Pasi Pyöriä

The concept of knowledge work revisited

Purpose – To identify and critically assess the most recurrent themes in the ongoing debate on knowledge work.Design/methodology/approach – A representative selection of studies published since 1962 is reviewed. The review focuses on the theoretical strengths and limitations of the concept of knowledge work.Findings – The review indicates that definitions of knowledge work abound. Although knowledge work has attracted scholarly minds for several decades and the number of publications in this area has rapidly increased in recent years, it has proved hard to come by a clear and concise definition of this term. However, certain themes, such as a high level of education and skills and the use of information technology as an integral part of the informational labour process, have become increasingly common to both the empirical and the theoretical literature.Originality/value – The paper helps pave the way for more detailed research by providing an ideal‐typical profile of informational labour.

Managing telework: risks, fears and rules

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to serve as a reminder that all work arrangements, including the present case of distributed work, have their costs and benefits.Design/methodology/approach – In addition to a literature review, the paper presents concrete recommendations and guidelines for practicing managers about how to avoid pitfalls in distributed work arrangements and how to manage teleworkers.Findings – The diffusion of telework has been a slower process than anticipated, among other reasons because the most vital businesses are largely concentrated in the biggest growth centres. Growth centres can offer a diverse range of both jobs and amenities that outweigh the quiet and safety of rural areas. Apart from geographical realities and regional policy issues, another factor that has decisively contributed to the slow diffusion of telework is the absence of an established contractual framework and “culture” of teleworking.Originality/value – Telework has the best prospects of success if from the ...

Knowledge work in distributed environments: issues and illusions

Although Finland is one of the most advanced and competitive economies in the world, with a sophisticated technological infrastructure, only four per cent of Finnish wage earners regard themselves as doing telework, and a further four per cent had tried telework. Empirical evidence of telework is presented in this paper.

Informal organizational culture: the foundation of knowledge workers' performance

Purpose – The paper aims to serve as a reminder of the fact that creating a strong atmosphere of trust and longevity in employee relations is ultimately the most robust route to maintaining a sustainable competitive edge.Design/methodology/approach – In addition to a literature review, empirical evidence is drawn from qualitative interview data. The research setting covers five distinct business organizations representing technology industries and knowledge‐intensive business services.Findings – The paper indicates that even in knowledge‐intensive firms a good team spirit and skilful management remain more important than the use of the latest technology. Furthermore, it is maintained that the role of information technology in supporting the decision‐making process in knowledge work is often very much overemphasized. However, modern information technology continues the long trend of the automation and mechanization of work and, if used properly, it can indirectly contribute to creating more space for inter...

Social contradictions in informational capitalism: The case of Finnish wage earners and their labor market situation

Along with the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs), work processes are becoming ever more knowledge intensive. In keeping with this trend, the number of informational (or knowledge) workers in Finland has more than tripled from 12% in 1988 to 39% in 2000. What makes the Finnish case unique and interesting is the exceptional speed with which the information sector of the economy has grown. A few years after facing the most severe economic recession in its history in the early 1990s, Finland is now considered to have an advanced information economy. However, our empirical analysis--based on survey data from 1988, 1994, and 2000--yields a somewhat more critical picture of the Finnish information society than what usually comes across in the mainstream media. The opportunities for social equality offered by the growth of informational work are far more limited than was the case with the transition from agricultural to industrial production.

Virtual collaboration in knowledge work: from vision to reality

Purpose – This paper aims to serve as a reminder that all work arrangements, including the present case of distributed work, have their costs and benefits.Design/methodology/approach – In addition to a literature review, the paper presents empirical evidence from two case organizations in the field of technology industries and knowledge‐intensive business services.Findings – In contrast to common assertions in the theoretical literature, distributed work is not always an outcome of technological advancement or a proactive choice blessed by management, but often a necessity dictated by the competition or customers. In the case companies here, a distributed organizational structure was recognized as a necessary compromise, although the associated costs gave cause for some concern. Rather than virtual cooperation, the knowledge workers interviewed valued opportunities for face‐to‐face interaction and informal contact and networking. Nonetheless the benefits of distributed work were thought to outweigh its po...

The Millennial Generation: A New Breed of Labour?

This article puts to the test the notion that younger generations, most notably the Millennials, value work less than older generations do. The analysis, deploying a linear probability model, is based on Statistics Finland’s Quality of Work Life Surveys, 1984 to 2013. Focusing on labour market entrants aged 15 to 29, we address two main themes: the value given to work, leisure and family life, and work commitment. Regardless of age, the value given to work has remained consistently high for the past three decades. At the same time, leisure and family life have gained increasing importance, not only among the Millennials but also among older generations. The Millennials are more prepared to change to a different occupational field than older employees, but this is not a new tendency, and therefore the generational gap remains unaffected. The evidence does not support the argument that the Millennials are less work-oriented than older generations.

Precarious work and intrinsic job quality: Evidence from Finland, 1984–2013:

It is often argued that job insecurity and precarious work are on the rise. However, the evidence to back these arguments remains mixed and inconclusive. In this study, we define and measure precarious work in Finland using five variables that reflect both objective and subjective insecurity: atypical employment, actually experienced unemployment, the threat of dismissal or unemployment, poor chances of finding a new job, and low earnings. Results based on Statistics Finland’s Quality of Work Life Surveys from 1984 to 2013 indicate that, from a labour market or forms of employment perspective, the proportion of precarious wage earners has increased from 11% in 1984 to 13% in 2013. From a second perspective, however, focusing on changing working conditions, growing inequality and eroding social security mechanisms, we also analyse how a precarious labour market position is related to intrinsic job quality. Precarious workers experience decreased levels of skill and discretion, and they work in a less supportive environment than other employees.

Precarious work and the risk of receiving a disability pension

Aims: Precarious employment is an emerging determinant of occupational health, but its association with work-related disability remains little understood. We operationalised precarious work as a multidimensional construct and examined how the accumulation of precarious job features predicts the incidence of receiving a disability pension (DP). Methods: The study comprised 13,228 employees aged 20–54 who had been interviewed for the Finnish Quality of Work Life Surveys in 1984, 1990, 1997, or 2003. We measured precarious work with five variables that reflect both subjective and objective job insecurity: the threat of dismissal/unemployment; poor employability; low earnings; previous unemployment; and temporary contract. An eight-year follow-up was merged with the pooled cross-sectional data, and Cox proportional hazard ratios (HR) for receiving a DP were compared between the insecurity measures, controlling for sociodemographic covariates, job characteristics and health at the baseline with a step-wise procedure. Results: Precarious employees had an elevated risk of receiving a DP (all covariates adjusted for). The risk of receiving a DP was associated with subjective job insecurity, with the strongest indicator being poor employability. The association between the threat of unemployment and receiving a DP was weak before controlling for health. Among objective insecurity measures, low earnings and earlier unemployment were weakly connected to receiving a DP before controlling for sociodemographic covariates, job characteristics and health. Conclusions: We recommend the evaluation of several precarious job features in future studies. The risk of receiving a DP could potentially be offset by improving individuals’ employability.

Mobile knowledge workers and traditional mobile workers: Assessing the prevalence of multi-locational work in Europe

This article contributes to the discussion on flexible working by assessing empirically the prevalence of mobile, multi-locational work in Europe (EU-28, Norway and Switzerland). Drawing on data from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey, the prevalence of multi-locational work across Europe is examined in terms of the knowledge intensity of the work. Knowledge-intensive occupations are characterised by a high level of individual skills, typically acquired through tertiary-level education, and a high degree of autonomy combined with frequent use of ICT. According to the results, working on mobile sites – a practice that augments working in the primary workplace – is most common in northern European countries, where the proportion of knowledge-intensive occupations is high. However, even in the Nordic region, knowledge workers predominantly work at their employers’ premises. This finding is in marked contrast with the hyperbole and expectations which assume that ICT allows knowledge workers to work free from the constraints of time and space. Agriculture, construction and transport workers still represent the largest proportion of the mobile workforce. Knowledge-intensive job features, however, predict the adoption of working at home. The analysis adds to the literature on flexible working by taking into account both traditional and knowledge-intensive forms of multi-locational work as well as providing a cross-national comparison.