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1st IndustriAll European Trade Union Collective Bargaining Summer College

Dr. Alexandra Wagner. Innovative working time arrangements and the promotion of employment through internal flexibility. 1st IndustriAll European Trade Union Collective Bargaining Summer College Terrasini-Cinasi Mare, 3rd September 2012. Working Time Developments.

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1st IndustriAll European Trade Union Collective Bargaining Summer College

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  1. Dr. Alexandra Wagner Innovative working time arrangementsandthepromotionofemploymentthroughinternalflexibility 1st IndustriAll European Trade Union Collective Bargaining Summer College Terrasini-Cinasi Mare, 3rd September 2012

  2. Working Time Developments

  3. Evolution of WT 1991-2010 (EWCS)

  4. Working time offull-time employees 2011 (LFS) • Average number of actual weekly hours of work in main job, full-time • employees, 2011 • Short Hours (mainly EU15) • 37,8 Finnland • 38,1 France • 38,2 Irland • 38,3 NorwayandItaly • Long Hours (mainly NMS, but….) • 41,3 Hours in Romania • 40,7 Luxembourg • 40,6 Germany • 40,5 UK and Estonia

  5. Average usual working hours per week of full-time employees, 1995/2008, EU15

  6. Average usual working hours per week of full-time employees 2006-2011, EU15, EU27 and NMS (LFS)

  7. Short-time workingschemes – succesfulinstrument in theeconomiccrisis (?)

  8. Short-time workingschemes • According to the ELFS, in 2009 almost two million European employees stated that they worked less due to lack of work for technical or economical reasons. • 55% of these employees were in Germany and Italy • Many countries expanded their existing short-time working schemes, others introduced them for the first time. • Big variety of forms of short-time working schemes: • Cut of working time by between 10% and 100% • Compensation for between 55% and 80% of the foregone pay • Training during short-time working (in some schemes mandatory)

  9. List of selected schemes in 10 Member States

  10. Distribution of economic short time workers (ESTW) and total employment by sector, EU27 (%)

  11. Factors increasing the probability of being a ESTW across Europe

  12. Characteristicsofeconomicshort-time workers • male prevalence • 1.5% of all male employees are ESTW, • as against only 0.6% of all female employees • Workers • in manufacturing and • with relatively low levels of education, • in blue-collar occupations, are more likely to be ESTW.

  13. ESTW in Germany andItaly • Development of GDP Germany Italy 2009 -5,1 % - 5,5 % 2010 + 3,7 % +1,8 % 2011 + 3,0 % + 0,4 % • Unemployment rate Germany Italy 2009 7,8 % 7,8 % 2010 7,1 % 8,4 % 2011 5,9 % 8,4 %

  14. Is ESTW… • …an innovative working time arrangement? • …an instrumentforpromotionofemploymentthroughinternalflexibility? • In many countries: ESTW = a traditional instrumentofactive Labour Market Policy • Succesfulinstrumentforsafeguardingjobsin a limited time (crisis)

  15. The German „success“ ofinternalflexibility • High amountofworkinghours on Working Time Accounts • …becauseoflong(er) Working Time beforethecrisis • …becauseofsavingworkinghoursfor a specialaim • earlyretirement, Sabbatical, longer parental leave etc. • Problems: • Working longer – a preconditionforinternalflexibility in thecrisis? • „Expropriation“ of saved WT in the crisis?

  16. Innovative Flexibility?

  17. Labour Market Flexibility • External numerical flexibility which refers to flexibility in adjusting the labour intake (for example, flexibility of hiring and firing); • Internal numerical flexibility which refers to flexibility in adjusting the working time of employees already employed (for example, flexibility of working hours, overtime and part-time work); • Functional flexibility which refers to the extent to which the organisation is flexible (for example, the possibility of an employee holding more than one job (multi-employability) and the flexible organisationofwork); • Labour cost/wage flexibility which refers to flexible arrangements concerning the cost of employment (for example, the absence of binding minimum wages/wage indexation, or variable pay).

  18. Working-Time Accounts Source: Wotschak/Hildebrandt 2007

  19. Innovative Work Organisation?Workers‘ Involvementand WT-Autonomy

  20. Win-Win-Situation – a possiblesolution? • Employerandemployeeshave different time preferences: • The employer want to adapt working time to workload (high productivity!) • The working time preferences of employees depend on other time requirements (education, training, opening hours of school/kindergarden, workingtime of the partner, schedule of public transportation) • May be there arise conflicts about working time between employer and employees. This will (eventually) affect the motivation of employees. • Or in other words: a participative working time organisation can be part of the personnel strategy of firms.

  21. Characteristicsofhighperformingfirms • Despite the different definitions used research shows: High performance organisations generally havethefollowingelements: • decentralisationofhierarchies; • delegation of responsibilities to employees; • presence of (autonomous) teamwork/group work practices; • jobenrichmentandtraining; • performancemanagementandremuneration; • employeecommunicationandparticipation/consultationpractices; • employer–employeepartnerships; • workforce diversity and equality strategies • flexible working arrangements.

  22. Teamwork and workers’ involvement in Europe 2010 (EWCS)

  23. The organisation of working time correlated with elements of new production systems

  24. Management byObjectivesandlongworkinghours

  25. Contractof Labour vs. Contractof Work and Labour Payment Contractof Work and Labour (Working time is flexible) Contractof Labour (Performance is flexible) Performance/Result Working Time

  26. Labour Contract: Performance/Resultis Flexible Payment WT = isfixed (contractuallyby Labour Contract) Performance = dependent variable Decreasedoutput Normal Performance increasedefficiency Performance/Result Working Time

  27. FordisticCompromise: WT correspondsto a (sciencebased) „normal“ performance Payment = „Normal“ Performance Contractual Working Time BALANCE Performance/Result Working Time

  28. Contractfor Work and Labour: Working Time is Flexible Payment Working Time isdependent variable (flexible) Performance / Resultisfixed „Reduced“ Working Time Normal WT Overtime Longer WT asreliefunderconditionsofhighintensification? Performance/Result Working Time

  29. Limitation of WT underConditionsoffixedResults – Quadratureofthe Circle Payment Resultsarefixedandambitious (Management byobjectives) WT isfixedbycontract Additional Stress by Creating Another Shortageof Resources - Intensification - Stress - lessscopeofaction Performance/Result Working Time

  30. WT-Regulation for professional andmanagerialstaff (PMS) • WT-reductionis not a real importantaim! • isinterpretedaslimitationoftheirautonomy • highidentificationwiththeirwork • WT topicsfor PMS are different fromotheremployees • individual influenceon organisationanddistributionofown WT • Individual Work-Life-Balance • Limitation ofavailability • Latest „innovations“ in WT-Regulation • shut down connectiontothe firm server on Saturday/Sundayandatnight • noobligationtoansweremails/mobile calls out ofregular WT

  31. Conclusions

  32. WT andpromotionofemployment • Traditional instrumentsremainimportant:reductionof WT andredestributionofvolumeofwork • Shorter WT forfull-time employees (new WT-Standard) • Importantroleofcollectivebargaining • Internal Flexibilityas an innovative Way of WT-reduction • Internal flexibility in itselfcan‘t promote employment - only in connectionwith WT-reduction!! • Collectivelyagreedtemporary WT-reduction • Scopefor individual reductionof WT: Part-time, Sabbaticals etc. • Internal flexibilitymight promote jobsecurity

  33. Problems (greyzones) ofworking-Time Regulation • invisible extensionofworkinghoursbyflexibilisation • Accumulationofhours on working time accounts(invisible overtime) • Transfer ofhoursfromshort-termtolong-term WT-account • compensationofovertime in moneyinsteadofcompensation in time • Unpaidovertime(hoursbeyondthemaximum score on WT-accounts) • Trust basedworking time • Change of Labour contract 33

  34. Preconditionsforsuccesfulworking-time reduction • Reductionofunpaidovertime • registrationof all workinghours(transparancy) • Clear definitionofworking time limits(andcleardefinitionofworking time: training? travelling? Conferences? Business dinner? etc.) • Interest oftheemployees in WT-reduction • Qualificationandtraining (ability of group members to cover for each other) • Flexible working-time organisation • New formsofparticpation

  35. Thankyouforyourattention!

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