IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/glodps/817.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Decent Work and The Quality of Work and Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Green, Francis

Abstract

This review examines the concept of the quality of work and employment (QWE), including both 'Decent Work' and the narrower concept of 'job quality'. The key axiom is that 'quality' relates to the extent and manner in which working conditions meet people's needs from work. The review emphasises the multi-disciplinary nature of the topic. It discusses the concept's objective character, its relationship with well-being, and its link with productivity. Important measurement issues are considered, including cost, international comparability, the choice of how many indices, the treatment of inequality and the problem of discipline insularity. Some theories of the antecedents of QWE imply universal trends, while others predict differentiation across countries and regions, attributable to labour market institutions and policy. The effects on well-being and health are studied in several disciplines, including a substantial research programme in psychology. Summary trends in Europe and distributions of job quality are presented for context, including gender gaps. This description shows gradual improvement in the physical environment of work and in working time quality over the decade from 2005. Yet the distribution of job quality in several domains is not at all closely related to a country's GDP. The review concludes with a discussion of job quality policy making, and frames the ongoing research agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Green, Francis, 2021. "Decent Work and The Quality of Work and Employment," GLO Discussion Paper Series 817, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:817
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/233007/1/GLO-DP-0817.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthias Collischon, 2019. "Relative Pay, Rank and Happiness: A Comparison Between Genders and Part- and Full-Time Employees," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 67-80, January.
    2. Tânia FERRARO & Leonor PAIS & Nuno REBELO DOS SANTOS & João Manuel MOREIRA, 2018. "The Decent Work Questionnaire: Development and validation in two samples of knowledge workers," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(2), pages 243-265, June.
    3. Allen, Jim & van der Velden, Rolf, 2001. "Educational Mismatches versus Skill Mismatches: Effects on Wages, Job Satisfaction, and On-the-Job Search," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 434-452, July.
    4. Colin Green & Parvinder Kler & Gareth Leeves, 2010. "Flexible Contract Workers in Inferior Jobs: Reappraising the Evidence," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(3), pages 605-629, September.
    5. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke, 2020. "What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Eve Caroli & Mathilde Godard, 2016. "Does job insecurity deteriorate health?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(2), pages 131-147, February.
    7. François Combarnous & Thibaud Deguilhem, 2019. "Urban labour market revisited: Why quality of employment matters in Bogota [Une approche novatrice du marché du travail urbain de Bogota : le prisme de la qualité de l’emploi]," Post-Print halshs-02283487, HAL.
    8. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2005. "Beyond outcomes: measuring procedural utility," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 57(1), pages 90-111, January.
    9. Benz, Matthias & Frey, Bruno S., 2008. "The value of doing what you like: Evidence from the self-employed in 23 countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 68(3-4), pages 445-455, December.
    10. Francis Green, 2004. "Work Intensification, Discretion, and the Decline in Well-Being at Work," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 615-625, Fall.
    11. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The skill content of recent technological change: an empirical exploration," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Nov.
    12. Derek Yu, 2020. "Employment quality index for the South African labour market," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 276-294, March.
    13. Marta Fana & Santo Milasi & Joanna Napierala & Enrique Fernandez-Macias & Ignacio Gonzalez Vazquez, 2020. "Telework, work organisation and job quality during the COVID-19 crisis: a qualitative study," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2020-11, Joint Research Centre.
    14. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, "undated". "The Value of Autonomy: Evidence from the Self-Employed in 23 Countries," IEW - Working Papers 173, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    15. Lucie Davoine & Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2008. "A Taxonomy of European Labour Markets Using Quality Indicators," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00317280, HAL.
    16. Diane F. Frey & Gillian MacNaughton, 2016. "A Human Rights Lens on Full Employment and Decent Work in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, June.
    17. Tortia, Ermanno C., 2008. "Worker well-being and perceived fairness: Survey-based findings from Italy," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 2080-2094, October.
    18. Alan Felstead & Duncan Gallie & Francis Green & Golo Henseke, 2019. "Conceiving, designing and trailing a short‐form measure of job quality: a proof‐of‐concept study," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 2-19, January.
    19. Lucie Davoine & Christine Erhel & Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière, 2008. "A Taxonomy of European Labour Markets Using Quality Indicators," Post-Print halshs-00317280, HAL.
    20. Duncan Gallie & Ying Zhou & Alan Felstead & Francis Green & Golo Henseke, 2017. "The implications of direct participation for organisational commitment, job satisfaction and affective psychological well-being: a longitudinal analysis," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 174-191, March.
    21. Sehnbruch, Kirsten & González, Pablo & Apablaza, Mauricio & Méndez, Rocío & Arriagada, Verónica, 2020. "The Quality of Employment (QoE) in nine Latin American countries: A multidimensional perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    22. Sandrine Cazes & Alexander Hijzen & Anne Saint-Martin, 2015. "Measuring and Assessing Job Quality: The OECD Job Quality Framework," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 174, OECD Publishing.
    23. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01311366 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Sonja Drobnič & Barbara Beham & Patrick Präg, 2010. "Good Job, Good Life? Working Conditions and Quality of Life in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 99(2), pages 205-225, November.
    25. Brendan Burchell & Kirsten Sehnbruch & Agnieszka Piasna & Nurjk Agloni, 2014. "The quality of employment and decent work: definitions, methodologies, and ongoing debates," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 38(2), pages 459-477.
    26. George A. Akerlof, 1982. "Labor Contracts as Partial Gift Exchange," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(4), pages 543-569.
    27. Robert Pollin, 2020. "Green Economics and Decent Work: A Viable Unified Framework," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(2), pages 711-726, March.
    28. María Cascales Mira, 2021. "New Model for Measuring Job Quality: Developing an European Intrinsic Job Quality Index (EIJQI)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 625-645, June.
    29. Iftikhar AHMED, 2003. "Decent work and human development," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 142(2), pages 263-271, June.
    30. Paul OSTERMAN, 2008. "Improving the quality of low-wage work: The current American experience," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 147(2-3), pages 115-134, June.
    31. Dharam GHAI, 2003. "Decent work: Concept and indicators," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 142(2), pages 113-145, June.
    32. Benedict Arko, 2019. "Understanding power asymmetry in participatory development spaces: Insights from Ghana's Decent Work Programme," Regional Studies, Regional Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 399-404, January.
    33. Piasna, Agnieszka & Burchell, Brendan & Sehnbruch, Kirsten, 2019. "Job quality in European employment policy: one step forward, two steps back?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 102888, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    34. Florence BONNET & José B. FIGUEIREDO & Guy STANDING, 2003. "A family of decent work indexes," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 142(2), pages 213-238, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Uwe Jirjahn & Thi Xuan Thu Le, 2024. "Political spillovers of workplace democracy in Germany," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(1), pages 5-31, March.
    2. Sehnbruch, Kirsten & Apablaza, Mauricio & Foster, James, 2024. "Poor-quality employment: who is deprived in our labour markets?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122222, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Yi-Jung Wu & Xiaojie Xu & Jingying He, 2021. "Gender, Educational Attainment, and Job Quality in Germany, Sweden, and the UK: Evidence from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Suppa, Nicolai, 2021. "Unemployment and subjective well-being," GLO Discussion Paper Series 760, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    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. Rafael Muñoz de Bustillo & Enrique Fernández-Macías & José-Ignacio Antón & Fernando Esteve, 2011. "Measuring More than Money," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14072.
    2. Nuno Crespo & Nádia Simões & José Castro Pinto, 2013. "Determinant factors of job quality in Europe," Working Papers Series 2 13-01, ISCTE-IUL, Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL).
    3. Cueto, Begona & Pruneda, Gabriel, 2015. "Job Satisfaction of Wage and Self-Employed workers. Do preferences make a difference?," MPRA Paper 65432, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Georges Steffgen & Philipp E. Sischka & Martha Fernandez de Henestrosa, 2020. "The Quality of Work Index and the Quality of Employment Index: A Multidimensional Approach of Job Quality and Its Links to Well-Being at Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-31, October.
    5. Asuyama, Yoko, 2021. "Determinants of job interestingness: Comparison of Japan and other high-income countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Deguilhem, Thibaud & Frontenaud, Adrien, 2016. "Régimes de qualité de l’emploi et diversité des pays émergents," Revue de la Régulation - Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs, Association Recherche et Régulation, vol. 19.
    7. Shi, Zheng, 2023. "The impact of regional ICT development on job quality of the employee in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    8. Federico Huneeus & Oscar Landerretche & Esteban Puentes, 2012. "Multidimensional Measure of Job Quality: Persistence and Heterogeneity in a Developing Country," Working Papers wp357, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    9. Peter Muehlau, 2011. "Gender Inequality and Job Quality in Europe," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 22(2), pages 114-131.
    10. Thibaud Deguilhem & Adrien Frontenaud, 2016. "Quality of Employment Regimes and Diversity of Emerging Countries [Régimes de qualité de l’emploi et diversité des pays émergents]," Post-Print halshs-02283486, HAL.
    11. Enzo Valentini, 2012. "Giving Voice To Employees And Spreading Information Within The Firm: The Manner Matters," Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 2(4), pages 1-7, August.
    12. Lisa Katharina Kortmann & Julia Simonson & Claudia Vogel & Oliver Huxhold, 2022. "Digitalisation and Employees’ Subjective Job Quality in the Second Half of Working Life in Germany," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 577-597, July.
    13. Maria da Conceição Cerdeira & Ilona Kovács, 2008. "Job quality in Europe: the North-South divide," Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, IET/CICS.NOVA-Interdisciplinary Centre on Social Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, vol. 4(4), pages 21-47, November.
    14. Tânia FERRARO & Leonor PAIS & Nuno REBELO DOS SANTOS & João Manuel MOREIRA, 2018. "The Decent Work Questionnaire: Development and validation in two samples of knowledge workers," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(2), pages 243-265, June.
    15. Anna Fabry & Monica Schuster & Miet Maertens, 2024. "Decent and equal work in agri‐food systems: Evidence from Peru," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(2), pages 803-830, June.
    16. Porras, Sylvina, 2022. "A relationship between job quality and economic growth over the long run and the role of labour institutions: the case of Uruguay, 1991–2018," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    17. Begoña Cueto & Gabriel Pruneda, 2017. "Job Satisfaction of Wage and Self-Employed Workers. Do Job Preferences Make a Difference?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 12(1), pages 103-123, March.
    18. Sehnbruch, Kirsten & González, Pablo & Apablaza, Mauricio & Méndez, Rocío & Arriagada, Verónica, 2020. "The Quality of Employment (QoE) in nine Latin American countries: A multidimensional perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    19. Riccardo Leoni & Paola Gritti, 2017. "Institutional Wage Setting, Distinctive Competencies and Wage Premia," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 3(1), pages 71-111, March.
    20. Peter Warr & Ilke Inceoglu, 2018. "Work Orientations, Well-Being and Job Content of Self-Employed and Employed Professionals," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(2), pages 292-311, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    job quality; well-being; wages; insecurity; working time; work intensity; skills; discretion; social environment; physical working conditions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • 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:zbw:glodps:817. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/glabode.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.