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Zusatztext "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 Informationen zum Autor Francis Green , Professor of Economics at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, is the coauthor of Education for Training and Development in East Asia and Education, Training, and the Global Economy , and the coauthor or editor of nine other books. He is an editor of the British Journal of Industrial Relations , and he provides periodic expert advice to the government of the United Kingdom, to the European Commission, and to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Klappentext Since the early 1980s, a vast number of jobs have been created in the affluent economies of the industrialized world. Many workers are doing more skilled and fulfilling jobs, and getting paid more for their trouble. Yet it is often alleged that the quality of work life has deteriorated, with a substantial and rising proportion of jobs providing low wages and little security, or requiring unusually hard and stressful effort. In this unique and authoritative formal account of changing job quality, economist Francis Green highlights contrasting trends, using quantitative indicators drawn from public opinion surveys and administrative data. In most affluent countries average pay levels have risen along with economic growth, a major exception being the United States. Skill requirements have increased, potentially meaning a more fulfilling time at work. Set against these beneficial trends, however, are increases in inequality, a strong intensification of work effort, diminished job satisfaction, and less employee influence over daily work tasks. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Demanding Work shows how aspects of job quality are related, and how changes in the quality of work life stem from technological change and transformations in the politico-economic environment. The book concludes by discussing what individuals, firms, unions, and governments can do to counter declining job quality. Zusammenfassung Using an interdisciplinary approach, this work shows how aspects of job quality are related, and how changes in the quality of work life stem from technological change and transformations in the politico-economic environment. This book concludes by discussing what individuals, firms, unions, and governments can do to counter declining job quality. Inhaltsverzeichnis List 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 Affl...
