Part-Time Work in the Nordic Countries: A Trap for Women?

Abstract. The aim of the study is to examine the consequences of part-time employment at the individual level, especially for women. Are part-time jobs precarious as compared to full-time jobs, and are they traps, or perhaps rather bridges, in the labour market? The results indicate that the situation of part-timers varies in the Nordic countries. On one hand, the gap between part-time and full-time work has narrowed in Sweden and Norway, which may reflect a normalization of part-time work in these countries. On the other, part-timers' situation in the Finnish labour market still seems more precarious than that of full-timers. However, in most cases part-time work is a bridge rather than a trap in the Nordic labour market.     

Comparing three alternative types of employment with permanent full-time work: How do employment contract and perceived job conditions relate to health complaints?

Previous research has found that alternative employment arrangements are associated with both impaired and improved well-being. Since such inconsistencies are likely to derive from the type of employment contract as well as the characteristics of the job, this paper compares permanent full-time work with forms of alternative employment (permanent part-time, fixed-term and on-call work) in order to investigate how different employment contracts and perceptions of job conditions relate to individual well-being. This study contributes to the literature by addressing several questions. Different forms of alternative employment are distinguished and individual background characteristics that might be intertwined with the employment contract are controlled for. Moreover, the scope of this study extends to the effects of perceived job conditions, and possible interactive effects with type of employment are tested. Analyses of questionnaire data from 954 Swedish healthcare workers show that perceptions of the job (job insecurity, job control and demands), but not the type of employment contract, predicted health complaints. However, type of employment interacted with perceptions of job insecurity, in that insecurity was associated with impaired well-being among permanent full-time workers, while no relationship was found for on-call or core part-time employees. Despite the absence of interactions between employment contract and job demands or job control, it can be concluded that knowledge about the relationship between alternative employment arrangements and the well-being of workers can be enhanced when the combined effects of employment contract and job conditions are studied.     

Cardiac measures of stress in British prison officers

Abstract

Previous research has found that alternative employment arrangements are associated with both impaired and improved well-being. Since such inconsistencies are likely to derive from the type of employment contract as well as the characteristics of the job, this paper compares permanent full-time work with forms of alternative employment (permanent part-time, fixed-term and on-call work) in order to investigate how different employment contracts and perceptions of job conditions relate to individual well-being. This study contributes to the literature by addressing several questions. Different forms of alternative employment are distinguished and individual background characteristics that might be intertwined with the employment contract are controlled for. Moreover, the scope of this study extends to the effects of perceived job conditions, and possible interactive effects with type of employment are tested. Analyses of questionnaire data from 954 Swedish healthcare workers show that perceptions of the job (job insecurity, job control and demands), but not the type of employment contract, predicted health complaints. However, type of employment interacted with perceptions of job insecurity, in that insecurity was associated with impaired well-being among permanent full-time workers, while no relationship was found for on-call or core part-time employees. Despite the absence of interactions between employment contract and job demands or job control, it can be concluded that knowledge about the relationship between alternative employment arrangements and the well-being of workers can be enhanced when the combined effects of employment contract and job conditions are studied.     

全日制与非全日制工程硕士培养模式探索

全日制与非全日制工程硕士都以应用型复合型高层次工程技术和工程管理人才为培养目标,在招生模式、培养过程上有很多相似之处,但同时也存在差异,因此本文将对两种培养模式进行分析比较,总结出"三结合"的培养模式。     

Part-Time Work in the EEC Countries: Evolution during the 1980s

Whereas part-time working remains the exponent par excellence of the flexibility of female employment, its relative growth seems to have come to a standstill in both Denmark and the United Kingdom as far as women are concerned, and for men it is now becoming more a matter of young people offsetting studies and work. In France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Ireland and Germany, the increase in female employment between 1983 and 1989 is largely attributable to the growth of part-time employment. The difference with respect to the countries of the South of Europe is striking since the proportion of part-time working there is low, and has not increased significantly since 1983. Its concentration in already very close sectors, its non-optional nature, insecurity and awkward working hours make part-time employment of very little personal value for employees.     

农户兼业及其对农地承包经营权流转的影响

本文兼顾日本和我国农村固定观察点兼业标准,提出了划分农户兼业的新标准。文章分析了我国农户兼业的地区差异和阶段性差异两大特征,将农户兼业分为前期成长、中期平稳发展和后期分化3个阶段,并据此推断我国农业生产的兼业化与专业化并存会成为一种常态。文章认为我国农地流转呈现流转规模逐年增长、地区差异明显和流转主体趋向多元等3大特征,并利用Logit模型和多元线性回归模型,重点分析了农户兼业对农地流转的影响。回归结果表明:简单地认为农户兼业会妨碍农地流转是不妥当的,有些地区兼业农户参与农地流转的概率并不必然显著低于纯农户和非农户;农户农地转出比重与农户兼业程度呈现U型曲线关系。模型结果显示一些地方农地转出受到了行政干预。文章最后提出5点政策建议。     

Women's Labour Force Participation and Part Time Work in Spain

Spain is one of the southern countries where the percentage of women working part-time is relatively low in comparison to other European countries, together with a low female activity rate. Some important obstacles to increasing female activity rates have already been removed, as younger cohorts of women show a more permanent attachment to the labour force than older women, meeting even high unemployment, which is especially acute for women and young people. Under the recent labour market reform, it is hoped that part-time contracts, which were first regulated in 1984, would be a way of facilitating flexibility and an incentive for employers to create jobs, as the experience of other countries has shown. The relative novelty of part-time work in Spain is the reason why this typically female employment regime has not been much explored in Spain yet, in spite of its important role in the reorganisation of the employment system.     

Women's Career Development and Divorce Risk in Japan

ABSTRACT In Japan, divorce rates have more than doubled since the mid-1960s, and female paid employment has increased rapidly in the past few decades. By applying a conventional economic model of labor force participation to micro-level data gathered from a nationally representative sample survey, this paper shows that Japanese married women who have contemplated divorcing their husbands are more likely to participate in the workforce as full-time paid employees. This finding suggests that an increasing risk of divorce has made a substantial contribution to the fast rise in Japanese women's participation in paid employment, particularly full-time work.     

Part-time medical director: way station or end of the line?

This article is mostly directed to physicians who are contemplating a career change into management. You may be one of those persons who is contemplating taking a part-time position and continuing part-time clinical practice to see if you might enjoy management. It is important to understand that a part time medical director is there primarily because management perceives a need for a physician's skills and license. When a physician is hired on a part-time basis, it is unlikely that management realizes the larger benefits that can accrue to the organization from the physician manager's knowledge of health care and unique approach to the problems and opportunities in the delivery of that health care. Part-time medical directors seldom have an opportunity to be exposed to real management issues and activities and are usually sequestered and limited to functions that a naive management team thinks are most appropriate to a physician's skills and temperament. Be cautious in extrapolating a part-time experience to a full-time role. Consider taking the plunge to full-time management without a part-time transition phase.     

Atypical Employment Relations and Government Policy in Europe

Abstract. This paper analyses government policy towards the two major forms of atypical work in Europe: part-time employment and temporary work. It is submitted that the policies implemented promote the volume of marginal part-time employment and temporary work. The policies aiming at more temporary jobs did not result in additional employment; they merely resulted in a redistribution of unemployment and a shift in the recruitment patterns in the direction of subsidised temporary jobs. Too much emphasis on numerical flexibility is not without danger. Countries run the risk that employers will not pay sufficient attention to the source of their long-term flexibility, manpower training. I t is argued that regular part-time work is an alternative for uncertain temporary jobs, Its potential expansion is considerable. Some recommendations are put forward to promote regular part-time jobs and improve the position of flexible part-time workers and temporary workers.     

Work, pregnancy, and distress

Increasing numbers of pregnant women are working throughout much, if not all, of their pregnancies. In this secondary analysis of existing longitudinal data on family health, pregnant women were grouped according to employment status: 126 homemakers, 70 employed part-time, and 135 employed full-time. There were no significant differences between the groups in measures of distress, including depression, trait and state anxiety, and perception of negative life events. Homemakers were significantly younger, less educated, and had lower family incomes than either group of employed women. There was also a non-significant trend towards higher distress scores among homemakers. Overall, among these women, it was the similarities which were more striking than the differences, which supports recent research findings about distress among pregnant women.     

AN ANALYSIS OF PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO PROFESSIONAL STAFF TURNOVER IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRMS1

A sample of graduate and undergraduate degree holders in accounting are being studied during the first five years of their public accounting careers. Data on the biographical characteristics, vocational interests, and personality factors are analyzed in this study to discover if different profiles exist for those who remain with their firm of original employment in public accounting following graduation and those who find new positions. A number of significant differences were found. The findings should be of benefit to educators and representatives from the accounting profession because of their mutual concern with recruiting, staff development and retention, and academic preparation and career counseling.     

Part-Time Employment and the Utilisation of Labour Resources

The populations of industrialised countries, particularly in Europe, are ageing. Due to this demographic development social expenditure will increase, while the labour force will be growing only slowly or declining. These developments will have major economic implications. The number of people employed, the productivity per worker and the trend in their real earnings will be important factors constituting the base for levying taxes and premiums for financing social expenditure in the future. In this paper it is argued that the promotion of part-time employment contributes to a better utilisation of the labour supply potential in a country, to the broadening of the base for financial social security expenditure and at the same time reduces the number of benefits drawn. Some policy recommendations to promote part-time employment are also presented.     

‘Quality’ part-time work in Australian organizations: implications for HRD

Part-time work is an international phenomenon. Many western countries show similar patterns to Australia, with a significant increase in part-time work in the last twenty to twenty-five years. In Australia, part-time work has developed some unique features, particularly as it often involves lower wages and poor conditions. Part-time employees in Australia are often excluded from human resource development (HRD) activities such as training and career tracks provided to full-time workers. The experience of particular Australian organizations illustrates possible avenues for quality part-time work. This paper examines practical examples of quality part-time work in eight Australian organizations across five industries (nursing, hospitality, retail, local government and the legal profession). Using case study research, the paper discusses the dimensions of quality part-time work in different industry and occupational contexts from an HRD perspective.     

Developing emotional intelligence through workplace learning: Findings from a case study in healthcare

This study of UK and US lone parents with sole care-giving responsibility for dependants (children, ageing parents, grandparents, etc.) focused on the influence, if any, this responsibility has on her/his ability to give 'total commitment' to their work/career. One hundred and thirty-four lone parents participated in the survey. Gender distribution was 64 per cent female, 36 per cent male. Country of residence was 25 per cent UK, 75 per cent US. Females report greater past than present hindrance to their careers (48 per cent past, 33 per cent present). Similarly situated males report career hindrance as 18 per cent past, 21 per cent present. Lone parents in the UK appear to be more negatively impacted upon in their job careers by their care-giving responsibility than their counterparts in the US and would also appear to be more concerned about their economic and emotional future. This survey confirms that care-giving responsibilities can limit the realization of employment potential for either female or male. Care-giving responsibilities, rather than gender or race, may be the glass ceiling of the new millennium.     

Reconceptualizing the nature and consequences of part-time work

This article presents a theoretical framework for understanding the impact of part-time work on employees' attitudes and behaviors. A series of hypotheses also are presented to explain the varying consequences that different types of part-time employment arrangements, work-context factors, and demographic variables have on the experiences of part-time workers. Future issues for theory development and research methodology are discussed as well.     

Women on the boards of listed companies: Evidence from Finland

This paper investigates gender differences on the corporate boards of Finnish listed companies. The personal characteristics, careers, and boardroom roles of female and male directors on boards were analyzed on the basis of empirical data collected by questionnaire. An analysis of the findings revealed only minor differences between the women and men in personal characteristics such as their marital status, number of children and education, or in their careers. However, female board members were on average younger than their male counterparts and considered themselves to be more protean, took more active roles on the board, and enjoyed power more than men did. They also felt a need for more women on the board. The goal of this study is to contribute to the existing research in two ways. Firstly, it provides empirical evidence on women??s representation on boards from Finland, where women??s and men??s rights are regarded as more equal than in many other countries. Secondly, the study aims to increase our knowledge of gender differences, careers and roles of women in top positions in Finnish business.     

The female manager—The pressures and the problems

There are an increasing number of women entering full-time careers in occupations that were once male dominated, for example, management. Recent surveys have suggested that more women are pursuing management careers in Western Europe and the United States. The pressures on these women are enormous in view of industry's inflexibility. Corporate policies must change if women are to survive in organizations. A variety of these policies are discussed in this paper, e.g. flexible work weeks, maternal and paternal leave, change and relocation policies, career planning, etc.     

The development of a Mentor Program to foster career management

Because of dramatic changes in the employment environment and the increased frequency with which employees change jobs and careers, career management has become increasingly important. This article introduces and evaluates an academic Mentor Program that was developed in response to these changes. The Mentor Program provides students with many benefits including career counseling, practical work experience, employment opportunities, and networking.     

Managerialist Professionalism: The Destruction of a Non-conforming Subculture

This paper explores the complex relationship between professionalism and managerialism in the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and argues that professional aspiration now embraces the managerial paradigm. More specifically, it describes a subculture – that of permanent night nurses – which endures a schematic difference from the now dominant day nurse culture, and is in imminent danger of extinction. It is held in contempt by many nursing professionals and managers whose agendas converge to form the unified template which informs their action. It is suggested that night nurses, marginalized and powerless, are a subculture with distinct native-view characteristics. Ward-based, like their day colleagues, but separated by a temporal divide, permanent night nurses recognize their difference, largely reject the new managerialist professionalism, feel unappreciated and cling to their perceived camaraderie and close patient-relationships.
This research explores the nature and origins of the new managerialist nursing profession and examines the basis of its claims of professionalism. The ethnographic methodology and research design are outlined and considerable data are presented. The paper draws upon the arguments of fellow professionals and managers who seek to deny the right of existence to this group. It is argued that 'atrocity stories' and other discourse, are evidence of evolving closure criteria, which exclude this apparently non-conforming subcultural group.