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1 – 10 of over 29000Fidan Ana Kurtulus, Douglas Kruse and Joseph Blasi
Using the NBER Shared Capitalism Database comprised of over 40,000 employee surveys from 14 firms, we investigate worker attitudes toward employee ownership, profit sharing, and…
Abstract
Using the NBER Shared Capitalism Database comprised of over 40,000 employee surveys from 14 firms, we investigate worker attitudes toward employee ownership, profit sharing, and variable pay. Specifically, our study uses detailed survey questions on preferences over profit sharing, forms of employee ownership like company stock and stock option ownership, as well as preferences over variable pay in general, to explore how preferences for these different types of output-contingent pay vary with worker risk aversion, residual control, and views of co-workers and management. Our key results show that, on average, workers want at least a part of their compensation to be performance-related, with stronger preferences for output-contingent pay schemes among workers who have lower levels of risk aversion, greater residual control over the work process, and greater trust of co-workers and management.
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Calvin Burns and Stacey Conchie
Many researchers have investigated the determinants of workers’ risk-taking/unsafe behaviours as a way to improve safety management and reduce accidents but there has been a…
Abstract
Purpose
Many researchers have investigated the determinants of workers’ risk-taking/unsafe behaviours as a way to improve safety management and reduce accidents but there has been a general lack of research about workers’ risk information seeking behaviours or their source preferences for risk information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether occupational risk information source preference was risk independent (i.e. whether workers prefer to receive occupational risk information from proximal sources like supervisors and workmates regardless of the nature of the risk or the source's expertise regarding that risk, or if they discriminated between information sources based on the type of risk being considered).
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 106 frontline construction workers who were recruited from a single building site within the UK with the help of the safety officer on site. The source from which workers preferred to receive information about a range of risks was measured using a ranking exercise. Specifically, workers were asked to rank five occupational sources (HSE, safety manager, project manager, supervisor, workmates) according to how much they preferred each one to deliver information about eight different risks (asbestos, back pain, site transport, heights, slips/trips, housekeeping, and site-specific and job-specific risks).
Findings
The paper found that supervisors and safety managers were the most preferred sources of risk information overall, but a correspondence analysis suggested that workers’ risk information source preference is risk dependent and might be driven by source expertise.
Practical implications
The findings have important practical implications for the role of safety managers in risk communication and for building trust within high-hazard organisations.
Originality/value
To the author's knowledge, this is the first study to investigate risk information source preferences in an occupational setting.
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Social norms about the timing of retirement and stereotypes about qualities of younger and older workers are pervasive, but it is unclear how they relate to employers’ ageist…
Abstract
Purpose
Social norms about the timing of retirement and stereotypes about qualities of younger and older workers are pervasive, but it is unclear how they relate to employers’ ageist preferences. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of employers’ retirement age norms and age-related stereotypes on their preferences for younger or older workers in three types of employment practices: hiring a new employee; offering training; and offering a permanent contract.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data from 960 Dutch employers from 2017 are analysed to study employers’ preferences for younger or older workers. Effects of organisations’ and managers’ characteristics, retirement age norms and stereotypes are estimated with multinomial logistic regression analyses.
Findings
Many employers have a strong preference for younger workers, especially when hiring a new employee, while preferences for older workers are highly uncommon. Higher retirement age norms of employers are related to a lower preference for younger workers in all employment decisions. When employers are more positive about older workers’ soft qualities (such as reliability and social skills), but not about their hard qualities (such as their physical capacity and willingness to learn), they rate older workers relatively more favourable for hiring and offering training, but not for providing a permanent contract.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to estimate the effects of retirement age norms and age-related stereotypes on ageist preferences for a diverse set of employment practices.
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Eziaku Onyeizu Rasheed and James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi
Achieving an appropriate indoor environment quality (IEQ) is crucial to a green office environment. Whilst much research has been carried out across the globe on the ideal IEQ for…
Abstract
Purpose
Achieving an appropriate indoor environment quality (IEQ) is crucial to a green office environment. Whilst much research has been carried out across the globe on the ideal IEQ for green offices, little is known about which indoor environment New Zealand office workers prefer and regard as most appropriate. This study investigated New Zealand office workers' preference for a green environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Workers were conveniently selected for a questionnaire survey study from two major cities in the country – Wellington and Auckland. The perception of 149 workers was analysed and discussed based on the workers' demographics. The responses to each question were analysed based on the mean, standard deviation, frequency of responses and difference in opinion.
Findings
The results showed that workers' preferences for an ideal IEQ in green work environments depend largely on demographics. New Zealand office workers prefer work environments to have more fresh air and rely on mixed-mode ventilation and lighting systems. Also New Zealand office workers like to have better acoustic quality with less distraction and background noise. Regarding temperature, workers prefer workspaces to be neither cooler nor warmer. Unique to New Zealand workers, the workers prefer to have some (not complete) individual control over the IEQ in offices.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted in the summer season, which could have impacted the responses received. Also the sample size was limited to two major cities in the country. Further studies should be conducted in other regions and during different seasons.
Practical implications
This study provides the opportunity for more studies in this area of research and highlights significant findings worthy of critical investigations. The results of this study benefit various stakeholders, such as facilities managers and workplace designers, and support proactive response approaches to achieving building occupants' preferences for an ideal work environment.
Originality/value
This study is the first research in New Zealand to explore worker preferences of IEQ that is not limited to a particular building, expanding the body of knowledge on workers' perception of the ideal work environment in the country.
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Dirk Buyens, Hans Van Dijk, Thomas Dewilde and Ans De Vos
The purpose of this study is two‐fold. The first is to relate the negative image of older workers to stereotype threat and to propose that effective retention management should…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is two‐fold. The first is to relate the negative image of older workers to stereotype threat and to propose that effective retention management should start by replacing this negative image. The second is to assess the needs, perceptions and preferences of older workers regarding their career‐ending.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 266 employer questionnaires and 1,290 older worker questionnaires identified the employers' perceptions of older workers and the career‐ending needs and preferences of older workers.
Findings
The results provide indirect support for the hypothesis that the negative image of older workers forms a self‐fulfilling prophecy due to the mechanisms of stereotype threat. Furthermore, the results indicate that job involvement plays a crucial role in the preference for retirement or to keep on working.
Research limitations/implications
Stereotype threat promises to be very important when it comes to career‐ending measures for older workers. However, the empirical design of the study limits the possibility of drawing direct inferences about the effects of stereotype threat on older workers.
Practical implications
Measures and policies aimed at prolonging the participation of older workers at the labor market should be tailored to the specific needs, perceptions and preferences of older workers.
Originality/value
The concept of stereotype threat has never been connected with the perceptions of older workers. Further, the assessment of the needs, perceptions and preferences related to the career‐ending of older workers has never before been examined in a European study.
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Kwame R. Charles and Lincoln H. Marshall
Examines the motivational preferences of Caribbean hotel workersand the impact of individual differences on these preferences byquestionnaire. Two‐hundred‐and‐twenty‐five workers…
Abstract
Examines the motivational preferences of Caribbean hotel workers and the impact of individual differences on these preferences by questionnaire. Two‐hundred‐and‐twenty‐five workers from seven hotels in the Bahamas ranked ten factors according to how they motivated them on the job. In general, the hotel workers in this study were motivated most by higher wages. However, differences in age, organizational level and number of years in the same position also influenced workers′ motivational preferences. Suggests that Caribbean hotel managers need to implement creative monetary incentive programmes for their employees while, at the same time, developing different motivational strategies for different groups of workers.
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Developing an alternative and more realistic modeling of the firm, the key point of this paper is that workers cooperatives represent a form of corporate governance, which is a…
Abstract
Developing an alternative and more realistic modeling of the firm, the key point of this paper is that workers cooperatives represent a form of corporate governance, which is a subset of the participatory organizational form, that constitutes a competitive alternative to the typical relatively hierarchical and narrowly controlled firms. An important component of the cooperative advantage lies in its capacity to increase the quantity and quality of effort inputs into the ‘production process.’ However, to do so incurs economic costs. Thus, cooperatives can yield competitive outcomes without driving out of the market non-cooperative organizational forms. To some extent, whether cooperative or other participatory solutions are adopted depends upon the preferences of economic agents since cooperatives are shown to be competitive even in an extremely competitive environment. However, dominant or not, the cooperative solution can yield higher social–economic welfare levels to members.
Piet Allaart and Lutz Bellmann
This paper is a cross‐national study of the incidence of part‐time work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the difference between Germany and The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper is a cross‐national study of the incidence of part‐time work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the difference between Germany and The Netherlands can be explained from the demand side of the labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
Several motives of employers for the introduction of part‐time jobs are distinguished. Their relevance is tested by means of firm‐level data for the two countries within the framework of a multivariate analysis.
Findings
The study finds that, in The Netherlands, part‐time jobs are more widespread than in Germany. The reasons for this difference are diverse: the difference in industrial structure (more manufacturing in Germany, more services in The Netherlands), less working students in Germany, and probably more reluctance on the side of German employers to meet the preferences of their workers.
Originality/value
The paper fills a gap in the literature on part‐time work, especially about the importance of institutions differing between the countries. This evidence may be useful in designing policies to increase the incidence of part‐time work.
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The paper aims to examine worker job attribute preferences, by which is meant the extent to which individuals desire a variety of specific qualities and outcomes from their paid…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine worker job attribute preferences, by which is meant the extent to which individuals desire a variety of specific qualities and outcomes from their paid work. It seeks to examine how these preferences are ranked and to identify their principal correlates.
Design/methodology/approach
The study makes use of a quantitative methodology, notably the application of an ordered probit model to analyse a data set which has its origins in the 2006 Skills Survey.
Findings
“Work you like doing”; a “secure job”; “friendly people to work with”; and “opportunities to use your abilities” are the four highest ranked job attribute preferences. Worker job attribute preferences vary with the characteristics of the worker, including gender, domestic circumstances, highest qualification held and occupation.
Research limitations/implications
The study reports “correlations” and does not imply “causation”. The findings are for the year 2006. On the assumption that job attribute preferences are constrained by the employment opportunities available, the findings may change with the economic cycle, in a manner comparable to recent research findings about some facets of job satisfaction.
Originality/value
This is the first detailed statistical examination of this subset of questions in the survey in question.
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Michael Clinton, Claudia Bernhard‐Oettel, Thomas Rigotti and Jeroen de Jong
The purpose of this paper is to explore an expanded temporal context of non‐permanent work through an examination of the influence of previous experience of temporary working…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore an expanded temporal context of non‐permanent work through an examination of the influence of previous experience of temporary working, contract duration and time remaining on contract and expectations of continued employment on reports of job insecurity, job satisfaction, in‐role performance and organisational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested using responses of 1,169 temporary workers from a multi‐national, cross‐sectional questionnaire study.
Findings
Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that having previous experience of temporary work was associated with higher in‐role performance. No significant effects were found for contract duration, but shorter time remaining on present contract was associated with greater job insecurity and also greater in‐role performance. However the strongest effects were found for expectations of continued employment, with stronger expectations being linked to more positive reports of each outcome. A number of moderation effects were found that indicated interactions between temporal variables and revealed a moderating role of preference for temporary work.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the first to formally consider the influence of a broader temporal context on attitudes and behaviours of temporary workers. Significant associations were found between elements relating to each of the past, present and future and important individual and organisational variables in the present. These effects were sustained above and beyond the influence of variables such as country, sector, preferences, skill level, contract type, and demographics that are known to affect temporary workers' attitudes and behaviours.
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