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Wiedner, Jonas (2022): Political and Social Consequences of Qualification Mismatches: A Bounding Approach to Status Inconsistency. In: Social forces, Jg. 101, H. 1, S. 150-175. DOI:10.1093/sf/soab120

Abstract

"Many employees work in jobs that do not match their level of formal education. Status inconsistency theory (SIT) argues that such mismatches result in stress, dissatisfaction, political alienation, and social withdrawal. Status inconsistency may, therefore, pose a threat to social cohesion. However, extant SIT scholarship does not fully appreciate the consequences of an identification problem due to the perfect collinearity among the effects of occupation, education, and their mismatch. I review the literature and show that prior findings depend on implicit theoretical assumptions that are often implausible once spelled out. To overcome this problem, I propose a new approach to the study of mismatches that builds on recent advances in the modeling of age, period, and cohort effects. I demonstrate how a set of relatively weak assumptions that are transparently grounded in sociological theory allows for (partial) identification of mismatch effects. The empirical analysis draws on comparable large-scale survey data from the United Kingdom (UKLHS) and Germany (GSOEP), two countries with a very different institutional organization of education to job matching. Compared with previous research, I use theoretically justified identifying assumptions and provide more rigorous evidence by addressing non-random selection into mismatch. Constrained regression models show mismatch effects on work-related identities, satisfaction, and organizational integration. Contra SIT, my results suggest that the effects of mismatches do not arise from cognitive dissonance but from an expectation formation mechanism. I find only weak evidence that mismatch effects spill over into the political domain. Despite large institutional differences, the results are similar across countries." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Asuyama, Yoko (2021): Determinants of job interestingness: Comparison of Japan and other high-income countries. In: Labour Economics, Jg. 73. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2021.102082

Abstract

"Interest in a job enhances job satisfaction, learning, and task performance, and deters the job-holder from quitting. This paper quantifies the importance of the key determinants of job interestingness for the first time. It also explores the reasons why there are much fewer interesting jobs in Japan than in other high-income countries (H). Decomposition analyses are performed using the International Social Survey Programme and Japanese panel survey data. In both H and Japan, interest match and prosocial meaning of the job are two of the three most important predictors of job interestingness. The third top predictor is job autonomy in H, whereas in Japan it is relatedness (relationship with management and colleagues), implying that the most effective ways to make a job interesting vary across cultures and work organizations. The largest factor explaining the job interestingness gap between Japan and H is Japan's lower level of job autonomy, although promoting autonomy is a less effective way to enhance job interestingness in Japan." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

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Bellmann, Lutz & Olaf Hübler (2021): Working from home, job satisfaction and work-life balance - robust or heterogeneous links? In: International Journal of Manpower, Jg. 42, H. 3, S. 424-441., 2020-06-28. DOI:10.1108/IJM-10-2019-0458

Abstract

"Purpose: It is analyzed whether working from home improves or impairs the job satisfaction and the work–life balance and under which conditions. Design/methodology/Approach: Blocks of influences on job satisfaction and work–life balance – personal traits, job characteristics, skills and employment properties – are estimated separately and in combination. To select the variables, the least angle regression is applied. The entropy balancing approach is used to determine causal effects. The study investigates whether imbalances are determined by private or job influences, whether firm-specific regulations and the selected control group affect the results and whether it only takes place during leisure time. Findings: No clear effects of remote work on job satisfaction are revealed, but the impact on work–life balance is generally negative. If the imbalance is conditioned by private interests, this is not corroborated in contrast to job conditioned features. Employees working from home are happier than those who want to work at home, job satisfaction is higher and work–life balance is not worse under a strict contractual agreement than under a nonbinding commitment. Originality/value: A wide range of personality traits, skills, employment properties and job characteristics are incorporated as determinants. The problem of causality is investigated. It is analyzed whether the use of alternative control and treatment groups leads to different results. The empirical investigation is based on new German data with three waves." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Emerald Group) ((en))

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Erdogan, Berrin & Talya N. Bauer (2021): Overqualification at Work: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature. In: Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Jg. 8, S. 259-283. DOI:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012420-055831

Abstract

"Both perceived and objective measures of employee overqualification can impact job attitudes, various workplace behaviors, and work relationships. Utilizing motivation and capability-based theoretical approaches, this review summarizes research regarding the antecedents (demographic influences, personality traits, relational influences, job characteristics) and outcomes (individual health and well-being, turnover intentions and turnover, job performance, organizational citizenship behaviors, interpersonal relationships, innovative behaviors, counterproductive work behaviors, and career success) of overqualification. In addition, we review work done to date regarding the moderators and mediators of these relationships. Finally, we offer future directions for research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gueguen, Guillaume & Claudia Senik (2021): Adopting Telework. The causal impact of working from home on subjective well-being in 2020. (PSE working paper / Paris School of Economics 2021-65), Paris, 36 S.

Abstract

"Using the UK household longitudinal survey, we uncover a positive effect of work from home on life satisfaction, which is driven by partnered people and those without children at home. Concerning mental health, there is no average effect of telework, except for those living in rural areas, but this hides a dynamic evolution, as mental health initially deteriorates in the first months of telework, but improves after a period of adaptation, especially the feeling of being useful, of being a worthy person, and of being able to concentrate." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Pagis, Michal (2021): Inhabiting the Self-Work Romantic Utopia: Positive Psychology, Life Coaching, and the Challenge of Self-Fulfillment at Work. In: Work and occupations, Jg. 48, H. 1, S. 40-69. DOI:10.1177/0730888420911683

Abstract

"Much has been said about the rise of work as a central identity marker in modern society. With the recent popularization of self-help and positive psychology, this identity marker broadened its signification to include new emotional needs such as love and passion, creating a new cultural imaginary: the “self-work romantic utopia.” Sociological studies have criticized this utopia as a myth that serves capitalist neoliberal structures, leading to frustration and self-blame. However, little is known about how workers themselves confront this myth and the strategies they employ when attempting to inhabit it in today’s precarious job market. Based on 60 in-depth interviews with upper-middle class Israeli workers who hired life coaches to improve their work experience, the author identifies five strategies used to inhabit this romantic utopia: starting over, healing, idealization, polygamy, and vision. Through the analysis of these strategies, the author illustrates how even the relatively privileged workers need to adapt the self-work romantic utopia to their life circumstances, inhabiting the myth in partial degrees. Such flexible implementation turns the “myth” into a cultural tool that directs workers’ lives and actions even in a precarious, unstable job market, maintaining subjective experiences of agency in a sphere characterized by growing structural constraints. Yet paradoxically, these strategies eventually strengthen the precarious, noncommitted, and individual-oriented structure of the job market, yielding flexible, individualistic solutions that replace workplace responsibility." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Blankenberg, Ann-Kathrin & Martin Binder (2020): Zum beruflichen Selbstbild und zur Arbeits- und Lebenszufriedenheit im Handwerk in Deutschland. (Göttinger Beiträge zur Handwerksforschung 42), Göttingen, 29 S. DOI:10.3249/2364-3897-gbh-42

Abstract

"Die Arbeit im Handwerk unterscheidet sich von vielen anderen Berufen durch Arbeitsmerkmale, die stark prägend für das berufliche Selbstbild sind und außerdem positiv das Wohlbefinden der Arbeitnehmer beeinflussen können. Dazu zählt, dass Handwerker die Ergebnisse ihrer Arbeit sehen können, und sie die Möglichkeit haben, das gesamte Werkstück (und nicht nur einen kleinen Teil davon) eigenständig herzustellen. Dadurch nehmen sie ihre Arbeit als nützlich und sinnstiftend wahr. Angesichts von Untersuchungen, die zeigen, dass Arbeit in manchen Berufszweigen zunehmend als sinnlos empfunden wird, ist es von großer Bedeutung zu verstehen, welche Facetten der Arbeit die Schaffung einer starken beruflichen Identität ermöglichen, die dazu führt, dass Arbeit als sinnvoll und befriedigend erlebt wird. Die Studie hat dieses Forschungsziel und nutzt dafür eine deutschlandweite Umfrage im Handwerkssektor mit rund 2000 Teilnehmern. Der Fokus der Datenerhebung lag dabei darauf, einen Einblick in das berufliche Selbstbild und die Arbeitszufriedenheit der im deutschen Handwerk Beschäftigten zu erhalten. Diese zeichnen sich in der Befragung durch ein stark ausgeprägtes berufliches Selbstbild aus und identifizieren sich stark mit ihrer handwerklichen Tätigkeit. Dabei weisen Beschäftigte im Handwerk eine hohe Arbeitszufriedenheit auf. Die Arbeitszufriedenheit kann in Teilen mit der Ganzheitlichkeit der Arbeit, dem Fokus auf manuelle Tätigkeit, der Wahrnehmung der Sinnhaftigkeit der Tätigkeit sowie einer hohen wahrgenommenen Autonomie in Zusammenhang gebracht werden." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Ge, Qi, Eun Jung Jordan, Myongjin Kim & Leilei Shen (2020): Returns to job satisfaction in the presence of horizontal mismatch. In: Applied Economics, Jg. 52, H. 27, S. 2913-2930. DOI:10.1080/00036846.2019.1696941

Abstract

"In this paper, we study the relationship among horizontal mismatch, job satisfaction and wages using data from the 2013 Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT). Estimates from 2SLS indicate that 1) field-occupation match in the highest degree has a positive effect on job satisfaction and wages; and 2) controlling for field-occupation matches, job satisfaction has a positive but diminishing effect on wages with a large heterogeneity across different age groups. In addition, we also distinguish between job satisfaction arising from benefits and job satisfaction that is productivity enhancing and find both to have a positive but nonlinear effect on wages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Gerich, Joachim & Christoph Weber (2020): The Ambivalent Appraisal of Job Demands and the Moderating Role of Job Control and Social Support for Burnout and Job Satisfaction. In: Social indicators research, Jg. 148, H. 1, S. 251-280. DOI:10.1007/s11205-019-02195-9

Abstract

"Within an extended challenge–hindrance framework, it is assumed that job demands are subjectively appraised both as challenges (that is, as working conditions that are associated with potential personal gains) and hindrances (as working conditions associated with constrains) at the same time. In accordance with transactional stress theory, the association between demand intensity and work-related attitudes (work satisfaction) and psychological strain (burnout) is expected to be mediated by individual appraisal. Moreover, because curvilinear relationships between demand and challenge and hindrance appraisals are assumed, and appraisal is expected to be moderated by job control and social support, we tested complex nonlinear moderated mediation models for four types of job demands (task difficulty, time pressure, interruptions, and responsibility). Based on cross-sectional data of a heterogeneous sample of employees, we confirmed simultaneous challenge and hindrance appraisals. Challenge components are positively associated and hindrance components are negatively associated with favorable outcomes (higher work satisfaction and lower burnout). Challenge appraisals are found to be more relevant for work satisfaction, while hindrance appraisals are more relevant for burnout. The relationship between demand intensity and challenge appraisal is confirmed as curvilinear, whereas hindrance appraisals are approximately linearly related to demand intensity. The relationship between demand intensity and outcome variables is partly mediated by challenge and hindrance appraisal, and significant interaction effects suggest that the appraisal process is moderated by job control and social support." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))

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Warren, Tracey & Clare Lyonette (2020): Ungrateful slaves? An examination of job quality and job satisfaction for male part-time workers in the UK. In: The British journal of sociology, Jg. 71, H. 2, S. 382-402. DOI:10.1111/1468-4446.12741

Abstract

"Research on part-time work has concentrated over many decades on the experiences of women but male part-time employment is growing in the UK. This article addresses two sizable gaps in knowledge concerning male part-timers: are men's part-time jobs of lower quality than men's full-time jobs? Are male part-timers more or less job-satisfied compared to their full-time peers? A fundamental part of both interrogations is whether men's part-time employment varies by occupational class. The article is motivated by the large body of work on female part-timers. Its theoretical framework is rooted in one of the most controversial discussions in the sociology of women workers: the “grateful slave” debate that emerged in the 1990s when researchers sought to explain why so many women expressed job satisfaction with low-quality part-time jobs. Innovatively, this article draws upon those contentious ideas to provide new insights into male, rather than female, part-time employment. Based upon analysis of a large quantitative data set, the results provide clear evidence of low-quality male part-time employment in the UK, when compared with men's full-time jobs. Men working part-time also express deteriorating satisfaction with jobs overall and in several specific dimensions of their jobs. Male part-timers in lower occupational class positions retain a clear “lead” both in bad job quality and low satisfaction. The article asks whether decreasingly satisfied male part-time workers should be termed “ungrateful slaves?” It unpacks the “grateful slave” metaphor and, after doing so, rejects its value for the ongoing analysis of part-time jobs in the formal labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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(2020): How's life? 2020. Measuring well-being. (How's life? 05), Paris, 244 S. DOI:10.1787/9870c393-en

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Avgoustaki, Argyro & Hans T. W. Ffrankort (2019): Implications of work effort and discretion for employee well-being and career-related outcomes. An integrative assessment. In: ILR review, Jg. 72, H. 3, S. 636-661. DOI:10.1177/0019793918804540

Abstract

"How does work effort affect employee outcomes? The authors bridge distinct literatures on the well-being versus career-related implications of work effort by analyzing the relation of overtime work and work intensity to both types of outcomes. They also extend examination of the role of discretion in modifying the effects of work effort from well-being to career-related outcomes. Using data from the fifth and sixth European Working Conditions Surveys, the authors show that greater work effort relates strongly to reduced well-being and modestly to inferior career-related outcomes, while discretion may attenuate these adverse implications. Even with discretion, work intensity generally is a stronger predictor of unfavorable outcomes than is overtime work. Implications include the need for employees to become aware of the broader limitations of excessive work effort, for employers to give discretion when viable, and for public policy to devise strategies that help limit the adverse consequences of work intensity." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bellmann, Lutz, Olaf Hübler & Ute Leber (2019): Works council and training effects on satisfaction. In: Applied Economics Letters, Jg. 26, H. 14, S. 1177-1181., 2018-06-22. DOI:10.1080/13504851.2018.1540842

Abstract

"This paper investigates the direct and indirect impact of works councils via further training on job satisfaction. Basic estimates on an individual level do not reveal clearly direct effects, but on an establishment level, the existence of a works council increases the average job satisfaction. We also find a positive, weakly significant effect on an individual level accompanied by training under instrumental variables estimation and if we control for personal characteristics." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Dur, Robert & Max van Lent (2019): Socially useless jobs. In: Industrial relations, Jg. 58, H. 1, S. 3-16. DOI:10.1111/irel.12227

Abstract

"Recent research suggests that many workers in modern economies think that their job is socially useless, i.e., that it makes no or a negative contribution to society. However, the evidence so far is mainly anecdotal. We use a representative dataset comprising 100,000 workers from forty-seven countries at four points in time. We find that approximately 8 percent of workers perceive their job as socially useless, while another 17 percent are doubtful about the usefulness of their job. There are sizeable differences among countries, sectors, occupations, and age groups, but no trend over time. A vast majority of workers cares about holding a socially useful job and we find that they suffer when they consider their job useless. We also explore possible causes of socially useless jobs, including bad management, strict job protection legislation, harmful economic activities, labor hoarding, and division of labor." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))

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Léné, Alexandre (2019): Job satisfaction and bad jobs: Why are cleaners so happy at work? In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 33, H. 4, S. 666-681. DOI:10.1177/0950017019828904

Abstract

"Our analysis is based on the French DARES Working Conditions survey which contains a very large sample of individuals representative of the French working population. We demonstrate that employees working in the cleaning sector report significantly higher levels of satisfaction than the other employees. This statistical result is robust; it persists when we introduce a large number of control variables. This result is puzzling insofar as it is generally agreed that these workers hold 'poor quality' jobs: low pay, an abnormal pattern of work, arduous working conditions. We suggest that cleaners' expectations and standards are influenced by an adaptation process. Their job satisfaction needs to be considered in the light of their past experience. Their employment history shapes their wants and needs and thus affects the way they evaluate their work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Weeks, Kelly Pledger & Caitlin Schaffert (2019): Generational Differences in Definitions of Meaningful Work: A Mixed Methods Study. In: Journal of Business Ethics, Jg. 156, H. 4, S. 1045-1061. DOI:10.1007/s10551-017-3621-4

Abstract

"The search for meaningful work has been of interest to researchers from a variety of disciplines for decades and seems to have grown even more recently. Much of the literature assumes that employees share a sense of what is meaningful in work and there isn't much attention given to how and why meanings might differ (Rosso et al. in Res Organ Behav 30:91–127, 2010). Researchers have not only called for more research studying demographic differences in definitions of meaning (e.g., Michaelson et al. in J Bus Ethics 121(1):77–90, 2014), but also moreresearch utilizing mixed methods to study psychological concepts like meaningful work (e.g., Eid and Diener, in Eid, Diener (eds) Handbook of multimethod measurement in psychology, American Psychological Association, Washington, 2006). This study specifically examines differences across generational cohorts on their prioritization of sources of meaningful work through qualitative, in-depth interviews followed by a more generalizable, quantitative survey. Findings from the qualitative study show that generational cohorts define the meaning in their jobs differently, and they hold negative perceptions about the lack of desire for meaning in each of the other cohorts. Study 2 maps generational cohorts on the comprehensive model of meaningful work designed by Lips-Wiersma and Morris (J Bus Ethics 88(3):491–511, 2009) to reveal that although there are some differences in prioritization of sources of meaningful work, all generational cohorts share similar desire to “develop and become themselves” when asked about their definitions of meaningful work. Implications and future research are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Zafari, Setareh, Martina Hartner-Tiefenthaler & Sabine Theresia Koeszegi (2019): Flexible work and work-related outcomes: The role of perceived organizational alignment. In: Management Revue, Jg. 30, H. 1, S. 63-92. DOI:10.5771/0935-9915-2019-1-63

Abstract

"Recent developments in information and communication technology have led to renewed interest in the impact of flexible work on work-related outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational identification and work engagement. Although there is a vast amount of literature indicating the positive association between job autonomy and work-related outcomes, there has been little discussion about the contextual conditions that strengthen this relationship. This paper analyzes the role of perceived organizational alignment as a conditional factor and shows that autonomy alone cannot explain an organization's success in improving work-related outcomes. An analysis of online survey from 481 employees shows that the perceived organizational alignment moderates the positive effect of autonomy on work-related outcomes in the context of flexible work. For employees who perceive organizational alignment to be high, the positive relationships are strengthened for work engagement and organizational identification, but attenuated for job satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bell, David N. F. & David G. Blanchflower (2018): The well-being of the overemployed and the underemployed and the rise in depression in the UK. (NBER working paper 24840), Cambrige, Mass., 36 S. DOI:10.3386/w24840

Abstract

"In this paper we build on our earlier work on underemployment using data from the UK. In particular, we explore their well-being based on hours preferences rather than on involuntary part-time work used in the prior literature. We make use of five main measures of well-being: happiness; life satisfaction; whether life is worthwhile; anxiety and depression. The underemployed have higher levels of well-being than the unemployed and disabled but lower levels than any other group of workers, full or part-time. The more that actual hours differ from preferred hours the lower is a worker's well-being. This is true for those who say they want more hours (the underemployed) and those who say they want less (the over employed). We find strong evidence of a rise in depression and anxiety (negative affect) in the years since the onset of austerity in 2010 that is not matched by declines in happiness measures (positive affect). The fear of unemployment obtained from monthly surveys from the EU has also been on the rise since 2015. We find evidence of an especially large rise in anxiety and depression among workers in general and the underemployed in particular. The underemployed don't want to be underemployed." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Cassar, Lea & Stephan Meier (2018): Nonmonetary incentives and the implications of work as a source of meaning. In: The Journal of Economic Perspectives, Jg. 32, H. 3, S. 215-238. DOI:10.1257/jep.32.3.215

Abstract

"Empirical research in economics has begun to explore the idea that workers care about nonmonetary aspects of work. An increasing number of economic studies using survey and experimental methods have shown that nonmonetary incentives and nonpecuniary aspects of one's job have substantial impacts on job satisfaction, productivity, and labor supply. By drawing on this evidence and relating it to the literature in psychology, this paper argues that work represents much more than simply earning an income: for many people, work is a source of meaning. In the next section, we give an economic interpretation of meaningful work and emphasize how it is affected by the mission of the organization and the extent to which job design fulfills the three psychological needs at the basis of self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We point to the evidence that not everyone cares about having a meaningful job and discuss potential sources of this heterogeneity. We sketch a theoretical framework to start to formalize work as a source of meaning and think about how to incorporate this idea into agency theory and labor supply models. We discuss how workers' search for meaning may affect the design of monetary and nonmonetary incentives. We conclude by suggesting some insights and open questions for future research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Chadi, Adrian & Clemens Hetschko (2018): The magic of the new. How job changes affect job satisfaction. In: Journal of economics & management strategy, Jg. 27, H. 1, S. 23-39., 2017-07-02. DOI:10.1111/jems.12217

Abstract

"We investigate a crucial event for job satisfaction: changing one's workplace. For representative German panel data, we show that the reason why the previous employment ended is strongly linked to satisfaction with the new job. Workers initiating a change of employer experience extraordinarily high job satisfaction, though in the short term only. To investigate causality, we exploit the event of plant closure as an exogenous trigger of job switching. In this case, we find no significantly positive effect of job changes on job satisfaction. Our findings complement research on workers’ well-being and concern labor market policies and human resource management." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))