Working in Restructured Workplaces


Book Description

Working in Restructured Workplaces addresses contradictory influences in contemporary workplace restructuring, its impact on workers' lives, and the direction and nature of future changes in the workplace. This authentic collection of sociological thought and research consists of previous works in Work and Occupations and some commissioned specifically for this book to focus on the nature, causes, and consequences of workplace restructuring.




Healthy Work


Book Description

This reference provides an overview of relevant literature to engineers, managers, accountants, occupational health and safety specialists, and industrial hygienists, so that they, and other professionals, can understand what has caused our workplaces to become primary sources of physical and mental illness.




Global Social Economy: Development,, Work and Policy


Book Description

This volume expands on the standard economic framework of 'global economy' by looking at the way in which economic life is framed by society and social relationships and investigates how social values influence and help determine economic values.




Work and Mental Health in Social Context


Book Description

Anyone who has ever had a job has probably experienced work-related stress at some point or another. For many workers, however, job-related stress is experienced every day and reaches more extreme levels. Four in ten American workers say that their jobs are “very” or “extremely” stressful. Job stress is recognized as an epidemic in the workplace, and its economic and health care costs are staggering: by some estimates over $ 1 billion per year in lost productivity, absenteeism and worker turnover, and at least that much in treating its health effects, ranging from anxiety and psychological depression to cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Why are so many American workers so stressed out by their jobs? Many psychologists say stress is the result of a mismatch between the characteristics of a job and the personality of the worker. Many management consultants propose reducing stress by “redesigning” jobs and developing better individual strategies for “coping” with their stress. But, these explanations are not the whole story. They don’t explain why some jobs and some occupations are more stressful than other jobs and occupations, regardless of the personalities and “coping strategies” of individual workers. Why do auto assembly line workers and air traffic controllers report more job stress than university professors, self-employed business owners, or corporate managers (yes, managers!)? The authors of Work and Mental Health in Social Context take a different approach to understanding the causes of job stress. Job stress is systematically created by the characteristics of the jobs themselves: by the workers’ occupation, the organizations in which they work, their placements in different labor markets, and by broader social, economic and institutional structures, processes and events. And disparities in job stress are systematically determined in much the same way as are other disparities in health, income, and mobility opportunities. In taking this approach, the authors draw on the observations and insights from a diverse field of sociological and economic theories and research. These go back to the nineteenth century writings of Marx, Weber and Durkheim on the relationship between work and well-being. They also include the more contemporary work in organizational sociology, structural labor market research from sociology and economics, research on unemployment and economic cycles, and research on institutional environments. This has allowed the authors to develop a unified framework that extends sociological models of income inequality and “status” attainment (or allocation) to the explanation of non-economic, health-related outcomes of work. Using a multi-level structural model, this timely and comprehensive volume explores what is stressful about work, and why; specifically address these and questions and more: -What characteristics of jobs are the most stressful; what characteristics reduce stress? -Why do work organizations structure some jobs to be highly stressful and some jobs to be much less stressful? Is work in a bureaucracy really more stressful? -How is occupational “status” occupational “power” and “authority” related to the stressfulness of work? -How does the “segmentation” of labor markets by occupation, industry, race, gender, and citizenship maintain disparities in job stress? - Why is unemployment stressful to workers who don’t lose their jobs? -How do public policies on employment status, collective bargaining, overtime affect job stress? -Is work in the current “Post (neo) Fordist” era of work more or less stressful than work during the “Fordist” era? In addition to providing a new way to understand the sociological causes of job stress and mental health, the model that the authors provide has broad applications to further study of this important area of research. This volume will be of key interest to sociologists and other researchers studying social stratification, public health, political economy, institutional and organizational theory.




Overload


Book Description

Why too much work and too little time is hurting workers and companies—and how a proven workplace redesign can benefit employees and the bottom line Today's ways of working are not working—even for professionals in "good" jobs. Responding to global competition and pressure from financial markets, companies are asking employees to do more with less, even as new technologies normalize 24/7 job expectations. In Overload, Erin Kelly and Phyllis Moen document how this new intensification of work creates chronic stress, leading to burnout, attrition, and underperformance. "Flexible" work policies and corporate lip service about "work-life balance" don't come close to fixing the problem. But this unhealthy and unsustainable situation can be changed—and Overload shows how. Drawing on five years of research, including hundreds of interviews with employees and managers, Kelly and Moen tell the story of a major experiment that they helped design and implement at a Fortune 500 firm. The company adopted creative and practical work redesigns that gave workers more control over how and where they worked and encouraged managers to evaluate performance in new ways. The result? Employees' health, well-being, and ability to manage their personal and work lives improved, while the company benefited from higher job satisfaction and lower turnover. And, as Kelly and Moen show, such changes can—and should—be made on a wide scale. Complete with advice about ways that employees, managers, and corporate leaders can begin to question and fix one of today's most serious workplace problems, Overload is an inspiring account about how rethinking and redesigning work could transform our lives and companies.




Work and Employment in the High Performance Workplace


Book Description

There is a general consensus that deep-seated changes are reshaping the way production and work are organized, the way employees, employers and their representatives deal with each other, and the way governments seek to shape society. In this work a group of leading scholars take stock of the evidence and implications of the new workplace. Drawing on examples from a variety of national contexts, they seek to characterize the nature of contemporary workplace change, and assess its implications for the organization of work for workers, for employment relations and for public policy.




How I Learned to Let My Workers Lead


Book Description

Are your employees like a synchronized "V" of geese in flight-sharing goals and taking turns leading? Or are they more like a herd of buffalo-blindly following you and standing around awaiting instructions? If they're like buffalo, their passivity and lack of initiative could doom your company. In How I Learned to Let My Workers Lead, you'll discover how to transform buffalo into geese-by reshaping organizational systems and redefining employees' expectations about what it takes to succeed. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough ideas in management practice. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers you the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world.




Hearing on School-to-work Transition


Book Description

This congressional hearing focuses on the importance of incorporating workplace skills into K-12 education and how H.R. 4078, the Workforce Readiness Act of 1992, might accomplish this. Testimony includes statements and prepared statements of the Secretary of Education, a Representative in Congress, Secretary of Labor, and individuals representing the Institute on Education and the Economy; Council of Chief State School Officers; Director of Vocational-Technical Education--Genesee Intermediate School District, Flint, Michigan; Project BEL (Business/Education/Labor Partnership); and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (YLB)




The Changing Nature of Work


Book Description

Although there is great debate about how work is changing, there is a clear consensus that changes are fundamental and ongoing. The Changing Nature of Work examines the evidence for change in the world of work. The committee provides a clearly illustrated framework for understanding changes in work and these implications for analyzing the structure of occupations in both the civilian and military sectors. This volume explores the increasing demographic diversity of the workforce, the fluidity of boundaries between lines of work, the interdependent choices for how work is structured-and ultimately, the need for an integrated systematic approach to understanding how work is changing. The book offers a rich array of data and highlighted examples on: Markets, technology, and many other external conditions affecting the nature of work. Research findings on American workers and how they feel about work. Downsizing and the trend toward flatter organizational hierarchies. Autonomy, complexity, and other aspects of work structure. The committee reviews the evolution of occupational analysis and examines the effectiveness of the latest systems in characterizing current and projected changes in civilian and military work. The occupational structure and changing work requirements in the Army are presented as a case study.




Key Concepts in Work


Book Description

"This excellent book will encourage students to think about the diverse range and broad character of issues encountered at work. It highlights both enduring dilemmas and emerging issues in contemporary employment. Each concept is carefully explained with engaging examples provided throughout. As such it will help prime students to understand key issues at work and make a first-rate addition to any social science reading list." - Nicolas Bacon, Nottingham University Business School "This authoritative, comprehensive, up-to-date, and user-friendly reference book will be appreciated greatly by all social science staff and students of work." - Stephen Edgell, University of Salford and author of The Sociology of Work The SAGE Key Concepts series provides students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding. Written by experienced and respected academics, the books are indispensible study aids and guides to comprehension. Key Concepts in Work: Clearly and concisely explains the central ideas, debates and theories of work. Offers a broad overview of the social, political and economic contexts of work illustrated from diverse industrial societies. Begins each entry with a snapshot definition followed by key words and guidance for further reading. Inspires students to engage in further exploration of ideas and debates. Provides an essential reference guide for all students in sociology, business studies, management learning about work, employment, organizations and labour markets.