Alexander Salvisberg

Long-Term Dynamics of Skill Demand in Switzerland, 1950–2000

Our contribution investigates long-term shifts in skill demand in Switzerland with respect to both the level of formal skills and the type of occupational certificate. The former represents the most obvious ‘vertical’ dimension of changing job requirements, whereas the latter, no less important in a highly segmented labour market, reflects the ‘horizontal’ differentiation along occu- pational lines. We argue that two sources are responsible for any change in the aggregate composition of skill demand: The shifting sectoral composition of the economy and the intra-sectoral adaptations related to new technologies and the changing work organization. Against this background, we assess the relative impact of inter- and intra-sectoral change on the long-term trends in skill demand. We apply novel indicators of technological change within sectors to account for the latter. The empirical analyses are based on a representative random sample of job advertisements published between 1950 and the year 2000 in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

How Widespread is Graphology in Personnel Selection Practice? A Case Study of a Job Market Myth

Graphology is allegedly widely used in personnel selection in Europe. This is a myth: a widespread but false belief. We explored this myth in five studies. Study 1 established that job ads rarely require handwritten letters. Study 2 showed that handwritten letters serve multiple purposes but are seldom used for handwriting analysis. In Study 3, job market actors overestimated the frequency with which handwritten letters are subjected to graphological analysis. In Study 4, we showed experimentally that people expect graphology to be used when job ads require submission of a handwritten letter. Study 5 showed that advice books may transmit the myth. The myth may foster tolerant attitudes toward graphology, thereby facilitating its persistence in selection practice.

Mechanismen des Arbeitsmarktgeschehens aus soziologischer Perspektive: theoretische Überlegungen und empirische Beispiele aus der Berufseinstiegsphase

Die Charakterisierung der modernen Gesellschaft als Arbeitsgesellschaft verweist darauf, dass die Identitat der Menschen, deren Sozialprestige und materiellen Lebenschancen zu grosen Teilen uber die Erwerbsarbeit und die berufliche Stellung vermittelt werden und die Arbeitswelt damit die Sozialstruktur pragt. Parallel dazu definiert das kulturelle Sinnsystem den Menschen als „Animal laborans“ (Arendt 1981). Zentraler „Ort“ der Zuordnung sozialer Positionen in der Arbeitsgesellschaft ist der Arbeitsmarkt. Der Erfolg auf dem Arbeitsmarkt entscheidet fur die grose Mehrheit der Individuen direkt oder indirekt (etwa uber das Haushaltseinkommen oder die Rentenanspruche) uber deren soziale Verortung und Lebensbedingungen (Kurtz 2009; Offe 2010; zu Ungleichheitsstrukturen in der Schweiz: Stamm et al. 2000).