Regulating Uncertainty: Variable Work Schedules and Zero-Hour Work in EU Employment Policy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Piasna
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-729
Author(s):  
T.N. Savina

Subject. To achieve a high level of economic security is a key priority of national development. Employment reveals one of the most important aspects of social development of the individual that is associated with his or her needs satisfaction in the sphere of employment and is boon to economic security. Objectives. The purpose of the study is to show the impact of unemployment on economic security in employment. Methods. I apply such scientific methods as dialectical, historical and logical unity, structural and functional analysis, traditional techniques of economic analysis and synthesis. The methods of multivariate statistical and comparative analysis serve as a methodological basis of the study. To determine the indicator of unemployment, I use the band theory. Results. I underpin the growing role of employment in ensuring economic security. The paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the unemployment status and a comparative analysis of the indicator in the Republic of Mordovia, the Volga Federal District, and the Russian Federation as a whole. I identify trends in the average duration of unemployment, show the distribution of unemployed by level of education and age groups. Conclusions. The average annual unemployment rate in the Republic of Mordovia is lower than in Russia and the Volga Federal District. The findings may be useful for public authorities to substantiate their employment policy at both macro- and meso-levels, for designing programs and strategies for socio-economic development of regions and the social security doctrine, as well as in practical activities of employment services.


2020 ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Olha Mulska ◽  
Olha Levytska ◽  
Valentyna Kutsyk

The purpose of the study is to analyze current trends in the evolution of forms of employment under the influence of the economy digitalization, as well as to substantiate the directions and means of public policy to regulate the conditions of effective employment in the new realities. Methods of synthesis and system analysis, groupings, logical analysis, strategic management, and system analysis were used in the research. The most significant characteristics of the sphere of employment in the conditions of the economy digitalization, in particular quantitative flexibility, functional flexibility, and space-time flexibility, are defined. The spheres of economy in which new professions are most in demand in Ukraine in the conditions of development of digitalization processes of the national economy are identified, in particular information and communication technologies, biotechnologies, medicine, energy, and its accumulation, power networks and energy consumption management, transport, especially water and air transport, education, and ecology. The directions, spheres, branches, and concrete sub-branches where new professions are in demand in the conditions of the economy digitalization are defined. The paper emphasizes the leading role of the information and communication technology sector, the development of which largely determines the emergence of new professions. The paper provides the conclusion that in this situation the new forms of employment cover great innovative potential, as well as shadow aspects (informal agreements), which exacerbate the problem of insufficient filling of social funds and reduction of tax revenues to the state budget. The priorities of effective employment policy in Ukraine in the global digitalization of economic relations are outlined based on the principles of flexicurity, best practices, and implementation of innovative solutions in building mutually beneficial and socially responsible relations between employer and employee.


Author(s):  
Jim Tomlinson

This chapter examines the underpinnings of full employment policy, and the popular understandings of economic life that went along with it. It examines how and why the defeat of unemployment achieved such importance, and how the policy was understood and represented from the 1940s onwards. Next it looks at the tensions surrounding this policy aim from the 1970s, and how it unravelled in the 1980s. The downgrading of the significance given to full employment was accomplished by a variety of strategies to reshape understanding, from the questioning of the ‘reality’ behind official enumeration of unemployment in the early 1970s through to the revival of ‘scrounger’ narratives. It looks at how the Conservative government after 1979 reacted to the surge in unemployment, and how they tried to establish a new popular understanding of the causes of job losses.


1946 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-265
Author(s):  
Albert L. Meyers

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Gamboa Madeira ◽  
C Reis ◽  
T Paiva ◽  
T Roenneberg

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) Introduction Atypical work schedules encompass more than 20% of the European workforce. The link between shift work and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been extensively studied being lifestyle behaviours, sleep disruption and circadian misalignment the key mechanisms involved. Social Jetlag (SJL) has been proposed as a proxy for circadian misalignment in epidemiological studies, once it takes into account  individual’s chronotype and working schedules. Therefore we hypothesize that, among  workers under fixed atypical work schedules, those with a greater SJL have a higher CVD risk. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among blue-collar workers of one retail company. Fixed working schedules were early morning, late evening, and night work. Sociodemographic, occupational, lifestyle and sleep data were collected through questionnaire. SJL was quantified by the difference for mid-sleep points on work- and free-days. Even though SJL is a continuous variable, 3 categories have been used (≤2h; 2-4h; ≥4h). Blood pressure (BP) and the total cholesterol (TC) were assessed. The CVD risk was estimated according to the relative risk SCORE chart. A relative risk≥3 was considered "high CVD risk". Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis according to the CVD risk (high vs other) was performed. The relationship between SJL and high CVD risk was analysed through logistic binary regression using generalized linear models adjusted for age, sex, education, Body Mass Index, consumptions, sleep duration and quality plus work schedule and seniority. Results Of the 301 workers, 56.1% were male with a mean age of 33.0 ± 9.4years. Average SJL was 1:57 ± 1:38hours with the majority of workers experiencing ≤2h (59.4%) and 8% (n = 24) more than 4h. Less than a half had hypercholesterolemia (48.8%), overweight (37.9%)or hypertensive values (10.6%), however 50.5% were currently smokers. We found a significant trend for hypertension (p = 0.006) and smoking prevalence (p = 0.043) among ordinal SJL categories. A relative "high CVD risk" was found in 20.3% of the sample (n = 61). These workers were significantly older (p < 0.001), less educated (p = 0.003) and slept less hours on workdays (p = 0.021). In the multiple regression analysis, SJL was an independent risk factor for a "high CVD risk" (p = 0.029).The odds of having a "high CVD risk" increased almost thirty per cent  per each additional hour of SJL (OR = 1.29; 95% CI:1.03-1.63), even after adjusting for sociodemographic, lifestyle, sleep and working features. Conclusions We found compelling evidence that a greater SJL was associated with a bigger chance of high CVD risk. From this innovative perspective, the focus is not just on the working schedule itself but also on the worker’s chronotype. These findings suggest that interventions aimed to reduce Social Jetlag, especially in extreme chronotypes and working schedules, poses a great opportunity to minimize the cardiovascular health impact of shift work.


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