Tracing the connections: short-termism, training and recession

It is frequently claimed that some employers act to maximise short-term gains at the expense of long-term rewards, hence reducing the level of employee training. In addition, during a recession such employers are expected to be the keenest to make further cutbacks. This paper examines the empirical validity of these two claims by examining the links between three proxies for short-termism and the incidence and volume of training activity as well as recession-induced changes to training expenditure and the proportion of the workforce trained. The results are based on establishment-level data taken from 67,599 private sector employers in England in 2009 and enriched with data from other sources (with sample sizes falling accordingly). The results suggest that short-termism plays a role in explaining both the level of training activity supported by employers and its sensitivity to the economic cycle. However, the results are rather ambiguous with one of the proxies suggesting that, contrary to theoretical reasoning, training incidence and volume is higher, not lower, in establishments which belong to stock market listed rather than unlisted enterprises. To make further analytical headway, then, direct measures of short-termism are needed rather than indirect, albeit improved, measures of the type used here

Learning outside the formal system : what learning happens in the workplace, and how is it recognised?

This report provides a summary of the evidence base on the question: ‘What learning happens in the workplace, and how is it recognised?’. It draws on national and international research findings – both quantitative and qualitative – and identifies ten key messages

Assessing the growth of remote working and its consequences for effort, well-being and work-life balance

This paper critically assesses the assumption that more and more work is being detached from place and that this is a ‘win-win’ for both employers and employees. Based on an analysis of official labour market data, it finds that only one-third of the increase in remote working can be explained by compositional factors such as movement to the knowledge economy, the growth in flexible employment and organisational responses to the changing demographic make-up of the employed labour force. This suggests that the detachment of work from place is a growing trend. The paper also shows that while remote working is associated with higher organisational commitment, job satisfaction and job-related well-being, these benefits come at the cost of work intensification and a greater inability to switch off

Working at home: statistical evidence for seven key hypotheses

It is frequently suggested that working at home will be the future of work for many people in the UK and that trends in this direction are already well underway. This paper examines these claims by analysing data from the Labour Force Survey which has, at various times, asked questions about the location of work. Seven key hypotheses are identified, including issues surrounding the extent and growth of working at home, reliance on information and communication technology,prevalence of low pay, average pay rates, gender issues, ethnic minority participation and household composition. The results paint a variegated and complex picture which suggests that those who work at home do not comprise a homogeneous group.The paper in particular highlights differences between non-manual and manual workers, and those who work mainly, partially and sometimes at home

The Impact of Training on Labour Mobility

The paper investigates the impact of different types of training on the mobility expectations of workers, using two new data sets, one of individuals the other of firms. The innovation is that the data incorporate measures of the degree of transferability of training, improved information on the sources of sponsorship, and judgements about the aims and outcomes of training. We find that most training episodes produce some transferable skills and that most transferable training is paid for by employers. Overall, training appears to have little impact on mobility. It has no impact on mobility in 3 out every 5 cases; the remaining cases are split equally between those where training increases and those where it decreases mobility. We estimate the determinants of mobility outcomes using an ordered probit analysis. Consistent with theory, we find that training is more likely to lead to lower mobility when it is less transferable to other firms, sponsored by firms, and where it has objectives and outcomes aimed at increasing the identification of employees with corporate objectives

Job quality and inequality: The unequal world of work in the UK, 1986-2012

Job quality has become a prominent issue in recent years - and with good reason, say Francis Green, Alan Felstead and Duncan Gallie. Their findings on inequality and job quality and how they have changed illuminate the true state of Britain's labour market, and make clear the need for changes in policy to improve working lives

The determinants of skills use and work pressure: A longitudinal analysis

Employers, workers and governments all have a stake in improving intrinsic job quality since it can help to raise worker well-being and lower the social costs of ill-health. This article provides a unique insight into factors triggering changes to two key aspects of intrinsic job quality – the skills used and developed at work, and the pressures under which work is carried out. Using a rare two-wave panel dataset, the article assesses whether three predicted determinants – namely employee involvement, teamworking and computerisation – are good or bad for these aspects of intrinsic job quality

Skills and work organisation in Britain: a quarter century of change

This paper overviews key findings concerning the evolution of job skill requirements in Britain, and their relationship to technology and work organisation, based on surveys dating from 1986. The use of skills has been rising, as indicated by several indicators covering multiple domains. Technological change is robustly implicated in these rises, but it is not possible to satisfactorily classify most tasks according to how easily they are encoded and thereby clearly link the changes to the nuanced theory of skill-biased technical change associated with asymmetric employment polarisation. Moreover, changing work organisation also contributes to explaining the rises, both in skills use and in skills development. Nevertheless, the extent of worker autonomy in the workplace declined notably during the 1990s; this decline is not accounted for by the data, but is thought to be associated with changing management culture. Changing skill requirements also affect pay. In addition to the education level both computing skills and influence skills attract a premium in the labour market. There is an increasing cost in terms of pay from overeducation and a rising prevalence of overeducation. Together, these changes are reflected in an increased dispersion of the graduate pay premium. While these findings have provided important contextual information for the development of skills policies, they have had little effect on engendering policies for stimulating improved job design

Fairness at work in Britain: first findings from the skills and employment survey 2017

Employees’ views about fairness at work are of central policy concern for their implications for personal well-being and for the desire to raise worker motivation to achieve higher productivity. This report examines beliefs about fairness among British workers and some of the factors that were important in affecting these beliefs