Fred Henneberger

Analyzing Job Mobility with Job Turnover Intentions: An International Comparative Study

This study analyzed job-turnover intentions in twenty-five countries with data from the 1997 International Social Survey Program. Results show that high turnover intentions, measured as the proportion of employed individuals that report a very likely change of job in the next 12 months, can be observed in Canada, 17.0 percent, the U.S., 14.3 percent, and Great Britain, 14.3 percent. Low turnover intentions are encountered in Japan, 1.8 percent, Spain, 3.0 percent, and several Eastern European countries. The determinants of turnover intentions are, in a number of cases, the same as those observed in many studies on actual turnovers. Determinants of turnover intentions do vary substantially among countries. However, union membership, public-sector employment, job satisfaction, job security, and firm pride are significant in most countries. The high turnover intentions observed in Great Britain, France, and, to a lesser extent, Canada can be explained by the subjective measures considered in this study. Especially Great Britain and France have very low rankings of job satisfaction, job security, advancement opportunities, and firm pride. Despite having the same turnover intentions, Great Britain and the United States differ substantially with regard to the subjective determinants. Whereas the high turnover intentions in Great Britain can be explained by the relatively poor perceived job satisfaction, job security, and firm pride, high turnover intentions in the United States coexist with relatively high levels of job satisfaction, job security, advancement opportunities, firm pride, and, most notably, good perceived labor market opportunities.

An Empirical Analysis of Working-Hours Constraints in Twenty-one Countries

The aim of this paper is to analyze working-hour constraints in an international setting. We use data from the latest Work Orientations data set of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). The survey was conducted in 1997 and, in this paper, data for twenty-one countries are used. Our main results are: (1) In most countries the majority of workers do not face hours constraints; (2) Of the workers that are constrained, the largest portion is underemployed. Only in Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland is this not the case; (3) Workers in the five Eastern European countries considered here are among the most constrained; (4) A comparison with the 1989 ISSP data set reveals that hours constraints have increased in Israel, the United States, and West Germany and decreased in Great Britain and Norway in the 1990s; (5) GDP per capita and unemployment levels are correlated with hours constraints; (6) A multivariate analysis shows that certain socio-demographic characteristics and work conditions influence hours constraints and that these factors differ across countries.

Zentrale Theorien und etwas Empirie zur Analyse des kollektiven Handelns von Unternehmern

Unser theoretisches wie empirisches Wissen uber verschiedene korporative Akteure (Staat, Gewerkschaften, Unternehmerverbande etc.) ist sehr unterschiedlich: Wahrend wir im Kontext der „industrial and labour relations“-Forschung relativ umfassend uber Arbeitnehmer und deren Organisationen (Gewerkschaften und Betriebs- bzw. Personalrate) informiert sind, blieben Unternehmer und ihre Verbande lange Zeit bemerkenswert unerforscht (vgl. ahnlich z. B. Keller 1999: 9; Traxler 1999: 57). So ist es auch kein Zufall, dass zuerst das Handbuch uber „Die Gewerkschaften in Politik und Gesellschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland“ erschienen ist (Schroeder/Wesels 2003).

Digitalisierung der Arbeitswelt – Auswirkungen auf die Beschäftigung und arbeitsrechtliche Herausforderungen

Der digitale Wandel ist ein derzeit viel beachtetes Phanomen. Die Bundesregierung hat ihm ihre Digitale Agenda gewidmet, um in verschiedenen Handlungsfeldern – darunter digitale Wirtschaft und digitales Arbeiten – mitgestaltend zu wirken. Spezifisch zum Thema Arbeiten 4.0 sind ein Grun- und ein Weisbuch entstanden (BMAS 2015b, 2017), um den mit der Digitalisierung verbundenen Veranderungen der Arbeitswelt (digitale Transformation) gerecht zu werden. Auch weitere Akteure, wie beispielsweise der Deutsche Juristentag (2016: 12-16), der Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (2016) oder die Bundesvereinigung der Deutschen Arbeitgeberverbande (2017), haben sich mit den Neuerungen durch die Digitalisierung im Arbeitsleben auseinandergesetzt und Position bezogen.

Streikrecht im öffentlichen Dienst : Rechtsentwicklungen und Rechtswirklichkeit in der Schweiz und in Deutschland

Switzerland has abolished its former general prohibition of strike for civil servants due to its commitments under international treaties. Thereby, strike has been declared to be admissible in general – with a caveat allowing restrictions for essential services. Since then, strikes and similar measures in the public service have been observed repeatedly. In spite of the fact that Germany is subject to comparable international commitments with respect to the right to strike, it holds on to its general prohibition of strike for civil servants up to now. Recently, several decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and their handling in cases regarding the strike of German teachers employed as established civil servants have heightened the discussion (already intense since the 1970s) whether the prohibition of strike derived from the status of civil servant can and will be upheld in the future. In our view, it seems appropriate to decide on the admissibility of a prohibition of strike based on the extent to which the sovereign function concretely performed is indispensable for the community, within the limits defined by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.