93 research outputs found
Rewarding work : cross-national differences in benefits, volunteering during unemployment, well-being and mental health
Due to increasing labour market flexibilisation a growing number of people are likely to experience unemployment and, as a consequence, lower mental health and well-being. This article examines cross-national differences in well-being and mental health between unemployed people who engage in voluntary work and those who do not, using multilevel data from the European Quality of Life Survey on unemployed individuals in 29 European countries and other external sources.
This article finds that, regardless of their voluntary activity, unemployed people have higher levels of well-being and mental health in countries with more generous unemployment benefits. Unexpectedly, the results also suggest that regular volunteering can actually be detrimental for mental health in countries with less generous unemployment benefits. This article concludes that individual agency exercised through voluntary work can partially improve well-being but the generosity of unemployment benefits is vital for alleviating the negative mental health effects of unemployment
Whatever Happened to Social Dialogue? From Partnership to Managerialism in the EU Employment Agenda
What kind of expertise is needed for low energy construction
The construction industry is responsible for 40% of European Union (EU) end-use emissions but addressing this is problematic, as evident from the performance gap between design intention and on-site energy performance. There is a lack of the expertise needed for low energy construction (LEC) in the UK as the complex work processes involved require ‘energy literacy’ of all construction occupations, high qualification levels, broad occupational profiles, integrated teamworking, and good communication . This research identifies the obstacles to meeting these requirements, the nature of the expertise needed to break down occupational divisions and bridge those interfaces where the main heat losses occur, and the transition pathway implied. Obstacles include a decline in the level, breadth and quality of construction vocational education and training (VET), the lack of a learning infrastructure on sites, and a fragmented employment structure. To overcome these and develop enhanced understanding of LEC requires a transformation of the existing structure of VET provision and construction employment and a new curriculum based on a broader concept of agency and backed by rigorous enforcement of standards. This can be achieved through a radical transition pathway rather than market-based solutions to a low carbon future for the construction sector
Forms of participation – the development and application of a conceptual model of participation in work environment interventions
In the realm of work environment improvements, the Nordic countries have led the way in demonstrating
that employee participation is a key requisite for achieving improvements. Despite this there is a lack of
precision on what ‘participatory’ in a participatory work environment intervention means. In this study,
we present a conceptual model for participation in work environment interventions and apply it to
protocols and manuals from 8 participatory interventions to determine the form of participation used in
each intervention. We suggest that the conceptual model can be applied in the design and assessment of
participatory work environment interventions
Book Review: Women on Corporate Boards and in Top Management. European Trends and Policy
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