Researching The World Of Work

This book, the first on industrial relations research methods, comes at a time when the field of industrial relations is in flux and research strategy has become more complex and varied. Research that once focused on the relationship between labor and management now involves a wider range of issues. This change has raised a number of key questions about how research should be done.The contributors represent four countries and a range of fields, including economics, sociology, psychology, law, history, and industrial relations. They identify distinctive research strategies and suggest approaches that might be appropriate in the future. Among their concerns are the relative value of qualitative and quantitative methods, of using primary and secondary data, and of single versus multimethod techniques.

This insightful Research Agenda presents the foundations of employee engagement, providing a framework for future research to serve as an evidence-based guide to practice. Offering an overview of contemporary engagement theory and research, it addresses important new directions for expanding our current understanding of the meaning, focus, development and outcomes of engagement.

This fascinating and controversial text makes sense of the complexities of research in the workplace and how 'working' knowledge is constructed. Featuring experts from Britain, Japan, North America and Australia, it is an outstanding contribution to the literature of Human Resource Management (HRM). It's interdisciplinary approach addresses key issues and debates such as: * the influences of new technology, language, power, culture and gender upon the 'construction' of knowledge * the impact of globalization * working knowledge into the 21st century * practice and performance implications. It's outlook, geared towards the 21st century, makes it essential reading for researchers, teachers and students within HRM, policy-makers and all those concerned with professional development.

This book examines the new ways of working and their impact on employees’ well-being and performance. It concentrates on job demands and flexible work emanating from current economic and organizational change, and assesses impact on workers’ health and performance. The development of issues such as globalization, rapid technological advances, new management practices, organizational changes and new job skills are addressed. This book gives an overview and discusses the potential negative and positive effects of such new job demands and new forms of work.

This book explores how the Indian education and training system prepares young people for the world of work and for the requirements of the employment market – because India is a leading industrialised nation with a very young population and a high demand for a skilled workforce. Indian experts write from a course-specific perspective, offering a comprehensive picture of educational policy, curriculum design and cultural characteristics. The virtual absence of a formalised system of vocational training in India underlines the importance of this research.

Why the United States lags behind other industrialized countries in sharing the benefits of innovation with workers and how we can remedy the problem. The United States has too many low-quality, low-wage jobs. Every country has its share, but those in the United States are especially poorly paid and often without benefits. Meanwhile, overall productivity increases steadily and new technology has transformed large parts of the economy, enhancing the skills and paychecks of higher paid knowledge workers. What’s wrong with this picture? Why have so many workers benefited so little from decades of growth? The Work of the Future shows that technology is neither the problem nor the solution. We can build better jobs if we create institutions that leverage technological innovation and also support workers though long cycles of technological transformation. Building on findings from the multiyear MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, the book argues that we must foster institutional innovations that complement technological change. Skills programs that emphasize work-based and hybrid learning (in person and online), for example, empower workers to become and remain productive in a continuously evolving workplace. Industries fueled by new technology that augments workers can supply good jobs, and federal investment in R&D can help make these industries worker-friendly. We must act to ensure that the labor market of the future offers benefits, opportunity, and a measure of economic security to all.

This Open Access book provides a thorough analysis of the quality of work in the Netherlands, and suggests policy proposals to promote and facilitate good work for more people. New technology, flexibilization and the intensification of work will have significant consequences for all those who will still have jobs in the future, and – much less studied so far – for the quality of their work. Good work is essential for general well-being: for the individual’s quality of life, for the economy and for society. Good work for everyone should therefore be seen as an important aspiration for companies, institutions, social partners and governments. An essential read for an international audience of academics in the field of the sociology of work, labor economics and social policy, as well as for policymakers and researchers of trade unions, and representatives of other social movements.