysis, it tests potentially stabilizing (working in a service relationship, high occupational closure, participation in further education) and destabilizing institutional factors (fixed-term and part-time employment) to explain the stability of first jobs in the public sector. Using the labour market entry cohorts 1995 to 2012 of the retrospective life history data of the Starting Cohort six of the National Education Panel Study (NEPS). The results show that the public sector is offering more stable first jobs, and stabilizing factors, like further education are influential. However, destabilizing factors, like the intensive use of fixed-term contracts, have a significant negative impact. This suggests that the stabilising institutional structure of the public sector, while functioning, is under pressure and thus offers potential for polarisation.
In den letzten Jahrzehnten hat es in Deutschland eine Abkehr vom Normalarbeitsverhältnis gegeben. Insbesondere die nicht etablierten Gruppen des Arbeitsmarktes sind betroffen. Der Arbeitsmarkteinstieg wurde zur unsichersten Phase der Erwerbskarriere. Der öffentliche Dienst mit seinem spezifischen institutionellen Rahmen galt als "Modellarbeitgeber" für benachteiligte Gruppen. Reformen und Umstrukturierungen stellen diese Sonderstellung gegenüber dem Privatsektor allerdings in Frage. In diesem Artikel wird untersucht, ob der öffentliche Dienst eine stabilere Beschäftigung für Arbeitsmarkteinsteiger*innen bietet als der private Sektor. Es wird untersucht, ob die institutionelle Struktur des öffentlichen Dienstes die Beschäftigungsstabilität positiv beeinflusst. In einer Dekompositions-Analyse werden potenziell stabilisierende (arbeiten in einer Dienstbeziehung, mit hoher beruflicher Schließung, Teilnahme an Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen) und destabilisierende institutionelle Faktoren (befristete Beschäftigung, Teilzeit) getestet, um die Stabilität von Erstanstellungen im öffentlichen Dienst zu erklären. Die Arbeitsmarkteinstiegskohorten 1995-2012 werden auf Basis der retrospektiven Lebensverlaufsdaten der Startkohorte sechs des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS) analysiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der öffentliche Dienst stabilere erste Arbeitsplätze bietet. Stabilisierende Faktoren, wie die Teilnahme an Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen, sind dafür entscheidend. Allerdings reduzieren destabilisierende Faktoren, wie die intensive Nutzung von befristeten Verträgen, die Stabilität erheblich. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass die stabilisierende institutionelle Struktur des öffentlichen Sektors zwar einen Vorteil begründet, aber unter Druck steht und somit Potenzial für Polarisierungen bietet.
In this article, I examine the impact of atypical working arrangements on both objective and subjective dimensions of social inequality. The analysed types of atypical employment are fixed-term ...contracts, temporary agency work, and part-time employment, respectively. It is argued that these working arrangements are not homogeneous with respect to their socio-economic consequences, because they modify different aspects of the standard employment relationship. In order to investigate the effects of these types of employment, I use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel 2001–2005 on non-self-employed respondents. The results show that fixed-term contracts and agency work (being forms of external flexibility) have more severe negative socio-economic consequences than part-time employment (being a form of internal flexibility). Given that weak labour market groups face an increased risk of holding temporary jobs, the empirical findings clearly indicate the substantial impact of atypical employment on the extent and the structure of social inequality.
This article addresses the question of whether, and to what extent job flexibility is detrimental to mobilization with regard to the willingness to take part in industrial action. The authors examine ...the influence of job flexibility (‘standard’ versus ‘non-standard’ work) and job instability (changes from one job to another) on employees’ willingness to strike. Based on Dutch survey data it is shown that only minor differences exist between ‘standard’ and ‘non-standard’ employees in their willingness to participate in a strike. While this study did not establish a major direct effect of job flexibility on strike participation, tests of interaction effects reveal that job flexibility moderates other mobilizing factors, such as union membership and job dissatisfaction. Job instability, on average, has no effect on strike participation.
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