IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/del/abcdef/2004-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Your money or your life: Changing job quality in OECD countries

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew E. Clark

Abstract

This paper uses both cross-section and panel information on employees in OECD countries to examine job values and outcomes over the 1990s. Job values have been stable over the 1990s, and are not noticeably cyclical. Despite rising wages and falling hours, overall job satisfaction is either stagnant or falling. These movements are not due to changes in the type of workers. A number of pieces of evidence point to stress and hard work as being at least an important part of what has gone wrong with employees' jobs. Last, we find increasing inequality in a number of job outcomes. We also find that the young and the higher-educated have been insulated against downward movements in job quality. There is some tentative evidence that trade unions may have protected their members against adverse job outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew E. Clark, 2004. "Your money or your life: Changing job quality in OECD countries," DELTA Working Papers 2004-31, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
  • Handle: RePEc:del:abcdef:2004-31
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.delta.ens.fr/abstracts/wp200431.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francis Green & Nicholas Tsitsianis, 2004. "Can the Changing Nature of Jobs Account for National Trends in Job Satisfaction?," Studies in Economics 0406, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    2. Andrew E. Clark, 2003. "Unemployment as a Social Norm: Psychological Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 289-322, April.
    3. Freeman, Richard B, 1978. "Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 135-141, May.
    4. Andrew Clark & Yannis Georgellis & Peter Sanfey, "undated". "Job Satisfaction, Wage changes and Quits: Evidence from Germany," Economics and Finance Discussion Papers 98-06, Economics and Finance Section, School of Social Sciences, Brunel University.
    5. Francis Green, 2001. "It’s Been A Hard Day’s Night: The Concentration and Intensification of Work in Late Twentieth‐Century Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 39(1), pages 53-80, March.
    6. Duncan Gallie & Alan Felstead & Francis Green, 2004. "Changing Patterns of Task Discretion in Britain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 18(2), pages 243-266, June.
    7. Andrew Clark, 2005. "What Makes a Good Job? Evidence from OECD Countries," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stephen Bazen & Claudio Lucifora & Wiemer Salverda (ed.), Job Quality and Employer Behaviour, chapter 1, pages 11-30, Palgrave Macmillan.
    8. Mitchel Y. Abolafia (ed.), 2005. "Markets," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2788.
    9. Gardner, Jonathan & Oswald, Andrew J., 2001. "What Has Been Happening to the Quality of Workers’ Lives in Britain?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 617, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    10. Clark, Andrew E. & Senik, Claudia, 2006. "The (unexpected) structure of "rents" on the French and British labour markets," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 180-196, April.
    11. Georgellis, Yannis & Sessions, John & Tsitsianis, Nikolaos, 2007. "Pecuniary and non-pecuniary aspects of self-employment survival," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 94-112, March.
    12. Joseph A. RITTER & Richard ANKER, 2002. "Good jobs, bad jobs: Workers' evaluations in five countries," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 141(4), pages 331-358, December.
    13. Philippe Askenazy, 2001. "Innovative Workplace Practices and Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in the United States," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 22(4), pages 485-516, November.
    14. Bauer, Thomas K., 2004. "High Performance Workplace Practices and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 1265, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, 2008. "Being Independent is a Great Thing: Subjective Evaluations of Self‐Employment and Hierarchy," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(298), pages 362-383, May.
    16. Andrew E. Clark, 1996. "Job Satisfaction in Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 189-217, June.
    17. repec:lan:wpaper:3619 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. E. Paul Durrenberger, 2005. "Labour," Chapters, in: James G. Carrier (ed.), A Handbook of Economic Anthropology, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Francis Green, 2003. "The Rise and Decline of Job Insecurity," Studies in Economics 0305, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    20. Francis Green & Nicholas Tsitsianis, 2005. "An Investigation of National Trends in Job Satisfaction in Britain and Germany," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 401-429, September.
    21. Tsuyoshi Tsuru & James B. Rebitzer, 1995. "The Limits of Enterprise Unionism: Prospects for Continuing Union Decline in Japan," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 459-492, September.
    22. George A. Akerlof & Andrew K. Rose & Janet L. Yellen, 1988. "Job Switching and Job Satisfaction in the U.S. Labor Market," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 19(2), pages 495-594.
    23. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2004. "Does Union Membership Really Reduce Job Satisfaction?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(3), pages 439-459, September.
    24. Clark, Andrew E., 2001. "What really matters in a job? Hedonic measurement using quit data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 223-242, May.
    25. Arne L. Kalleberg & Stephen Vaisey, 2005. "Pathways to a Good Job: Perceived Work Quality among the Machinists in North America," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 43(3), pages 431-454, September.
    26. Green, Francis & McIntosh, Steven, 2001. "The intensification of work in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 291-308, May.
    27. Clark, Andrew E., 1997. "Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy at work?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(4), pages 341-372, December.
    28. repec:lan:wpaper:3727 is not listed on IDEAS
    29. repec:lan:wpaper:4012 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. repec:lan:wpaper:3621 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. David G. Blanchflower & Richard B. Freeman, 1997. "The Attitudinal Legacy of Communist Labor Relations," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(3), pages 438-459, April.
    32. A I Petrescu & R Simmons & S Bradley, 2004. "The impacts of human resource management practices and pay inequality on workers' job satisfaction," Working Papers 542602, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    33. John S. Heywood & W. S. Siebert & Xiangdong Wei, 2002. "Worker Sorting and Job Satisfaction: The Case of Union and Government Jobs," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 55(4), pages 595-609, July.
    34. Stephen Bazen & Claudio Lucifora & Wiemer Salverda (ed.), 2005. "Job Quality and Employer Behaviour," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37864-3, March.
    35. Joni Hersch & Joe A. Stone, 1990. "Is Union Job Dissatisfaction Real?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(4).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michela Ponzo, 2012. "On-the-job Search in Italian Labor Markets: An Empirical Analysis," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 213-232, July.
    2. Thomas Cornelißen, 2009. "The Interaction of Job Satisfaction, Job Search, and Job Changes. An Empirical Investigation with German Panel Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 367-384, June.
    3. José Millán & Jolanda Hessels & Roy Thurik & Rafael Aguado, 2013. "Determinants of job satisfaction: a European comparison of self-employed and paid employees," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 651-670, April.
    4. Aguilar, Alexandra Cortés & García Muñoz, Teresa M. & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2013. "Heterogeneous self-employment and satisfaction in Latin America," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 44-61.
    5. Getinet A. Haile, 2015. "Workplace Job Satisfaction in Britain: Evidence from Linked Employer–Employee Data," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(3), pages 225-242, September.
    6. Patrice Laroche, 2016. "A Meta-Analysis of the Union–Job Satisfaction Relationship," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 709-741, December.
    7. Goerke, Laszlo, 2020. "Unions and Workers' Well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 726, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Cortés Aguilar Alexandra & Teresa Garcia-Muñoz & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2013. "Heterogeneous Self-employment and Subjective Well-Being. Evidence from Latin America," ThE Papers 13/05, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    9. Melanie K. Jones & Richard J. Jones & Paul L. Latreille & Peter J. Sloane, 2009. "Training, Job Satisfaction, and Workplace Performance in Britain: Evidence from WERS 2004," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(s1), pages 139-175, March.
    10. Michael A. Shields & Melanie E. Ward, "undated". "Improving Nurse Retention in the British National Health Service: The Impact of Job Satisfaction on Intentions to Quit," Discussion Papers in Public Sector Economics 00/3, Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester.
    11. Georgellis, Yannis & Lange, Thomas, 2009. "Are Union Members Happy Workers after All? Evidence from Eastern and Western European Labor Markets," MPRA Paper 17020, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. C Green & J S Heywood, 2010. "Unions, Dissatisfied Workers and Sorting," Working Papers 615292, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    13. repec:lan:wpaper:3161 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Theodossiou, I. & Zangelidis, A., 2009. "Career prospects and tenure-job satisfaction profiles: Evidence from panel data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 648-657, August.
    15. Giuliano Guerra & Roberto Patuelli, 2016. "The Role of Job Satisfaction in Transitions into Self–Employment," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 40(3), pages 543-571, May.
    16. Benno Torgler, 2011. "Work Values in Western and Eastern Europe," CREMA Working Paper Series 2011-22, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA).
    17. Dominik Hanglberger, 2011. "Arbeitszufriedenheit im internationalen Vergleich," FFB-Discussionpaper 86, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB)), LEUPHANA University Lüneburg.
    18. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood, 2015. "Dissatisfied Union Workers: Sorting Revisited," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 580-600, September.
    19. repec:lan:wpaper:2912 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Skalli, Ali & Theodossiou, Ioannis & Vasileiou, Efi, 2008. "Jobs as Lancaster goods: Facets of job satisfaction and overall job satisfaction," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1906-1920, October.
    21. Georgellis, Yannis & Gregoriou, Andros & Tsitsianis, Nikolaos, 2008. "Adaptation towards reference values: A non-linear perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(3-4), pages 768-781, September.
    22. Francis Green & Nicholas Tsitsianis, 2004. "Can the Changing Nature of Jobs Account for National Trends in Job Satisfaction?," Studies in Economics 0406, School of Economics, University of Kent.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:del:abcdef:2004-31. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deltafr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.