Flexibility Mobility And The Labour Market

First published in 1997. Politicians of all shades argue that the labour market should be more flexible and workers more mobile. But what does this mean in reality? How flexible and mobile are workers likely to be? Is there an ideological base to the language of flexibility? These are some of the issues covered in this book. Data from a large factory and office is used to argue that the macro labour market consists of non-competitive work groups where strongly held views and values represent a substantial barrier to simplistic definitions of flexibility and mobility. The analysis takes place in three chapters, dealing with recruitment for work, skills used in work and perceptions of different types of work and workers. The findings suggest that non-economic forces (such as institutional, social, historical and political phenomena) strongly influence the creation of separate work cultures. Furthermore, it is argued that the reason for differences between work groups being articulated in a defensive fashion reflects the climate of fear in the labour market, where flexibility is associated with a loss of the (often limited) power, control and influence workers have over their position in the labour market.

Report on four issues raised by the current debate on labour market flexibility: labour costs, external and internal labour market mobility, and concealed employment. Examines the argument that high labour costs and wage inflexibility have priced workers out of the labour market, concluding that while wages are important in explaining unemployment, other factors are also significant. Discusses external labour market mobility (job mobility, geographic mobility and occupational change) as a means of adjusting to structural change, but finds that the link between mobility trends and labour market efficiency is difficult to ascertain. Looks at enterprise level flexibility, covering numerical and functional flexibility of the work force, and, finally, considers the phenomenon of concealed employment as a perverse form of labour market flexibility.

This ebook examines different aspects of labour market flexibility, spatial mobility of workforce and its effects on labour market flexibility, and factors influencing both labour market flexibility and spatial mobility. Some papers also deal with integration and wage gains of migrant employees. Our intention is to elaborate research mainly in two relatively broad fields with existing research gaps. There is still little research on interactions between spatial mobility and labour market flexibility, despite the fact that some authors (e.g. Monastiriotis, 2005; Paas, Eamets, 2007) find that labour mobility is an essential part of labour market flexibility.

Discusses five major topics: the meaning of the term "flexibility", the various forms which it takes in practice, its short-and long-term implications, the diverse forms it may assume in different national contexts, and finally its effectiveness as an instrument of economic and employment policy

This title presents carefully selected articles that are at the ultimate forefront of professional studies on 'transitional labour markets' and 'flexicurity'.

"This book aims to contribute to [the] debate on the degree of flexibility and security needed for the transition countries, and its implications for the new direction of labour market and social policies."--Foreword.

This book is about two polemical issues in labour studies, namely, the notions and determinants of labour productivity and flexibility. This book attempts to develop the notion of labour input flexibility or the capacity of workers to adapt to changes in the environment and its relation with labour productivity. The role of institutions, employment practices, capital-labour relations and labour market policies in determining labour flexibility is emphasized. The chapters look at the experiences of industrialized countries (European countries, the USA, Canada and Japan) and three Latin American countries (Brazil, Chile and Mexico).

With labour markets across the world and even in social democratic Europe in a state of unprecedented flux, this exhaustive study addresses the problem of how to balance job market demands, personal career interests and private life becomes a central issue for millions of employees. So how do modern work and employment arrangements restructure individual careers and what is required of individuals in order to manage career transitions successfully over time? This is one of very few in-depth empirical studies to analyze how labour market trends, organisational change and the subjective work orientations of individuals interact. The author’s detailed assessment is based on a comparison of the structural contexts, work orientations and employment histories of nurses and ICT technicians in Germany and the UK. These two core service occupations, as well as the national contexts of the two European nations, have quite different working environments and vocational traditions. Nursing is an institutionalized semi-profession with clear criteria of qualification and career continuity, while information and communication technology (ICT) is a new, evolving field with varied skill backgrounds and high job mobility. To arrive at an understanding of how individual career trajectories are changing, this book closely examines the interplay of labour market demands, employees’ work and career orientations and the development of their skills. It records the ways in which employees adapt to increased labour market flexibility, which, on the one hand, induces discontinuities of careers, employment and work, and on the other, generates new skill requirements and learning expectations, as well as unforeseen opportunities.