Compensating wage differentials for workplace accidents: Evidence for union and nonunion workers in the UK

This article measures compensating wage differentials for job risks for union and nonunion workers. Job risk is made endogenous to avoid a selectivity bias arising if more able people choose safer jobs. We find that this adjustment has a considerable effect on the union group, raising their fatal risk premium above that of non union workers. This implies that there is more variation in unmeasured ability in the unionized group, and that job risk is an inferior good. The fact that unionized workers are also found in safer jobs might therefore be attributable to their greater wealth, rather than to greater“knowledge” in the unionized plant. The estimated statistical value of a life is £8.8 million in 1990 prices for union workers, with nonunion workers about 20% lower.     

Prisoners of Love? Job Satisfaction in Care Work

Previous research has established that paid care work is typically undertaken by women and that this work is often poorly rewarded in terms of pay and promotion opportunities. Much less is known about the reasons why women enter these jobs or their experiences of this work. This paper examines the motivations and experiences of two groups of care workers: childcare workers and dental assistants in Queensland in 2009 (N=1,767). We examine intrinsic, extrinsic and overall job satisfaction and the effects of job characteristics, work experience and demographic characteristics on job satisfaction. We find that childcare workers are less satisfied with their jobs than dental assistants on all three measures, despite a greater proportion nominating intrinsic reasons for entering the occupation. The most important factors predicting job satisfaction for both groups are day‐to‐day work experiences such as control over weekly rosters and entitlements that enable work‐family balance. We conclude that although love of the job may be a strong drawcard into care occupations for some women, experiences may not live up to expectations. Moreover, there is considerable diversity across these groups in motivations and outcomes indicating that it is impossible to view all care occupations as similar in terms rewards, outcomes and experiences.     

A further examination of antecedents of correctional staff life satisfaction

Working in corrections is not only a demanding job, but a socially important one. While a growing number of studies have examined how the work environment impacts the job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment of staff, very few studies have examined how working in corrections impacts the life satisfaction of workers. The current study utilized OLS regression to examine the antecedents of life satisfaction among staff at a Midwestern private prison. Job satisfaction had a positive relationship with life satisfaction, while age, work on family conflict, family on work conflict, and job involvement all had statistically significant negative effects. Finally, perceptions of the level of financial rewards, job stress, organizational commitment, gender, race, educational level, tenure, supervisory status, position, marital status, and having children, all had non-significant associations with overall satisfaction with life.     

Social Policy and the Politics of Hispanic Aging

Abstract

This study examines the contributing factors to job satisfaction and commitment among lower-income, older (age 55 and over), part-time employees (N = 164). Job satisfaction index (JSI) scores were relatively high for all subjects and did not differ significantly for age, gender, or Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) status. While not particularly low, white employees were significantly less satisfied with their employment experiences than Hispanic or African American workers. The scarcity of fringe benefits was the least satisfying aspect of employment. Older Hispanics, whites, and men reported less interference between job, family, and home life than African Americans and women. Multiple regression analysis revealed that race/ethnicity, skill utilization opportunities, perceived views of elders held by younger workers and supervisors, availability of fringe benefits, and suitable work days explained the majority of variance in JSI scores. Opportunities to interact with others and stay active were more important than financial supplementation in these elders' assessment of the benefits of part-time employment. Findings provide further understanding of those elders likely to be placed successfully in part-time employment.     

Precarious workers' choices about unemployment insurance membership after the Ghent system reform: The Finnish experience

The literature on the Ghent system has focused on the link between voluntary unemployment insurance and union membership in terms of industrial relations. Less attention has been paid to unemployment benefits and employees' decision‐making concerning unemployment insurance, even though the core function of the Ghent system is to provide unemployment insurance. This paper examines both of the options that precarious workers (i.e., part‐timers, temporary employees, and low‐skilled service employees) choose regarding unemployment insurance membership and the change in union density after the Ghent system reform in Finland. First, the results show that the growth of the independent unemployment insurance fund was the main reason for declining union density in the 2000s and early 2010s. Second, in terms of precarious workers, we find that the emergence of the independent fund has affected their choices about unemployment insurance membership and that their choices depend on the type of precarious employment they have. Moreover, part‐timers and temporary employees younger than 35 years of age are much less likely to enroll in unemployment insurance than older employees who have the same types of employment contracts.     

Good Jobs,Bad Jobs?: Understanding The Quality of Aged Care Jobs,and Why It Matters

Much research on paid care work focuses on this work as care. An equally important issue is its characteristic as paid work. This paper focuses on the characteristics of jobs in Australian aged care facilities, using data from a comprehensive 2003 national survey of direct care workers in Australian aged care facilities. It shows that, on a range of characteristics including pay, aged care jobs compare quite well with other jobs held by Australians who have similar characteristics to aged care workers. Aged care jobs are certainly not unequivocally ‘bad’ jobs. Yet turnover rates amongst these workers are quite high. The paper shows that workers' expectations about remaining in the aged care sector depend largely on their experience of work, particularly their job satisfaction. Job satisfaction, in turn, is affected most by their experience of the work of caring. As in most workplaces, the ability to use their skills without hindrance is important. But care work offers distinctive rewards not captured by notions of professional identity and commitment. The paper concludes by suggesting that a focus on these distinctive rewards will be important in fully understanding paid care work as paid work.     

Whether Professional Training Matters: Attitudinal Antecedents to the Turnover Intentions of Social Workers in Guangzhou,China

This study aims to identify whether the professional training of social workers has an effect on the attitudinal antecedents of turnover intention. This study investigated 395 trained and 353 non-trained social workers from the Integrated Family Service Centers in Guangzhou, China. It was found that professional education did not significantly alter the attitudinal antecedents to turnover intention. In both groups, a higher feeling of burnout or a lower level of organizational commitment produced a higher intention of turnover. Furthermore, the significant influences of burnout and organizational commitment were found to be respectively mediated by job satisfaction with professional association or job satisfaction with organizational environment. This study not only provides insights into the stabilization of the emerging workforce of Chinese social workers, but also poses serious questions about social work education.     

Age,Tenure, Resources for Control,and Organizational Commitment*

Objectives. A higher level of organizational commitment for older and more experienced workers has primarily been explained via exchange theory or a cohort effect. We use an agency‐structure framework to explain that higher levels of commitment result from feelings of control in the workplace. Methods. We examine this framework using data from a survey of 400 unionized factory workers in the Midwest. Results. The relationship between organizational commitment and predictors is affected by worker career stage. Most significantly, the commitment for older and more experienced workers increases with high levels of autonomy, while the opposite is true for younger and less experienced workers. Conclusions. When workers experience greater control at the point of production, they express greater organizational commitment. Although empowering for older and experienced workers, having freedom at work can be threatening or destabilizing for the younger workers, who may prefer more guidance.     

Immigrant Intentions and Mobility in a Global Economy: The Attitudes and Behavior of Recently Arrived U.S. Immigrants*

Objectives. In this article we develop a conceptual model connecting immigrants' objective circumstances to satisfaction with life in the United States, intentions with regard to naturalization and settlement, and concrete behaviors such as remitting and leaving the country. Methods. We analyze data from the New Immigrant Survey Pilot to estimate structural equations derived from our conceptual model. Results. Those expressing a high degree of U.S. satisfaction are significantly more likely to intend to naturalize and, because of this fact, are also more likely to want to stay in the United States forever. In terms of socioeconomic characteristics, however, those with high earnings and owners of U.S. property are less likely to intend naturalizing; and those with high levels of education are least likely to be satisfied with the United States, but satisfaction is itself unrelated to remitting or emigrating, which are determined by citizenship intentions and objective circumstances. Conclusions. The picture that emerges from this analysis is of a fluid and dynamic global market for human capital in which the bearers of skills, education, and abilities seek to maximize earnings in the short term while retaining little commitment to any particular society or national labor market over the longer term.     

The Paradox of the Lesbian Worker

Common sense might suggest that lesbian workers are doubly disadvantaged due to their gender and their stigmatized sexual orientation. But empirical research documents that lesbian workers earn more than their heterosexual women peers. This article considers two reasons for the economic advantage of lesbian workers. First, because lesbians must provide for themselves and their children, they may pursue nontraditional, higher-paying jobs and show increased work motivation. Second, stereotypes may depict lesbians, including lesbian mothers, as competent and committed workers. A review of available research is augmented with data from a study of 162 college students. Results indicate that motherhood detracts from the perceived work commitment and competence of heterosexual mothers but not lesbian mothers. Directions for future research are considered.     

Social Workers and Resident Participation in Old Age Homes

This paper reviews a study on the attitudes of social workers and directors of Old Age Homes (OAHs) toward the idea of resident oarticioation in these institutions. The idea of resident participation is firmly rooted in the value system of the social work profession. The study indeed indicates that social workers are committed to this idea and acknowledge its desirability. However, for most of them this commitment is not coupled with concrete activities designed to promote resident participation in the OAHs in which they operate. The paper examines several factors that may clarify this discrepancy between the commitment to the idea and the practical involvement in its realization.     

Linking Perceived External Prestige and Intentions to Leave the Organization: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment

ABSTRACT

The present study examines social workers' beliefs about the prestige that outsiders (e.g., patients, suppliers, competitors, and the public) attribute to their organization and the way these beliefs influence the social workers' commitment to the organization they work for, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions (i.e., intentions to leave the organization). We collected two primary data sets (N = 160 and N = 489, respectively) from social workers in nonprofit social service organizations in Israel in 2001 and 2002. In general, the results show that perceived (construed) external prestige results in higher employee commitment and satisfaction, which, in turn, leads to lower levels of intention to leave the organization. The implications of these findings for research on organizational image and employee commitment are discussed, with particular emphasis on social workers in nonprofit social service organizations.     

Business Social Responsibility: Perspectives of Businesses and Social Workers

ABSTRACT

This article compares the attitudes of social workers and business employees regarding the community involvement of businesses and the role of social workers in this involvement. The study, based on a structured questionnaire, was conducted in Israel and consisted of 316 participants from two cohorts: social workers and business employees. The principal findings show that social workers are more inclined than business employees to recommend that social workers increase their involvement in business social responsibility (BSR); business employees are more likely than social workers to advocate that the latter assume managerial functions; both groups support a low level of influence for social workers on decision-making processes and a role of exchange of knowledge rather than full partnership. The discussion addresses the implications of the findings for increasing social workers' involvement in BSR and cooperation with the business sector.     

Research Review: Teenage pregnancy and parenthood: the role of fathers

From the research available in America and Britain it would appear that the men who father children by teenage mothers tend to be a few years older than their teenage partners, although a minority may be significantly older. With regard to the factors associated with fatherhood there are striking similarities to the literature on teenage mothers. Like teenage mothers young fathers tend to be from low socio‐economic backgrounds, experience lower educational attainment and fewer employment opportunities than their childless peers. Similarly they tend to experience greater psychological and emotional difficulties and may have a history of delinquent behaviour. These young fathers are involved in a variety of relationships with teenage mothers, few of which result in marriage and many of which result in the breakdown of cohabitation or the termination of the relationship. This pattern of increasing relationship breakdown over time is related to decreasing paternal contact with children in both America and Britain. Often conflictual relationships with teenage mothers or maternal grandparents and a lack of financial resources are cited by young fathers as barriers to their continued involvement and contact with their children. However, the mothers are much more likely to cite paternal disinterest as the reason for a lack of paternal involvement and there is some indication that mothers and fathers have different views on the level of practical involvement expected from fathers. While most of quantitative data on the subject provides a rather negative picture of paternal involvement, qualitative research highlights how many young fathers genuinely want to be involved with their children and would have more contact and input if they could. While much less is known about the support provided to young fathers in comparison with their female counterparts, there is some suggestion that the support and role expectations provided by the paternal grandmother may influence how involved young fathers are. There is also some indication that a sizeable minority of young men may receive no such support from their family and may also be treated with hostility or ignored by the maternal grandparents. Young fathers also report limited or no contact with midwives, health visitors and social workers.     

The association of affective and continuance commitment with correctional staff life satisfaction

Previous research suggests that life satisfaction is a stronger predictor of job performance than job satisfaction, and life satisfaction is negatively associated with absenteeism and a desire to retire early. Despite the fact that employees with high life satisfaction are essential for organizations’ optimal efficiency, little empirical research exists to determine the individual and workplace factors that shape and maintain high correctional staff life satisfaction levels. This study investigates the impact of two types of organizational commitment, continuance and affective, on correctional staff life satisfaction at two Midwestern prisons, one private and one public. Continuance commitment was negatively related and affective commitment was positively related with life satisfaction for staff in both prisons. Possible methods to increase affective commitment and life satisfaction for correctional staff are discussed.     

社会工作者介入工会工作的可行性及对策

工会工作是我国社会事务管理与服务的重要领域,创新工会工作模式,加强工会人才队伍建设离不开社会工作者。本文以笔者的工会实习经历为基础,从社会工作理论视角和实务方法两个方面入手,探索社工介入工会工作的可行性,并提出合理的介入对策。     

Professionals' attitudes to children's participation in decision-making: dichotomous accounts and doctrinal contests

The attitude of professionals to the involvement of children in decision-making is unclear. This paper discusses a recent research study that utilized qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the views of professionals working in family support and child protection about two different aspects of children's participation in decision-making: the age at which children should make decisions and whether or not they should be involved in child protection conferences. The results showed that social workers tended to favour one of two diametrically opposed viewpoints about the age at which young people should make decisions and then in discussions with colleagues they sought to persuade others to change their perspective. Social workers who believed that young people should not make decisions until much older nevertheless thought that they should be involved in conferences whereas non-social workers did not make this distinction: for them, children who were not old enough to make decisions for themselves should not be involved in conferences. The results are discussed in the light of some of the implications for practice. The paper concludes by outlining how the results informed the design of a training pack commissioned by the Department of Health concerning the involvement of young people.     

Adoption by foster carers: a profile of interest and outcomes

This paper looks at the issue of adoption by foster carers and in particular its financial aspects. The findings stem from a wider study of remuneration and performance in foster care. Drawing on a survey of 1181 foster carers, this paper examines the characteristics of those who have considered adoption. The outcomes of such consideration, including the part played by financial concerns and anticipated loss of support in decisions to proceed with adoption or not, are also examined. The findings reveal a significant level of interest in adoption on the part of foster carers, to which three particular sets of characteristics are found to be associated. First, interest is greater among those more extensively involved in foster care in terms of experience, specialisms and range of placements offered. Second, it is associated with relatively less concern with payment and less ‘professional’ views of foster care. Third, there is evidence that adoption is more commonly pursued by those who feel less valued by social workers. Fears of losing financial help and support were cited as reasons by more than half of all foster carers who had considered but not pursued adoption.     

Burnout in Chinese social work: Differential predictability of the components of the Maslach Burnout Inventory

Burnout is a worldwide phenomenon among social welfare workers. This study examined how burnout affects student social workers and professional social workers. It first examined the construct validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey (MBI‐GS) scale, using data from two Chinese samples (848 student social workers and 748 professional social workers). The original three‐factor model was regarded as superior to other competing models. Investigation of the second‐order factor model indicated that exhaustion and cynicism are core components but that personal efficacy is not. The research also revealed the differential predictability of the three subscales of the MBI‐GS. Our expectation that differential patterns of effects could be predicted was largely supported. Professional efficacy plays a key mediating role in the relationship between student social workers’ professional identity and their satisfaction with fieldwork, while social workers’ cynicism is the main mediator in the relationship between their professional identity and turnover intention. Therefore, identifying at‐risk students and professional social workers to undertake appropriate intervention strategies that focus on both their professional identity and different dimensions of burnout may be an effective way to prevent students’ dissatisfaction and reduce social worker turnover.     

Economic Determinants of Voting in an Era of Union Decline*

Objective. The objective of this article is to test competing hypotheses regarding union vote effects by economic sector. Overlooked in existing research on political participation and the labor movement is de‐unionization's sectoral dimension: declining union rolls is a private‐sector phenomenon. The sectoral dimension of union decline carries important political consequences if the influence of unions on voter turnout varies by sector. Method. Using Current Population Survey (CPS) November Voting and Registration Supplements for all national elections between 1984 and 2006, I estimate union vote effects for public‐ and private‐sector employees. Results. The results of the analyses reveal that while union members continue to vote at higher rates than otherwise similar nonmembers, the union effect is nearly three times as large for private‐sector members: private‐sector unionists have a predicted probability of voting 6.7 points higher than nonmembers, while public‐sector members have a predicted probability of voting only 2.4 points higher than nonmembers. Conclusions. Given the small fraction of private‐sector workers now in labor unions, recent fluctuations in the unionization rate have little aggregate affect on turnout. Given that private‐sector union members tend to be less educated and earn less than their public‐sector counterparts, the near disappearance of private‐sector unions from the economic landscape removes an important institutional buffer against political inequality in the United States.