Resilience in a recession

This set of six articles on the theme of work, well-being and resilience were posted on the blog between September and November 2011. All the posts are written by Elizabeth Cotton

Global Union Federations: the institutions and methods of international solidarity

The aim of this thesis, and the individual publications within it, is principally to provide a realistic picture of the GUFs and to critically explore their power relative to the international industrial relations and political environments within which they operate. Additionally, the thesis aims to: critically analyse the GUFs from different perspectives - organisational, international relations, global governance and developmental; explore the factors impacting the future work of the GUFs with particular emphasis on the decline in union membership and geopolitical developments; and, argue for a reorientation in the work of the GUFs in response to these factors with particular emphasis on building social and political capital through educational work. This context statement also aims to draw together the main themes and arguments within the publications and explore more deeply the strategic importance of the educational work of the GUFs in building the social and political capital required to adapt to this changing environment

Contract & agency labour: beyond self-regulation?

A paper about the regulation of contract labour. Academic and legal aspects as well as case studies of global union federation work to organise and regulate contract labour in Thailand, Pakistan, Colombia, South Korea and at international level

Job coaches in GP surgeries: another attempt to pathologise the unemployed

This article criticises 2016 pilot to introduce job coaches into the UK's primary care sector

Resilience in the recession

Precarious work has been around for so long in this country that the last time I used the term “permanent work” in conversation, I was sprayed with coffee as the person I was talking to sputtered that it was preposterous to expect any guarantee of work. I had to explain the difference between having a permanent contract and a lifetime guarantee of work. The delusion of safety of employment has truly been bred out of us, along with expectations of social and employment protections, pensions, training or career progression. This de-regulation of working life is directly linked to a de-regulation of our internal lives. With the loss of work security, we are likely to experience an internal insecurity, and along with it fear, anger and a recurring sense of uselessness. This is hard to manage at the best of times, but in the face of unemployment it is hard to self-regulate. Under enough pressure we lose our perspective and capacity to think past these overwhelming feelings

Following Francis: to build a safe NHS we must go from targets to teams

This week saw the third Francis report about how to build a safe NHS and end the workplace culture of bullying. Elizabeth Cotton reviews the report and writes that we must move away system based on top down political targets towards one that actually delivers personalised care

We live in a narcissistic society where random acts of intimacy with real people are pointless and romance is dead

This e-book will look at how we can understand the apparent growth in narcissism and withdrawals from intimacy in a digital age. From the impact of Facebook and online porn on sex, to whether we’re losing the capacity to be close to the people we work with. Join us to explore whether we’re all turning into narcissists or whether we can do something to salvage intimacy with other people. This e-book is released to coincide with the LSE Review of Books event of the same name at the LSE Literary Festival 2014. Speakers include Marianna Fotaki, Professor of Business Ethics at Warwick Business School; Yiannis Gabriel, Professor of Organizational Theory at the University of Bath; Steve Fuller, Auguste Comte Professor of Social Epistemology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick; David Morgan, a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society; and Elizabeth Cotton, the founding director of The Resilience Space and the Surviving Work Library. A podcast of the event will be available in the days after the event. (abstract of book this chapter appears in

Confusion over how to measure mental health is taking a toll on workplace wellbeing, but new networks of expertise may help

Due to the confusion over what counts as evidence, mental health research has largely failed to make a significant impact on workplace wellbeing and employment relations practices. Elizabeth Cotton argues that in order to make a positive difference, academic research will have to involve new technologies and communication strategies aimed at helping people to improve their mental health at work. Academics in the field of mental health have to take blogging and social media seriously in this impact driven epoch. Ideas have to be read and used and this requires a way of seducing the reader to think about ideas that does not immediately offer simple solutions to complex problems. This is profoundly important for those of us working in the field of mental health at work, where the evidence-based fight is ongoing between different models and methods of understanding in addressing the mental health crisis that is looming in the recession

Trade unions are facing difficult circumstances but it is important not to overstate the extent of the challenges

A few months ago a global union federation, Industriall (one of the largest membership organizations in the world representing 50 million industrial workers) signed an international Temporary Work Charter with Volkswagen. The agreement commits Volkswagen to limit the use of temporary workers to a maximum of five per cent of the workforce, along with the principle of equal pay and access to training for contract and agency workers. For Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) geeks this is very sexy indeed – a multinational company bucking the outsourcing trend and making it official by signing a global agreement with a trade union. So why did nobody hear about it