UNIONS, PLANTS, JOBS, AND WORKERS

The relationship between unions and their members is an important, yet neglected, subject in recent studies of the sociology of work. This study develops and tests a theory of union satisfaction and participation that combines recent research in the sociology of work with previous explanations of union satisfaction and participation provided by industrial relations researchers, in an attempt to understand the relationship between unions, plants, jobs, and workers in U.S. manufacturing industries. This theory predicts that union members will be satisfied with their unions and participate more in them if there are extensive ties between workers, employers, and unions. These ties stem from the focus of labor/management relations in particular, and class struggles in general, on market outcomes and the historical linkage of union membership with employment in the United States. The theory also predicts that unions them-selves act as ties to specific work settings and that union participation is a forum for voicing dissatisfaction with specific characteristics of workers' jobs. Testing these predictions is complicated by contradictory nature of the structure and organization of work in advanced industrial societies. The analysis provides qualified support for this theory, with data drawn from more unions, plants, and union members than have been used to date. In addition to discussing modifications to the theory and analysis presented here, the study includes a discussion of its implications for the future of unionization and the organization of work, in light of declines in union membership, increased efforts to decertify unions and resist union organizing efforts, and deindustrialization in the United States.     

Career prospects and tenure–job satisfaction profiles: Evidence from panel data

This paper investigates the relationship between job tenure and job satisfaction and evaluates whether tenure–job satisfaction profiles are contingent on career advancement opportunities. It uses the British Household Panel Survey Dataset (BHPS). Career status is modelled as an endogenous variable, subject to an initial job choice. The paper concludes that the job satisfaction of individuals employed in jobs with career prospects is not only higher compared with those who are not, but also that their returns to tenure in terms of job satisfaction are significantly higher.     

Social Context at Work: A Multilevel Analysis of Job Satisfaction

Analyzing data on classified employees working in 18 departments in a university, this paper uses hierarchical linear models to explore the effects of social context on workers' job satisfaction. Drawing on organizational demographers' claims that satisfying social relations in the workplace have demographic sources and that workers are more satisfied in demographically homogeneous work units, we examine the effects of department-level sex and race heterogeneity on workers' feelings about their jobs. Our results show that satisfaction levels are lower in more sex- and race-heterogeneous departments, as hypothesized. In addition, we found that satisfaction is higher in departments with higher average levels of job tenure, though the individual-level effect of tenure on job satisfaction was not statistically significant. Our results provide support for a social-relational view of work and demonstrate the usefulness of multilevel models as an analytic strategy for examining these issues.     

Making people feel good: Workers' constructions of meaning in interactive service jobs

This paper analyses the experiences of women who work in residential real estate sales, to identify the factors that lead women to choose and keep this occupation. In-depth interviews provide the data for a case study of the importance of various job traits in determining job satisfaction for a specific category of workers. The more general question concerns workers' constructions of the emotional labor involved in interactive service work. Within a general queueing model, this paper focuses on job queues. Specifically, I examine workers' preferences for jobs and the factors that contribute to positive ranking of the job after workers' initial experiences with it. Findings show that although the women's experiences on the job have disappointed their expectations, most remain satisfied with their work and plan to stay in the field. The reasons for this high level of satisfaction are related to characteristics of the workers—the women's educational and skill levels, and the limited alternatives that they perceive for themselves, and characteristics of the job—its autonomous nature and the emotional labor it entails.     

Organisational Factors,Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave Among Newly Qualified Social Workers in England

Satisfaction with different organisational elements and aspects of work contributes markedly to overall levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave. For newly qualified social workers (NQSWs), especially immediately after graduation, self-perceived competence and their confidence in their educational preparation are also important. This article reports on a longitudinal study following 280 social work students into social work employment in England using data collected as students and six months after graduation. We focus on their experiences as NQSWs, thus only including those working in social work jobs, reporting the relative importance of their satisfaction with different work elements, such as supervision and job engagement. These are used to construct a model of NQSWs' overall satisfaction and intentions of leaving their social work jobs. The model incorporates NQSWs' perceptions of how well their degree courses prepared them for their current social work jobs in addition to personal, organisational and specific role characteristics. Using statistical techniques of factor analysis and regression modelling we highlight the complexities of how job satisfaction is constructed and we argue that the data reveal the importance of team support and self-efficacy in relation to whether social workers are thinking about leaving their current social work jobs.     

Phased Retirement for Older Workers in Taiwan

Working part-time has become a popular option during transition from a full-time career job to full retirement among older workers all over the world. Five waves of The Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan, from 1989 to 2003, are used to study older workers?? part-time work behaviors. The data confirm that more than 20% of full-time older workers with at least 10?years of job tenure do not fully retire from their career jobs. Moreover, there exists a significant proportion of older workers who stay with their career jobs and work part-time. We found that due to pension regulations, public sector employees are less likely to stay with their long-term employers and use phased retirement options.     

Early career occupational mobility of Turkish and Moroccan second-generation migrants in Flanders,Belgium

This article analyses the early career occupational mobility of people from a Turkish or Moroccan descent in Flanders (Belgium). Previous research showed that second-generation migrants are less successful than natives when entering the labour market. We compare the progress in socio-economic status (SES) that youngsters of native and non-native descent make from their first to later jobs at the start of their career. Both second-generation immigrants and native majority young adults experience upward occupational mobility during this crucial phase of their occupational career. The gap between native and ethnic minority youth, however, does not narrow over the course of the years. The first job offers less SES for non-natives compared to that of natives, and the minority-native gap in occupational attainment remains constant afterwards. The future career is largely determined by the characteristics of the start of the occupational career, and educational attainment even before. Promising, however, might be the finding that a first job with a relative low occupational status does offer better opportunities for Turkish and Moroccan second-generation migrants than for native majority youth to do some catching up later on. In combination with a long-term negative impact of initial unemployment, ethnic minority youth perhaps are best off with starting to work as soon as possible after school leaving.     

The impact of unions on job satisfaction,organizational commitment,and turnover

Conclusion The research on the exit-voice hypothesis, both in the United States and abroad, shows convincingly that most of the variance in the negative union effect on job satisfaction can be accounted for by job quality, industrial relation climate, and wages. Union members see their jobs as less attractive than do nonunion workers in terms of skill requirements, task complexity, the amount of autonomy or discretion available, and opportunities for promotion. Union members also perceive the supervision they receive and the labor-management relations they experience as less satisfactory. They are, however, clearly better off with respect to wages, benefits, and pensions. But when it comes to job satisfaction, the economic advantages of union jobs are not sufficient to compensate for job content and work environment factors. It comes as no surprise to the job satisfaction researcher that job content — the nature of the tasks people are given to do — weighs heavily in overall job satisfaction scores. While there are individual differences in the degree to which people prefer intrinsically interesting jobs, there is ample empirical evidence showing that autonomy, skill variety, complexity, challenge, and advancement are important determinants of people's affective reactions to their jobs (Deci, 1975; Hackman and Oldham, 1980; Kanfer, 1990). The relative importance of job content factors to overall job satisfaction is also mirrored in the most commonly used measures of job satisfaction (Weiss et al., 1967).     

Factors impacting intention to leave in social workers and child care workers employed at voluntary agencies

Introduction

To ameliorate high turnover in child welfare, researchers have attempted to identify factors that lead to undesirable turnover. While this has been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to turnover based upon job roles. Like social workers in child welfare, the field of child care also experiences high turnover. Child care workers employed in child welfare settings are no exception. The current study seeks to understand differential factors that impact intent to leave for preventive and child care workers employed in child welfare agencies.

Materials and methods

Data for prevention workers (n = 538) were obtained from all preventive service programs under contract with the City. Data for child care workers (n = 222) were obtained from three voluntary agencies located elsewhere in the State. The instrument was a modified version of a survey developed to examine job satisfaction and potential turnover among public child welfare workers. Domains measured included job satisfaction, intention to leave, career commitment, and agency investment. Data were analyzed using bivariate analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).

Results

Child care workers had more positive perceptions of child welfare and planned to stay in child welfare longer. Despite this, prevention workers felt more invested in their work. Child care and prevention workers had different levels of satisfaction with their jobs although overall job satisfaction did not differ nor did their intention to leave. Tenure at the agency was predictive of career investment. Investment, perceptions of child welfare, satisfaction with nature of work, and contingent rewards were associated with career commitment. Commitment and satisfaction with supervision were the greatest predictors of intention to leave.

Discussion

There is a gap in literature addressing child care workers in child welfare, and future study of this group is needed. Child care workers are just as likely to intend to leave their jobs as prevention workers. For both groups, it appears that investment in their jobs increases commitment to the field which reduces intention to leave.     

The labor process as a source of class consciousness: A critical examination

Much of the recent literature on the labor process has assumed that work content plays a prominent role in the development of class consciousness. Little systematic attention has been given to this assumption, however. The present study examines the relation between aspects of workers' jobs and their levels of class consciousness, using data recently gathered from a survey of workers in the communications industry. Contrary to the prevailing view, the results indicate that extrinsic job characteristics—e.g., job security, patterns of supervision, and working conditions—have much stronger effects on class consciousness than do intrinsic job characteristics. The implication is that analyses of the labor process may have focused too narrowly upon the work itself, at the expense of other critical aspects of the wage-labor relation. Models of the determination of class consciousness will need to consider the expectations workers bring into their jobs. Managerial violation of the workers' expectations may have more to do with the development of class consciousness than does the content of work alone.     

Is Any Job Better than No Job? Life Satisfaction and Re-employment

Using data for West Germany from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we analyse the impact of transitions from unemployment to full-time employment on life satisfaction, with special focus on the influence of job quality. We apply various indicators of job quality (self-reported job satisfaction, wages, type of contract, and indicators of the fit between the worker and job requirements). We control for the influence of income changes and other factors affecting life satisfaction, using a conditional logit estimator. Results suggest that job quality only matters to some extent, and often people in bad jobs are still better off than those who remain unemployed. This effect is statistically significant for most indicators of job quality, except for workers with low job satisfaction and for those whose new job is much worse than their pre-unemployment job.     

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN JOB SATISFACTION

This article analyzes gender differences in job satisfaction among full-time workers. Why do women report equal or greater job satisfaction than men in spite of objectively inferior jobs? Analysis reveals few differences between men and women in the determinants of job satisfaction when considering job characteristics, family responsibilities, and personal expectations. Little support is found for theories that men and women: (1) focus on different aspects of work in arriving at a given level of job satisfaction; (2) differentially condition their job satisfaction according to the extent of their family responsibilities; and (3) employ different personal expectations in evaluating their jobs. Two alternative explanations for women's relatively positive job attitudes are considered. First, women may arrive at a higher level of job satisfaction than men by using different comparison groups. Second, men may be more willing to verbalize dissatisfaction with work because of different socialization. The most likely explanation is that these processes operate in conjunction to produce greater reported job satisfaction among women.     

General Job Satisfaction From a Developmental Perspective: Exploring Choice—Job Matches at Two Career Stages

The authors explored predictions of general job satisfaction at early and middle adulthood and uncovered several findings about developmental processes associated with job satisfaction. Tests of life‐span career theory propositions revealed that neither choice‐job congruence nor gender added significantly to predictions of job satisfaction at 2 career stages. Earlier occupational choice and current job added to predictions of midcareer (modal age 43 years) job satisfaction, especially for men. The predictability of job satisfaction is apparently influenced by the career stage when satisfaction is appraised.     

Happiness and Job Satisfaction in a Casino-Dominated Economy

Proposals for casinos usually focus on numbers of jobs without considering their quality. We surveyed 1,506 Macau residents, modelling happiness and job satisfaction. Being employed is shown to be important for ‘happiness’. But job attributes also matter, confirming the work domain as influential on wellbeing. Casino employees report similar happiness as others. However, despite relatively high pay, they report low overall job satisfaction. The particular aspects of their jobs that they rated generally negatively tended to be those inherent in casino employment rather than easily modifiable by managerial action.     

The Impact of the Worker: How Social Capital and Human Capital Influence the Job Tenure of Formerly Undocumented Mexican Immigrants

Using the 1992 Legalized Population Survey, I focus on employment matching processes of formerly undocumented Mexican immigrant workers in the United States. As in earlier studies, I show that employment characteristics are related to the job tenures of immigrant workers. However, my contribution is that I specifically analyze how formerly undocumented Mexican immigrant workers' attributes and social networks influence their job tenures. In general, increases in human capital are associated with shorter job tenure, apparently in an effort to improve employment conditions, while the use of social capital is positively related with job tenure. It appears that acquiring employment is a social process, and those using personal networks find longer lasting jobs. Although prior studies have minimized the role of supply-side characteristics such as employees' skill level and social networks in influencing job tenure, my research confirms the significance of workers and the resources they bring to the labor market.     

Happy Doing Good? How Workers' Career Orientations and Job Satisfaction Relate in Grassroots Human Services

ABSTRACT

Job satisfaction has long been a focus of human services managers and researchers. Yet recent trends in what workers want from their jobs and careers may challenge the current understanding of this important phenomenon. There is limited understanding, in particular, of human services workers' potentially diverse orientations toward their work and how those preferences relate to job satisfaction. These factors are considered using unique data from a population of domestic violence agencies. Results show that newer human services employees report valuing opportunities for entrepreneurialism at work more than their veteran coworkers, while senior staff state stronger preferences for jobs that facilitate work-life balance. Across all employees, a preference for work seen as advancing a social cause is positively linked to job satisfaction, while a desire for job autonomy is negatively related to satisfaction. Finally, the work-life balance preferences only of newer staff are positively related to their satisfaction. The article concludes with a discussion of strategies for managing employees' multidimensional preferences for work.     

The Lifestyle, Commitment and Satisfaction among Male Workers in Tokyo

Abstract  This study examines the relationship between workers' lifestyle, organizational commitment, and satisfaction. First, this study describes the lifestyle, i.e. cluster of value orientations, of male workers in Tokyo. The sample of this study is 2,003 regular male private firm employees and public (government) employees aged 20-54 living in the Tokyo metropolitan areas. We measure attitudes of workers toward work and the place of work. The 33 measures of attitudes are analyzed by means of cluster analysis to construct typologies of lifestyle of workers. We obtained three clusters: cluster 1 (career-oriented generalists, i.e., company man), cluster 2 (stability-oriented family man), and cluster 3 (work-oriented specialist). Second, we found demographic differences among the three clusters. Workers in cluster 1 tend to be older. to be more university educated, to obtain higher income, and to have higher positions at their current job. Workers in cluster 2 are more likely to be young, to graduate from senior high school, and to be in the middle-income group. Workers in cluster 3 tend to graduate from special training school or university and to be in lower-income group. Finally, we found differences in organizational commitment and job satisfaction among the three clusters. Workers in cluster 2 are more likely than are those in the other two clusters to be dissatisfied with their current job. to have a lower level of identification with their current firm, and consequently to have a greater propensity to leave their present company.     

Predicting Work Outcomes From Religiosity and Perceived Calling

Research suggests that individuals who perceive their work as a calling experience a variety of positive outcomes, such as occupational identification, career decidedness, and job satisfaction. The present study examined how calling and religiosity interact to influence workplace cognition and behavior. Using a self‐regulatory, multiple‐goals perspective, the author proposed that individuals with greater religiosity would report lower job involvement and work fewer hours. However, this relationship would attenuate or reverse if individuals perceived a transcendent summons calling them to their jobs. In the present study, 233 employed adults reported perceptions of calling, religiosity, job involvement, and hours worked. Calling and religiosity interacted in the hypothesized manner when predicting both job involvement, ΔR² = .02, and hours worked, ΔR² = .02, although job involvement did not mediate the relationship between calling, religiosity, and hours worked. The results suggest that career counselors and researchers pay particular attention to the role of calling among religious individuals.     

EARNINGS GROWTH ON THE JOB AND BETWEEN JOBS

This paper uses detailed data on the salary histories of individuals to show how an individual's observed earnings growth can be decomposed into growth occurring on the job and growth occurring between jobs. It is shown that the relative contributions of these two components to overall earnings growth differ across race and education groups. Further, as predicted by the specific training hypothesis, the more mobile individuals are found to have smaller on-the-job earnings gains in absolute terms than the less mobile.     

Patterns of Informal Job Matching across the Life Course: Entry‐Level,Reentry‐Level,and Elite Non‐Searching*

The character and outcomes of informal job matching vary at different stages during people's lives. This is illustrated through an examination of non‐searchers—people who get their jobs without searching thanks to receiving unsolicited information about job openings. Examining data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I identify three distinct patterns of non‐searching. Early in the work career, “entry‐level” non‐searchers acquire their first few jobs often while still in school. During the mid‐career, “reentry‐level” non‐searchers tend to be women with little work experience who have been out of the labor market taking care of family responsibilities. Finally, “elite” non‐searchers tend to be male, highly experienced in their field, with very short gaps between employment. All three lack an economic urgency to get a job, but only the elite non‐searchers match prevailing assumptions of non‐searchers as the best connected and most advantaged workers. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating a life course perspective into the study of informal job matching.