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The purpose of this paper is to establish to what extent temporary contract and participation in decision making impact on employees job satisfaction and to propose a model whereby participation in decision making mitigates against the negative impact that temporary work has on job satisfaction.

The authors use data for a representative sample of 14,778 employees in 23 European countries. In order to test the hypotheses, the authors use regression models and the Chow test.

The results show that while temporary contracts decreases job satisfaction, participation in decision making increases it. However, autonomous teams, job autonomy, and job involvement buffer against the negative effect that temporary contract has on job satisfaction.

The use of secondary data and the non-longitudinal nature of the data set.

The effect of participation in decision making in job satisfaction is greater for temporary workers than for permanents. Participation in decision making should not be restricted to permanent workers.

Participation in decision making and temporary contracts has been considered incompatible practices. The paper contributes to enrich the understanding of the relationship between these practices and job satisfaction. Sample representatives support the results obtained.

Workers' participation in management decision making has always been a controversial subject. One of the problems, central to this controversy is management's prerogatives. Business leaders are feeling increasing pressures for participation from workers and their organisations in areas of enterprise that were once exclusively reserved for management. They are afraid that legal and quasi legal schemes of participation will increase employees' and trade‐unions' influence and power and will erode managerial control. To what extent are these fears justified? How should the enterprise operating in a democratic framework be directed and controlled?

Viewed in the context of liberalization, privatization and globalization, the socio-economic and legal environment facing the unions have changed, throwing them into clutches of adversity and destitution. The purpose of this paper is to identify the reasons (i.e. antecedents) behind workers’ participation in union activities (such as strikes, rallies, demonstrations) in today’s scenario, and to understand how these participation tactics influence workers’ performance (i.e. worker behavior effectiveness) at work.

A range of published sources is drawn on, including quantitative, survey based and qualitative, case-study and other evidence for building the conceptual review.

The investigation clearly indicates that contemporary challenges facing unions in the present scenario prompt industrial actions. Only specific and genuine grievances and justifiable demands motivate workers to form a strong emotional attachment to their unions and engage in union participation activities such as strike activity (Darlington, 2006; Bean and Stoney, 1986).

Contrary to the traditional view, which sights unions as detrimental to worker productivity, turnover, and attendance at work (via restrictive work rules, featherbedding and disruptive strikes or other adversarial tactics), the investigation, through extensive review of literature proposes that unions positively influence worker behavior at work. The model, however, requires empirical testing to validate the proposed relationships.

Italian trade unions have long since promoted the defense and inclusion of immigrant workers through the promotion, within their organizations, of specific services for immigrants providing information, guidance, and bureaucratic assistance, thus enhancing the growth of immigrant members within the unions. However, only recently unions have started to promote the direct participation of immigrants in their organization. This chapter focuses on the chances of mobility and career of immigrant workers offered by unions, starting from the role of union delegate. The analysis is based on empirical research, conducted in Lombardy between 2011 and 2013, on Cgil and Cisl, the two major Italian unions. The attention to the active participation of foreign workers within the organization is still low and not widespread, but mostly limited to categories with higher presence of immigrant workers and where the board is ready to grab the opportunities offered by the appointment of immigrant unionists and to guarantee them equal chances of union career. This situation, in our opinion, promotes immigrants’ acquisition of union roles and credibility, thus paving the way of internal mobility and career opportunities in the union.

Worker participation in management (we will not be dealing here with profit‐sharing), otherwise known as “industrial democracy,” is studied intensively throughout the world, including Israel. Attention is directed at its ideological and theoretical, as well as its empirical, dimensions. Empirical research attempts to assess the degree of success of the different types of participation. Research findings point, disappointingly, to a generally low level of success of worker participation programmes.

This paper aims to gain insight into managers' perspectives on the concept and practice of workers' participation in management (WPM) in Indian organizations. WPM is a critical ingredient in organizational effectiveness. However, the most fundamental aspects of WPM, such as the attitudes, expectations of managers and the factors facilitating or hindering the participation process, are less explored. This paper attempts to answer those questions concerning WPM in the context of Indian organizations.

The study uses data from 138 managers of Indian public and private sector organizations. Data were collected through an online survey as well as through semi-structured interviews. The study explores potential benefits, roadblocks and supporters from the managers' perspective. Further, to test the hypothesis, the author used multiple regression analysis.

The paper demonstrates managers' perception of workers' participation at the board level as the most beneficial and supportive compared to joint consultation and joint decision-making; however, at the same time, it is the one having the most roadblocks in the present Indian Labour laws. Workers, unions and managers' lack of legislative support and intention fuel the fire. The study also found that implementation of WPM is primarily based on statutory norms, and public sector managers are more willing to take the workers on board than managers of private sector organizations.

This research is of practical significance as it extracts new visions for policymakers in India already planning to implement four new labor codes, namely, wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions. The data from the study will facilitate the Indian labor ministry to lay down policy decisions concerning WPM. Further, the government can acclimatize this analysis to plug the ambiguities in the present WPM system.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to give insights into the manager's perspective regarding the WPM using a scenario-based approach. In addition, this paper offers valuable suggestions for policymakers to restructure and streamline the country's existing and overlapping labor laws.

The purpose of this paper is to identify what work-related factors influence the continued participation of older workers in the workforce.

A systematic quantitative literature review of the workforce participation literature identified 27 publications from 1995 to 2016 that examined the impact of work-related factors on older workers’ intention to continue working.

Results show that work demands, learning and development opportunities, job autonomy, recognition and respect, mentoring opportunities, supportive organisational climate and social support were significant factors that predicted older workers’ workforce participation decisions. Interestingly, less evidence was found to support flexible work arrangements or salary as inducers of workforce participation. Results also show an overrepresentation of cross-sectional studies involving participants from western countries employed in healthcare and social assistance sectors.

Organisations should adjust their policies and practices to accommodate the needs of older workers, focusing specifically on increasing factors that encourage participation and removing obstacles to participation.

Increasing the participation rates of older workers is a key goal for governments and organisations worldwide. This research identifies some specific factors that are likely to encourage continued participation.

A systematic evaluation of the extant research draws new conclusions and insights as to what work factors are more likely to influence the participation decisions of older workers.

Unions and organizations interests are often seen to be in competition. However, union-voice hypothesis suggests that unions can provide a distinctive mechanism to lower organizational costs by reducing exit behavior, absence from work and conflict levels at work. This study aims to look at union participation as a form of voice which is affected by a number of antecedents and in turn has an effect upon the workers performance (i.e. worker behavior effectiveness [WBE]) in an organization.

The study draws on data from 340 permanent labors working in 19 manufacturing units across different regions of India to explore both the antecedents and outcomes of union participation. Hypotheses are tested using mediation analysis.

Results indicate statistically significant relationships between union participation, its antecedents and WBE, with union participation partially influencing the relationship between the constructs.

Uniqueness of the study lies in its findings which report positive relationship among union participation, its antecedents and behavior effectiveness. Contrary to the traditional belief that unions are detrimental to the health of any organization, the study suggests that workers decision to join and participate in unions should be viewed positively because only if a person is willing to stay with the organization, he/she seeks to resolve the issues/problems through collective mechanism of union participation and which in turn leads to enhanced performance, reduced absenteeism at the workplace.

Most research on worker participation treats it as an establishment-level phenomenon even though it is seldom used on an establishment-wide basis. This paper, however, examines how three forms of incentive compensation are used at the job level, and it assesses the potential ramifications for inequality. I find that the use of incentive compensation reflects the gender composition, unionization, and functional role of jobs. Jobs with many full-time women, for instance, are less likely to use group incentives and profit sharing because they are less likely to play central or managerial roles in establishments. This suggests that incentive compensation may increase inequality.

Population ageing, coupled with economic uncertainty and a shifting workforce structure, has directed the attention of public and organizational policy makers toward the potential contribution of older workers and skilled migrants in meeting labor supply shortages in ageing populations. This chapter presents labor supply and demand scenarios for 10 OECD countries and examines trends in the labor force participation of older workers against the backdrop of changes to the nature of work in an era of globalization, casualization, and, increasingly, automation. Brief analysis of each country’s situation and policy responses indicates that China, Japan, and Korea stand out as being at particular risk of being unable to maintain growth without undertaking drastic action, although their areas of focus need to differ. A limitation of the study is that GDP projections used in labor demand analysis were based on historical rates and represented past potential and a long-run average of historic economic output. Future research might also undertake comparative analysis of case studies addressing different potential solutions to workforce ageing. A key implication of the study is that there is a need to take a blended approach to public policy regarding older workers in a changing labor market. Where migration has historically been a source of labor supplementation, this may become a less viable avenue over the near future. Future shortfalls in labor imply that economies will increasingly need to diversify their sources of workers in order to maintain economic growth. For public policy makers the challenge will be to overcome public antipathy to migration and longer working lives.