The Australian Labour Market in 2007

Both global and domestic economic growth remained robust in 2007 resulting in historically low unemployment and high labour force participation in Australia. However, these favourable labour force statistics were overshadowed for much of the year by a number of other issues such as the continuing drought, high oil and petrol prices and associated inflation and interest rate pressures, a November federal election, and the first full year of the operation of the Work Choices legislation. This article will address each of these issues by presenting an analysis of the macroeconomy and labour market, and reviewing the labour market implications of the Work Choices legislation in Australia.economic performance; industrial relations legislation; labour market; Work Choices

When the Balance Isn't Easy: A Case Study Exploring the Complications with Work-Life Balance Initiatives in the Australian Construction Industry

Studies of work and life balance often concentrate on the ways in which employees may require and use flexible work practices to cope with the demands of their other ‘non-work’ activities and responsibilities. This paper adds to our knowledge in this arena through presenting a case study of work-life balance. This case study focuses on managerial and employee issues in implementing organisational work life balance initiatives within the construction industry in Australia. For this case study, the workplace was an ‘alliance’ project, of four collaborating companies undertaking a large infrastructure project. The project management group determined that work-life balance was an important issue within the industry and consequently implemented a five-day instead of the industry standard six-day working week as a balance initiative for the workforce. A range of factors contributed to this five-day week initiative reverting to the original work schedule of a six-day working week. This paper explores these issues and analyses the competing priorities and demands of management in endeavouring to develop alternate strategies to maintain a positive work and life balance for employees. The analysis of this case suggests that management and employees were dedicated to improving work-life balance; however, a range of externalities resulted in not all initiatives being successful. Nevertheless, within the constrained choices, the management group instigated alternate initiatives

Changing patterns of human resource management in construction

Recent years have seen increased emphasis on the need for construction organizations to be more client and market oriented—a tantalizing vision of a new quality world driven by clients with an emphasis on best value. This is likely to have significant implications for the business model and management in the industry. However, while construction constitutes an important component of global economic activity, and the very nature of the work is labour intensive, there has been a lack of attention given to the study of human resource management issues. Yet it has long been recognized that the way employees are managed can have important implications for organizational performance, and can even be a differentiator between successful and unsuccessful organizations (Marchington and Wilkinson, 2012). Context-specific factors are believed to partly explain typical approaches to managing people in the sector. These include the nature of complex project-based environments, ingrained cultural norms, cyclical demand and structural flexibility. Delivery of construction projects often requires the coordination of a multiplicity of actors, within a largely fragmented, transient and heterogeneous workforce. The construction industry therefore offers a rich and distinctive context for the study of employment issues, and an interesting counterpoint to the employment models traditionally associated with many manufacturing or service contexts. Much of the existing research tends to paint a fairly bleak picture of employment practices and industrial relations in the construction sector, often depicted as an informal, casualized and even cavalier approach to the management of people with long working hours (Lingard et al., 2008; Townsend et al., 2011) and high rates of health and safety incidents (Loudoun, 2010). Though management styles clearly vary between firms and across countries, thus making it difficult to generalize, the construction industry has been beset by a poor image in relation to approaches to human resource management and workforce relations (International Labour Office, 2001). In contrast to the model of HRM developed by Storey (1995) which emphasizes an approach to people management concerned with developing and utilizing employees in pursuit of organizational objectives, people management in construction is often characterized as a ‘black hole’ or ‘hard HRM’. Perhaps it is a by-product of the gendered nature of the construction industry, but Ness and Green (2012) report hostility of project managers towards HRM as a concept, citing evidence from managers who described investment in HR as ‘a luxury’, ‘namby-pamby’ and viewed HR practitioners as ‘pen pushers’. Indeed the British government has published various reports exhorting the need for a review of traditional employment practices, for both economic and social reasons. Encouragingly, there is also some evidence of the existence of more ‘enlightened’ approaches to managing people. This special issue aims to take stock and evaluate such changes

The role of line managers in creating and maintaining healthy work environments on project construction sites

The focus of this article is healthy work environments in project-based construction work, and particularly a sub-element of the work environment, the food environment. Although it is well accepted that stressful work environments negatively impact on organisational and individual health indices and project construction produces some of the most severe work environments in the modern industrial landscape, the role of line managers in creating these environments is largely unknown. Healthy work environments are explored in this article because they contribute to the development of many ‘behavioral’ diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both of which are known problems amongst construction workers. Qualitative data were collected from eighty project-based construction workers and mangers on six large civil engineering construction projects in Brisbane, Australia. Unanimous views were expressed by all interviewees that managers should not and do not influence food choices on-site. However, results also revealed clear examples of managers making decisions about food environments, work and time pressures and permitted and discouraged behaviours on-site that impact on food choices. These findings indicate limited awareness of healthy work environments in construction with the impact of management actions being largely unrecognised and unintended. It suggests with more informed management decision-making, eating habits in construction are likely to improve

Line managers in human resource management:theory, analysis and new developments

Many organizations are in a process of digitalizing their businesses. This is not a one-time-exercise but can be perceived as a disruptive process by many organizational stakeholders. The objective of this chapter is to socially construct the implementation process of digitalization in organizations and distinguish the role of line managers in the process. Based on an explorative inductive qualitative research design in 36 MNEs, we distinguished between five phases in the implementation process of digitalization: resistance, experimentation, conviction, reorganization, and routinization. In each of these phases, line managers play a different role in each of these phases and thus are in a position to help or hinder the digitalization process. They do so as outside observer, playmate, ambassador, inspirator, and conductor. The chapter highlights how line managers help employees to socially construct the implementation process of digitalization by encouraging, supporting, training, translating, guiding and communicating the change process towards digitalization. In the implications we discuss the dynamic nature of the implementation process in which organizations do not follow a sequential route but choose their own speed and time frame to implement digitalization

Reporting and justifying the number of interview participants in organisation and workplace research

In this paper we examine established practice regarding the reporting, justification and number of interview participants chosen within organization and workplace studies. For such qualitative research there is a paucity of discussion across the social sciences, the topic receiving far less attention than its centrality warrants. We analysed 798 articles published in 2003 and 2013 in ten top and second tier academic journals, identifying 248 studies using at least one type of qualitative interview. Participant numbers were contingent on characteristics of the population from which they were chosen and approach to analysis, but not the journal, its tier, editorial base or publication year, the interview type or its duration. Despite lack of transparency in reporting (23.4% of studies did not state participant numbers) we reveal a median of 32.5 participants, numbers ranging from one to 330, and no justification for participant numbers in over half of studies. We discuss implications and, recognizing that different philosophical commitments are likely to imply differing norms, offer recommendations regarding reporting, justification and number of participants. Acknowledging exceptions, dependent upon study purpose and data saliency, these include an organization and workplace research norm of 15−60 participants, alongside credible numbers for planning interview research.No Full Tex

Are new organisations at the cutting edge of employment relations innovation?

© 2017, © David Peetz, Olav Muurlink, Keith Townsend, Adrian Wilkinson and Madeleine Brabant. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore differences in the degree of innovation in employment relations (ER) between emerging and established firms, Design/methodology/approach: A large national telephone survey (N=1,416) of both emerging ( < 5 years) and established firms was conducted. Findings: Emerging firms were more casualised, less unionised, and experiencing higher levels of market expansion and unpredict ability. Despite these differences, younger firms showed otherwise remarkable similarity to older firms across a range of ER practices, and both categories showed a reliance on business networks, rather formal training, for ER knowledge. While introducing ER changes more rapidly than older (and larger) firms, they were converging towards a suite of ER practices similar to that adopted by older firms. The results suggest that, if anything, established firms may have been engaged in greater innovation in more unusual ER practices. Research limitations/implications: Only managers were surveyed. The data are cross-sectional rather than longitudinal. As the study was undertaken in only one country, replication in other settings would be desirable. Originality/value: The results raise major doubts about the notion that new firms represent the cutting edge of innovation, and highlights the degree to which newer firms match or mimic older firms’ ER architecture

The challenge of managing informally

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the orientations of line managers in handling workplace conflict. In particular it examines the tension between the traditional preference of frontline managers for informal approaches and the perceived certainty of written disputes procedures. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws upon findings from 12 organisational case studies, focusing on interviews conducted with HR and managers. Findings – As line managers undertake more responsibility for people management, their preferences for informal approaches to workplace issues appears to be being replaced by a more rigid adherence to policy and procedure. This is largely driven by a lack of confidence and expertise in conflict management and a fear of the repercussions (both legal and organisational) of mishandling difficult issues. Written procedure therefore provides managers with both a systematic guide but also a protective shield against criticism and litigation. Research limitations/implications – It is not possible to generalise from a limited sample, therefore this suggested change requires further exploration to assess whether it has been evidenced in organisations more widely. Practical implications – For practitioners this research highlights the critical requirement for organisations to develop key skills among line managers to enable them to respond effectively to problems at an early stage. Social implications – For policy-makers, the barriers to line managers implementing informal resolution should be considered. Originality/value – This paper enriches understanding of line managers’ current role in people management and the challenges they face in doing so informally

Variation by ethnic group in premature mortality risk following self-harm: a multicentre cohort study in England

Background: Incidence and risk factors for self-harm vary according to ethnicity. People who self-harm have been shown to have increased risk of premature death, but little is known about mortality following self-harm in ethnic minority groups. Methods: A prospective cohort study of self-harm presentations to three English cities (Derby, Manchester, Oxford) between 2000 and 2010. We linked to a national mortality dataset to investigate premature death in South Asian and Black people in comparison with White people to the end of 2012. Results: Ethnicity was known for 72 % of the 28,512 study cohort members: 88 % were White, 5 % were South Asian, and 3 % were Black. After adjusting for age, gender and area-level socioeconomic deprivation, the risk of all-cause mortality was lower in South Asian (hazard ratio [HR] 0.51, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.42 – 0.62) and Black people (HR 0.46, 95 % CI 0.39 – 0.55) versus White people. Suicide risk was significantly lower in Black people (HR 0.43, 95 % CI 0.19 – 0.97) than in White people. Prevalence of risk factors for premature death, such as previous self-harm, psychiatric treatment or concurrent alcohol misuse, was lower in South Asian and Black people than in White people. Conclusions: The risk of death following self-harm is lower in South Asian and Black people than White people in the UK, and they also have lower prevalence of risk factors for premature death. Awareness of both protective and risk factors might help to inform clinical decisions following assessment.</p