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Employee Perceptions of Working Conditions and the Desire for Worker Representation in Britain and the US

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  • Bryson, Alex
  • Freeman, Richard Barry

Abstract

This paper explores the link between employee perceptions of working conditions and the desire for worker representation in Britain and the US. We find that the distribution of employee perceptions of poor working conditions is similar in Britain and the US; similar factors affect the number of perceived poor working conditions; and the perception of poor working conditions is strongly associated with the desire for union representation. The nature of workplaces, as opposed to employees’ characteristics, is the predominant factor determining employee perceptions of poor working conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryson, Alex & Freeman, Richard Barry, 2013. "Employee Perceptions of Working Conditions and the Desire for Worker Representation in Britain and the US," Scholarly Articles 12242814, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:12242814
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruce E. Kaufman, 2010. "The Theoretical Foundation of Industrial Relations and its Implications for Labor Economics and Human Resource Management," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(1), pages 74-108, October.
    2. 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.
    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. Henry S. Farber & Alan Krueger, 1992. "Union Membership in the United States: The Decline Continues," Working Papers 685, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    5. Towers, Brian, 1997. "The Representation Gap: Change and Reform in the British and American Workplace," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289463.
    6. Jack Fiorito, 2001. "Human Resource Management Practices and Worker Desires for Union Representation," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(2), pages 335-354, April.
    7. repec:fth:prinin:306 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Henry S. Farber & Alan B. Krueger, 1992. "Union Membership in the United States: The Decline Continues," Working Papers 685, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    9. Alex Bryson & Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora, 2010. "Why So Unhappy? The Effects of Unionization on Job Satisfaction," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(3), pages 357-380, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Simon Eisele & Martin R. Schneider, 2020. "What Do Unions Do to Work Design? Computer Use, Union Presence, and Tayloristic Jobs in Britain," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 604-626, October.
    2. Alex Bryson, 2016. "Health and safety risks in Britain's workplaces: where are they and who controls them?," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5-6), pages 547-566, November.
    3. Stéphanie Moullet & Zinaida Salibekyan, 2019. "The Perception of Job Insecurity in France: Between Individual Determinants and Managerial Practices [Le sentiment d’insécurité de l’emploi en France : entre déterminants individuels et pratiques m," Post-Print halshs-02484180, HAL.
    4. Barry, Michael & Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Kaufman, Bruce E. & Lomas, Guenther & Wilkinson, Adrian, 2018. "The," IZA Discussion Papers 11860, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Getinet Astatike Haile, 2021. "Men, women and unions," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 201-217, May.
    6. Alex Bryson & Lucy Stokes & David Wilkinson, 2023. "Is pupil attainment higher in well-managed schools?," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(1), pages 129-144, January.
    7. Bengt Furåker & Mattias Bengtsson, 2013. "Collective and individual benefits of trade unions: a multi-level analysis of 21 European countries," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5-6), pages 548-565, November.
    8. Rea Prouska & Argyro Avgoustaki & Alexandros Psychogios & Adrian Wilkinson, 2022. "Employee participation and representation in Central and Eastern Europe," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 123-145, February.
    9. Alex Bryson & Richard Freeman & Rafael Gomez & Paul Willman, 2017. "The Twin Track Model of Employee Voice: An Anglo-American Perspective on Union Decline and the Rise of Alternative Forms of Voice," DoQSS Working Papers 17-13, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    10. Michael White & Alex Bryson, 2018. "HPWS in the Public Sector: Are There Mutual Gains?," DoQSS Working Papers 18-10, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    11. Şafak Tartanoğlu, 2015. "Beyond informality: effectiveness of a new actor for representing call centre workers in Turkey," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5-6), pages 381-397, November.
    12. Olivier Guillot & Magali Jaoul-Grammare & Isabelle Terraz, 2024. "Job strain and union membership: An empirical study based on French data," Working Papers of BETA 2024-08, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    13. Michael Barry & Alex Bryson & Rafael Gomez & Bruce Kaufman & Guenther Lomas & Adrian Wilkinson, 2018. "The ''Good Workplace'': The Role of Joint Consultative Committees, Unions and HR policies in Employee Ratings of Workplaces in Britain," DoQSS Working Papers 18-08, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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