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Quality of employment: conceptual framework and indicators intrinsic nature of work. Greet Vermeylen, Maija Lyly-Yrjanainen and Margarida Barroso European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Geneva, 14/16 October 2009. Intrinsic nature of work?.
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Quality of employment: conceptual framework and indicatorsintrinsic nature of work Greet Vermeylen, Maija Lyly-Yrjanainen and Margarida Barroso European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Geneva, 14/16 October 2009
Intrinsic nature of work? • Still a lesser clear dimension … • Discussion still needed… • But idea is there that there is something ‘more in work’: information on characteristics of employment that are inherently satisfying to the employed person • which make people accept some more difficult/challenging elements related to job/working conditions/employment conditions • Useful/meaningful work? Motivation? Satisfaction (not with working conditions but with the work…) • Included in EU quality of work framework
Starting point: some theoretical frameworks: job characteristics model of work Hackman and Oldman, 2005
Expanded to include social environment and work context Humphrey et all, 2007 H
To intrinsic job motivation • Experienced meaningfulness : best mediator between motivational characteristics and work outcomes • Skill variety, task identity and task significance (Hackman and Oldman) • Also add autonomy and feedback (Humphrey) -> ‘the development of meaning may be viewed as a process of setting and important goals, autonomy + feedback important in this’ • Job satisfaction • Work engagement ?
Intrinsic work motivation • Houkes: determinants of intrinsic motivation, emotional exhaustion and turnover intension: • Work content variables are most important predictors • Task characteristics • autonomy, task variety, job feedback, task identity, task significance • might lead to higher intrinsic work motivation • Other work characteristics • work load, social support, unmet career expectations were more related to outcomes such as emotional exhaustion and turnover intension • cfr Herzberg (Hanna’s paper)
Re-evaluation • Concept ‘intrinsic nature of work’ : rename, refocus? • Intrinsic work motivation = having a meaningful work • an idea? • Meaningful work= have valuable goals + have the means to do it (competence, autonomy, sufficient feedback) • But also: material working conditions matter for the work to be intrinsically motivating • Might be the outcome of all the other indicators
Indicators in the current framework • 7 b) Intrinsic nature of work • Share of employees who feel they do "useful" work • Share of employees who receive regular feedback from their supervisor • Share of employees who feel they are able to apply their own ideas in work • Share of employees who feel satisfied with their work • -> will be discussed in Federica’s presentation
A quick round of the indicators • Share of employees who feel they do useful work • Aimed at capturing the meaningfulness of the job to the individual • Might be culturally biased ? • You know what is expected of you at work (new) • In new EWCS (but more to measure role clarity) • Share of employees who receive regular feedback • Fits very well with proposed approach • Quality of feedback?
A quick round of the indicators ctd • Share of employees who feel that they are able to apply their own ideas at work • Ok, might also be linked to dimension on skills dev and learning but very useful indicator • Autonomy (new) • composite indicator: tasks, methods of work etc • We feel that this could be a useful addendum, present in numerous working conditions surveys
A quick round of the indicators ctd • Job satisfaction • Indicator quite often debated • Does it measure satisfaction with job or more general • effects of welfare regimes & national institutions (Gallie, Russell, ) • cultural differences (some countries more positive than others, eg Huang et al) • Linked also with quality of work (diverging opinions in literature) • Still useful indicator in this framework: • job satisfaction is outcome variable, • framework includes obj and subj dimensions of work in a broader perspective • There is a link to ‘characteristics of empl which are inherently satisfying to the employed person’
No conclusions but start of a common reflection • What exactly do we want to cover? • Agree on new name (suggestions still welcome) or slight refocus • Indicators which might be useful • see also Federica’s validation study + test results from the different country reports • Sources for these indicators: • EWCS – or other national/global working conditions surveys • ISSP (work orientation modules, also several waves, maybe also other modules) • …
Thank you gve@eurofound.europa.eu