Also by Shirley Dex BRITISH AND AMERICAN WOMEN AT WORK (with Lois B. Shaw) FRENCH AND BRITISH MOTHERS AT WORK (with Patricia Walters and David Alden)

Transcription

1 FLEXIBLE EMPLOYMENT

2 Also by Shirley Dex BRITISH AND AMERICAN WOMEN AT WORK (with Lois B. Shaw) FRENCH AND BRITISH MOTHERS AT WORK (with Patricia Walters and David Alden) LIFE AND WORK HISTORY ANALYSES THE SEXUAL DIVISION OF WORK WOMEN'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS WORK WOMEN'S OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY

3 Flexible Employment The Future of Britain's Jobs Shirley Dex Lecturer in Management Studies University of Cambridge Andrew McCulloch Research Assistant University of Cambridge

4 Shirley Dex and Andrew McCulloch 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1997 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenharn Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act First published 1997 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources OJ

5 To Roger Sewell, who knows about these things

6 Contents List of Tables List of Figures Preface Acknowledgements Vlll xu xiii xv 1 Introduction Part I Employers and the Labour Market 2 Employers' Use of Flexible Work 3 The Labour Market of Flexible Jobs Part II Individuals 4 Individuals in Flexible Work in Britain in the 1990s 45 5 Characteristics of Individuals in Flexible Jobs 64 6 Changes in Flexible Work in Britain during the 1980s 90 7 Flexible Jobs over the Lifetime 104 Part III Households 8 Flexible Jobs and Households 135 Part IV Britain's Jobs in the World Economy 9 How does Britain Compare with other Industrialised Countries? The Future of Britain's Jobs 173 Appendix: The British Household Panel Study Data 191 Bibliography 197 Index 203 vii

7 Lists of Tables 2.1 Elements of non-wage labour costs in Britain in the 1990s Men's non-standard employment by industry, LFS Women's non-standard employment by industry, LFS Men's non-standard employment by occupation, LFS Women's non-standard employment by occupation, LFS Managerial duties of all jobs ever held by Wave 3 (retrospective) BHPS sample of men and women Men's non-standard employment by region, LFS Women's non-standard employment by region, LFS Profile of non-standard forms of employment among men of working age in Britain in 1994, LFS Profile of non-standard forms of employment among women of working age in Britain in 1994, LFS Reason for holding a temporary job by sex and selfdefined hours of work, LFS Employment in flexible working arrangements, LFS Profile of non-standard forms of employment by age of working-age men in 1994, LFS Profile of non-standard forms of employment by age of working-age women in 1994, LFS Attitudes to mother working by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Attitudes to women working by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Most important aspect of a job: per cent who say job security is most or second most important by economic activity status: BHPS Wave Satisfaction scores by status of job: BHPS Wave General health questionnaire (GHQ score) by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample GHQ mean score by type of job: BHPS 1991 Wave 2 75 Vlll

8 List of Tables IX 5.9 Highest educational qualifications by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in the BHPS sample Hourly earnings quartiles by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in the BHPS sample Mean hourly gross pay of men and women by category and age group at Wave 2 of BHPS Periods of unemployment by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in the BHPS sample Percentage of working life spent unemployed by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in the BHPS sample Housing tenure by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Lone parent status by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Whether individual is a carer for someone inside the household by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Household income quartiles by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Financial situation by job status at Wave 2 for employed men and women in BHPS sample Changes in non-standard forms of work over time for men as per cent of employed men of working age, LFS Changes in non-standard forms of work over time for women as per cent of employed women of working age, LFS Total extent of flexible work by age for men and women not in full-time education, over time, LFS Whether or not individual has a second job, LFS Tenure durations with current employer, over time, LFS Experience of flexible jobs in entire working life of men and women in BHPS sample Number of flexible jobs of varying kinds held by BHPS sample of men and women up to Wave Numbers of flexible jobs over working life by age group at Wave 3: BHPS Percentage of working life spent in various flexible states for men and women with at least one flexible job, BHPS 110

9 x List of Tables 7.5 Percentage of time spent in flexible jobs by numbers of jobs held for BHPS sample of men and women up to Wave Age of individuals at first entry into flexible jobs and leaving all flexible jobs by type of job - BHPS samples of men and women at Wave Marital status of first entry into flexible jobs by type of job - BHPS samples of men and women Economic activity status prior to first occurrence of flexible job of men and women in BHPS at Wave Number of unemployment periods before first entry into flexible jobs by type of job - BHPS samples of men and women at Wave Reasons why left last job, before first and all entries into flexible jobs by type of job - BHPS samples of men and women Whether had previous unemployment experience before temporary job, by whether a successful move made at the end of temporary job BHPS samples of men and women at Wave Highest educational qualification according to whether individual makes a successful transition out of temporary work, BHPS sample of men and women at Wave Duration of full-time job for those who successfully left temporary jobs, BHPS Current experiences of flexible work in BHPS households at Waves 1 and BHPS households' past experiences of flexible work up to Wave 3 BHPS Number of flexible jobs ever experienced in BHPS households up to Wave Number of individuals with current flexible jobs by type of household at Wave 1 BHPS Individuals with any flexible jobs by household type at Wave 1 BHPS Husbands' and wives' detailed job status at Wave 2 BHPS Employed husbands' and wives' summary job status at Wave 2 BHPS Husbands' and wives' past statuses, BHPS up to Wave GHQ mean scores of husbands and wives by economic activity status: BHPS Wave 1 146

10 List of Tables xi 8.10 Housing tenure of household according to whether household contains any individuals with a flexible job: Wave 1 BHPS Household income quartiles by household type by whether household contains any individuals with a flexible job: BHPS Wave Changes in trade union membership as percentage of wage and salary earners in selected countries over time: Part-time employment in selected OECD countries: Women's share of part-time employment A verage hours worked in reference week by part-timers in selected OECD countries Temporary workers as a percentage of total employment Demographic composition of employees in temporary jobs in Share of persons having a temporary contract because they could not find a permanent job Percentage of temporary contracts covering a period of training, Self-employment's share of total employment in selected OECD countries: Percentage of short enterprise tenure employment in selected countries AU Definitions of categories of non-standard forms of employment created from LFS and BHPS data 194 Al.2 BHPS wave responses of individuals 195 A1.3 Levels of missing values on selected aspects of jobs recalled as part of Wave 3 job listing 195 A1.4 Flexible jobs in the BHPS data up to Wave 3 196

11 List of Figures 7.1 Men in permanent employment, BHPS Women in permanent employment, BHPS Women in full-time permanent employment, BHPS Men self-employed throughout the year, BHPS Women in part-time employment, BHPS Temporary employment (men and women), BHPS Women's temporary employment, BHPS 117 ALl Involuntary part-time work, , LFS 192 Al.2 Temporary employment as a proportion of all employees, , LFS 193 Al.3 Involuntary temporary employment, , LFS 193 xii

12 Preface This topic has a very personal significance to me. I married into a career of flexible work in 1985 and since then it has dominated our family life. My husband's succession of fixed-term contracts in hospital medicine meant that we had to move around the country several times since then: from Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester, from Manchester to Norwich, from Norwich to Cambridge. I managed to hold on to my permanent full-time job and was granted leave to roam around the country picking up jobs here and there as I went. Some of the readers of this book may have met me at times along this trail and asked, 'and what are you doing now?' in a puzzled tone, being none the wiser after I had told them. I have tried to juggle with this uncertainty. I have spent a lot of time 'keeping my options open', commuting long distances to work, and at times missing opportunities to further my own status and career in order for us to live together with the hope that we might both find jobs at the end of the trail. I sadly miss a friend who understood in Cathie Marsh, also married to a hospital medic, before she died. We have found the uncertainty of whether and where the next contract will be an enormous strain. In addition there's the strain and stress of moving house regularly, managing to make some friends just about the time when you have to move again, finding your way round new shopping centres, new nurseries and schools and settling the kids in, and telling everyone you've changed your address. These problems are common to jobs which require mobility and are not necessarily 'temporary' or uncertain. Some of the issues raised are also common to dual-career couples. The uncertainty of many flexible jobs adds another dimension to the stress, for the individual and their family. It is the never knowing whether you are staying or going, whether to work at making friends, spend time choosing somewhere to live where you would like to stay and become attached to, and constantly having to look through the job adverts, pleasing your bosses whose references you depend on, and so on. People could say, well you knew what you were getting into when you chose your career. The trouble is, you often don't. You don't know how difficult it will be to get the next job. It might have been easier when you started out than it has become when you face it. And you xiii

13 XIV Preface don't know everything about yourself and how you will cope with uncertainty coupled with the responsibilities of family life. Anyway, some individuals who have an entrepreneurial spirit may cope just fine, but many don't, and there is still their partner to consider. Our journey through this uncertainty was ended by my husband changing his career since his stand on various ethical issues in the health service lost him the final prize of a consultant's job. He hadn't pleased the bosses enough. I am in no doubt that the productivity of my own work has been lowered over the past few years by all of the events linked to our participation in the flexible economy. I am fairly sure that my husband's work has suffered as well. For every flexible job, potentially two people may be working at lower than their best because of the stressful conditions of many such jobs. A lot of this book is about statistics. I hope readers will not forget that the lives of real people lie below the figures about flexible work, parts which can sometimes get lost in a presentation of statistics, important as the overall picture is. Shirley Dex April 1996

14 Acknowledgements The research contained in this report was largely carried out as part of two contracts: one for the Equal Opportunities Commission on the effects of deregulation on women's employment, the other, for the Employment Department, was an analysis of flexible work in the retrospective employment histories of individuals in the British Household Panel Study. We wish to thank the Equal Opportunities Commission and the new Department for Education and Employment for allowing us to use material contained in these reports. We also wish to thank Dave Perfect for editorial input to our work. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission or of the Department for Education and Employment. We wish to acknowledge the ESRC Data Archive at the University of Essex for providing access to the Labour Force Survey data. This research was also part of the scientific programme of the ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change at the University of Essex which collects the British Household Panel Study. We also wish to thank Peter Robinson for supplying data to us to enable us to reproduce his graphs on temporary and part-time employment. Shirley Dex Andrew McCulloch xv