Karen M. Olsen

Non-Standard Work in Two Different Employment Regimes Norway and the United States

This article examines organizations’ use of non-standard work arrangements - fixed-term employees hired directly by the organization, workers from temporary help agencies (THA), and contractors - in the United States and Norway. Our analysis is based on information obtained from surveys of 802 establishments in the US and 2130 in Norway. We find that Norwegian establishments make greater use of non-standard arrangements than the US establishments; we argue that this is due in part to the greater overall restrictive labour market regulations on hiring and firing regular workers, and greater demand for temporary labour resulting from generous access to leaves of absence, in Norway. We also find that certain institutional factors have a similar impact in both countries. First, establishments in the public sector are more likely to use direct-hired temporary workers and less apt to use contractors and THAs; this pattern is particularly striking in Norway, but is also evident in the United States. Second, highly unionized establishments tend to have the lowest use of non-standard arrangements in both countries.

Perceived job quality in the United States, Great Britain, Norway and West Germany, 1989-2005:

This article examines cross-national differences and trends in perceived job quality, defined in terms of five dimensions — extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards, work intensity, working conditions and interpersonal relationships — as well as overall job satisfaction. We analyse country differences in 1989, 1997 and 2005, using data for four countries from the International Social Survey Programme. Job security, the ability to work independently and the quality of working conditions and interpersonal relationships tend to be greater in Norway and West Germany than in the USA and Great Britain; American workers tend to be most satisfied with advancement opportunities, intrinsic rewards and overall job quality. We find convergence in job in security and work intensity over time, which may reflect increased market pressures that encourage a ‘lean and mean’ management strategy.

Quality of Work: Concept and Measurement

In this paper we review some of the most essential literature on the concept and measurement of quality of work. We show that different academic fields have conceptualized quality of work in distinct ways however there has been a convergence in the positions. Although there is a lack of coherent measures or indicators, the utility a multi-dimensional approach, including both monetary and non-monetary indicators is often recommended. We propose six dimensions to be included in the measurement of quality of work: job security, pay and fringe benefits, intrinsic job rewards, work intensity, skills, and autonomy and control. The majority of the literature relies on subjective indicators of job quality. One way to improve data quality is to merge administrative data and survey data, combining both objective and subjective measures.

Sickness Absence among Immigrants in Norway, 1992—2003

Utilizing register panel data (1992—2003), in this article we study long-term sickness absence among immigrants and ethnic Norwegians (n = 200,022). The data contain detailed information on socio-economic background, labour market participation and social insurance benefits for all individuals aged between 16 and 67 years residing in Norway. We present four main findings: (1) There is no difference in sickness absence between ethnic Norwegians and immigrants from the other Nordic countries, Western and Eastern Europe after controlling for demographic, socio-economic and labour market factors; (2) the sickness absence rates are higher among individuals from Asia (men and women) and Africa (men), and lower among men from North America and Oceania compared with ethnic Norwegians; (3) second-generation immigrants share the same level of sickness absence as ethnic Norwegians; (4) residence time has a curve-linear effect (reversed U-shape) on sickness absence for most immigrant groups. We discuss the findings in relation to the reason for emigrating, health risks related to immigration, social exclusion and norms towards sickness absence.

Multiple foci of commitment in a professional service firm: balancing complex employment relations

Employees of professional service firms (PSFs) have attachments to multiple groups, which may be either compatible or conflicting: their employer, their clients and their profession. We analyse the antecedents of commitment to these three foci based on a survey of 510 employees in a large PSF in Norway. The main findings are as follows: (1) low quality of internal work relations is negatively associated with employer commitment and draws employees towards external foci of commitment – the clients and the profession; (2) role conflict is associated with stronger commitment to the client organisation and the profession; and (3) autonomy and transferability of skills are associated with stronger commitment to the profession, but does not undermine commitment to the employer. The article contributes to our understanding of the conditions under which employees identify with external groups and when commitment to the employer may be compromised. The findings have implications for how managers can help to increase the commitment of employees involved in complex employment relations.

The power of workers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how occupations and the institutional setting shape the power balance (individual bargaining power) between employees and employers. It builds on theoretical approaches on knowledge work and institutional theory. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the European Social Survey data in 2010/2011 to compare the power balance between employees and employers in three countries: Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Multinomial logit regression was employed. Findings – The results show that occupation and the institutional setting shape the power balance between employees and employers. Employees in highly skilled occupations perceive greater power vis-a-vis their employer, and employees in Denmark, characterized by greater flexibility for employers, perceive less power than in Sweden and Norway. In addition, age and gender are important demographic factors determining employees’ perceived power towards their employers. Originality/value – The literature makes a ...

The labor market regimes of Denmark and Norway - One Nordic model?

The literature on the Danish and Norwegian labor market systems emphasizes the commonalities of the two systems. We challenge this perception by investigating how employers in multinational companies in Denmark and Norway communicate with employees on staffing changes. We argue that the development of ‘flexicurity’ in Denmark grants Danish employers considerably greater latitude in engaging in staffing changes than its Nordic counterpart, Norway. Institutional theory leads us to suppose that large firms located in the Danish setting will be less likely to engage in employer–employee communication on staffing plans than their Norwegian counterparts. In addition, we argue that in the Danish context indigenous firms will have a better insight into the normative and cognitive aspects to flexicurity than foreign-owned firms, meaning that they are more likely to engage in institutional entrepreneurialism than their foreign-owned counterparts. We supplement institutional theory with an actor perspective in order to take into account the role of labor unions. Our analysis is based on a survey of 203 firms in Norway and Denmark which are either indigenous multinational companies or the subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies. The differences we observe cause us to conclude that the notion of a common Nordic model is problematic.

Advancing understanding on industrial relations in multinational companies: Key research challenges and the INTREPID contribution

This paper has three principal aims. It firstly provides some theoretical background on the key current research issues and challenges in regard to industrial relations in multinational companies. It then presents a concise review of scholarship to date on industrial relations in multinational companies using INTREPID (Investigation of Transnationals’ Employment Practices: an International Database) data. Finally, the paper identifies some of the main industrial relations issues that remain to be addressed, in effect charting a form of research agenda for future work using the INTREPID data, with particular focus on the potential contribution from ‘late joiners’ to the INTREPID project.

Never walk alone: achieving work performance through networking ability and autonomy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between networking ability, autonomy and work performance. Design/methodology/approach The data, collected from a sample of 510 employees in a professional service firm, were analysed using regression analysis. Findings First, networking ability and autonomy are positively associated with in-role and extra-role performance. Second, the greater the job autonomy, the stronger the effect of networking ability on in-role performance. Originality/value This paper adds to the growing body of literature on demand for social and interpersonal skills in organisations. The authors combine the literature on work design with the literature on networking ability and complexity in employment relations. The authors’ findings show the importance of networking ability and autonomy for work performance, as well as pointing to factors such as age and work experience.