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Interrelationships among some common factors of human resource (HR) management and quality management are still unexplored. Changes in work patterns due to the Covid-19 pandemic have aroused interest in some of these factors, such as working-hours, work pressure, work–life balance practices, job satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to explore the interrelationships among such factors. Specifically, the influence of work hours, work pressure, job rotation and work–life balance on job satisfaction is evaluated both directly and under the mediating influence of working conditions.

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in Indonesia among diversified organisations. A total of 432 responses were gathered, and they were examined using hypothesis testing and partial least square based structural equation modelling.

The study confirms the statistically proven impact of work pressure, job rotations and work–life-balance practices on working conditions. Job rotations, work–life balance practices and working conditions directly influenced job satisfaction. Work pressure did not influence job satisfaction directly, but it significantly influenced working conditions, which eventually affected job satisfaction. Working hours neither affected working conditions nor job satisfaction in a significant manner.

Covid-19 necessitated working from home, which is a peculiar work–life balance situation. The findings are helpful for organisations in planning strategies related to work–life-balance, working hours, multi-skilling, working conditions and other quality of work life factors in both regular working conditions and under Covid-19 conditions.

The proven influence of work pressure and work–life-balance practices may result in the formation of informal organisations, social groups and increased social networking. As working hours are not diagnosed as an influencing factor for job satisfaction, organisations may think about increasing them, affecting the social fabric of the working community.

Previously unexplored interrelationships among various quality of work life factors are established. Under Covid-19 circumstances, factors such as working hours, work–life-balance and work pressure are investigated in a novel manner. The factors and their interrelationships are important to both quality management professionals and HR professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different measures of working conditions affect the health at work of female and male workers of 15 European countries. Particular attention is paid to the gender dimension of this relationship.

Using the European Working Conditions Survey from 2005 the author describes differences in health at work by gender accounting for both psychosocial and physical hazards at work. A Probit OLS estimator is used to obtain the relevant estimates and endogeneity problems have been properly addressed.

Results show that controlling for a broad selection of personal and work attributes, working conditions are associated with more work related health problems – both physical and mental. Importantly, some evidence is found in support of a different pattern by gender. With respect to mental health at work, males suffer more from high work demands/low job autonomy compared to females. Task segregation may play a role in explaining these differences. A less clear pattern across gender is found with respect to physical health problems at work. When the endogeneity of working conditions is taken into account, results are confirmed and show that the effect of working conditions on health at work is under‐estimated when endogeneity is not accounted for.

The paper's findings contribute to shed more light on the controversial analysis between working conditions and health according to gender.

Poor working conditions among migrant labourers on cocoa farms may be commonplace. This could affect labour productivity and cocoa industry performance. The paper investigates migrants' satisfaction with working conditions on cocoa farms in Ghana and the key drivers of satisfaction.

The study employed a five-point Likert scale to evaluate migrants' satisfaction with remuneration, working hours, welfare, health and safety, contract and freedom. Using primary data from 400 migrants and non-migrants in four cocoa districts, multivariate probit regression was employed to evaluate the determinants of satisfaction with working conditions.

Migrant labourers are generally satisfied with their working hours, nature of contract and freedom they enjoy. However, they are unsatisfied with their remuneration, welfare and health/safety conditions on cocoa farms. All things being equal, secondary occupation, nature of contract, number of farmers served by labourer, annual earnings, farm ownership, education and expectations before migration influence migrants' satisfaction with working conditions.

To improve satisfaction with working conditions and productivity, migrants on cocoa farms should be given protective working gear, long-term or renewable contracts and they should be encouraged to engage in secondary occupations.

Unlike previous studies that focussed on working conditions in the formal sector, this study explores migrants' satisfaction with working conditions in the informal agricultural sector. Also, the study examines labourers' satisfaction with six subcomponents of working conditions compared to previous studies that employed a univariate analytical approach to examine working conditions.

Workers’ health is a main concern in industrialized countries. The structural evolution of the labor market should have encouraged better working conditions, as should have increasing interest in corporate social responsibility. But work arduousness takes new forms as work organizations evolve. All workers are potentially affected by onerous working conditions. The purpose of this paper is to explore all types of working conditions that may affect workers.

The author creates four indicators of working conditions using the multiple correspondence analysis and also analyzes how they relate to the workers’ physical and mental health using a logit model.

Performing the analysis on data from the third and fifth waves of the European Working Conditions Survey, the author presents the results showing the growing importance of interpersonal relationships at work and observes a rise in inequalities in terms of health over the period 2000-2010 for people belonging to the vulnerable categories: women and lower-income groups.

The author offers to describe the evolution of the working conditions of the European workers over an interesting period during which many changes took place. Moreover, this paper investigates the respective impacts of different types of working conditions to come up with policy recommendations.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has emphasized advancing decent employment in global supply chains. Supply chains (SC) are responsible for the growth of any economy and are positively correlated with job creation. However, studies show that decent working conditions are becoming a major concern. Hence, this study is a modest attempt to examine the shortcomings that result in a lack of decent working conditions in global SCs' and further discuss what kind of guidelines, programs, policies, initiatives or principles are necessary to stimulate decent jobs and/or make it easier to enhance decent working conditions in SC.

The present paper first applied the systematic literature review and second used the TCM (Theory-Context-Methods), which is a framework-based review, further reporting the analysis of 59 journal research articles/papers listed in the Scopus database.

The most commonly used theories in the selected studies are institutional theory. As per these theories, governance, rules and regulations play a crucial role in stopping forced labour, child labour practices and social injustice among workers. The findings of this study comply with SDG eight, which states the significance of decent working conditions. Further, the topic modeling reveals four themes: (1) Nature of working conditions (2) Corporate legitimacy (3) Corporate governance mechanisms and (4) Corporate social responsibility, sustainability and ethics in firms. Lastly, we proposed a research framework that shows all the leading factors that influence working conditions in the supply chain.

Managers must focus on integrating decent working conditions in SC activities in their respective organizations and factories. Managers must realize and shoulder this responsibility with other top officials in the organization that improving the SC working conditions is the need of the hour. Consultation with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) five (gender equality) (emphasize gender equality); and SDG eight (decent work and economic growth) (promote sustainable economic growth) is also recommended for managers. Lastly, managers need to develop suitable strategies keeping in mind the interplay between the leading factors (such as top management support, organizational culture, SA 8000 certification, occupational health and safety, stop forced labour and child labour practices, ethics training, enforce modern slavery act, global compliance regimes, buyer-supplier joint auditing, social responsible sourcing, stoppage of unauthorized sub-contracting, maintain SC transparency and CSR disclosure).

Using systematic literature review and TCM approach has provided some good takeaway points for managers. The study provides a valuable framework and fourteen research propositions which can be tested in the future.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 (which came into operation on 29 December 1975) provides for an “equality clause” to be written into all contracts of employment. S.1(2) (a) of the 1970 Act (which has been amended by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975) provides:

A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that contract. When such a repudiation has been accepted by the innocent party then a termination of employment takes place. Such termination does not constitute dismissal (see London v. James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd (1974) IRLR 136 and Gannon v. J. C. Firth (1976) IRLR 415 EAT).

The purpose of this paper is to study the friction and wear properties of journal bearings under different working conditions.

Friction coefficient and wear losses of journal bearing under different working conditions have been determined by a bearing test rig. The worn surfaces of bearing were examined by scanning electron microscopy and laser three-dimensional micro-imaging profile measurements, and the tribological behavior and wear mechanisms were investigated.

The wear loss and friction coefficient of bearing under starting-stopping working condition is far greater than that of steady-state working conditions. In addition, the maximum wear loss under start-up and stop conditions is about 120 times of that under stable operating conditions. Under stable working conditions, the main wear forms of bearings are abrasive wear, under starting-stopping working conditions the main wear mechanisms of bearings are adhesion wear, abrasive wear and fatigue wear.

These research results have certain practical value for understanding the tribology behavior of journal bearings under different working conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to seek test for the precondition for labour-market competition between immigrants and natives, which implies that both are willing to accept jobs that do not differ in quality.

To test this hypothesis, using Spanish data, the paper analyses whether immigrants and natives exhibit different tastes for working conditions. The paper proceeds as follows. First, the paper estimates job satisfaction equations, where working conditions enter as covariates. Second, the paper tests whether the package of (dis)amenities inherent to their jobs differ. Additionally, the paper also tests for assimilation of immigrant workers in terms of job quality.

The paper finds that immigrant and native workers tend to exhibit the same taste for most on-the-job amenities. However, immigrants are more tolerant with jobs involving poorer environmental working conditions, more physically demanding tasks and higher exposure to physical damage. The paper also finds that immigrant workers tend to be employed in lower quality jobs. However, some of the bad working conditions tend to improve over time, suggesting some assimilation in terms of job quality.

The type of analysis the authors carry out here allows them to contribute to the literature by moving a step away from the conventional approach used in previous studies. While previous literature mostly analyses the effect of immigration in natives’ labour market outcomes and assimilation of immigrants in terms of wages and employment, this study is one of the few that focus on working conditions and the quality of jobs.

In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.