Neither precarious nor entrepreneur: The subjective experience of hybrid self-employed workers

This article focuses on the 'hybridity' of solo self-employment by shedding light on the lived experiences and meanings of the subjects within their institutional and socio-economic contexts. It offers an original perspective to the study of the hybridization of work by linking the subjective and objective conditions underpinning solo self-employed workers. The study found that solo self-employed workers exercise agency over their working lives while facing high levels of insecurity, and that their contextualized experiences are related to the dominant narratives about self-employment. At the same time, however, findings also show that solo self-employed are engaged in (re)-constructing their alternative and dissonant narratives as well

Lean produciton and quality of working life on the shop floor : the experience of British and Italian car workers

This chapter discusses the experience of British Italian car workers dealing with lean produciton and the quality of working life on the shop floor

Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: the role of power resources and union ideology

This article investigates the determinants of union inclusiveness towards agency workers in Western Europe, using an index which combines unionization rates with dimensions of collective agreements covering agency workers. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify two combinations of conditions leading to inclusiveness: the ‘Northern path’ includes high union density, high bargaining coverage and high union authority, and is consistent with the power resources approach. The ‘Southern path’ combines high union authority, high bargaining coverage, statutory regulations of agency work and working-class orientation, showing that ideology rather than institutional incentives shapes union strategies towards the marginal workforce

Rest and Dobutamine stress echocardiography in the evaluation of mid-term results of mitral valve repair in Barlow's disease

BACKGROUND: Surgical "anatomical" repair is the most frequent technique used to correct mitral regurgitation due to severe myxomatous valve disease. Debate, however, persists on the efficacy of this technique, as well as on the durability of the repaired valve, and on its functioning and hemodynamics under stress conditions. Thus, a basal and Dobutamine echocardiographic (DSE) study was carried out to evaluate these parameters at mid-term follow-up. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty patients selected for the study (12 men and 8 women, mean age 60 ± 9 years) underwent pre- and post-operative transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and intra-operative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). At mid-term follow-up (20 ± 5 months) all patients underwent rest TTE and DSE (3 min. dose increments up to 40 microg/Kg/min protocol). Pre-discharge and one-month TTE showed absence of MR in 11 pts., trivial or mild MR in 9 pts. and normal mitral valve area and gradients. Mid-term TTE showed decrease in left atrial and ventricular dimension, in pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) and grade of MR. During DSE a significant increase in mitral valve area, maximum and mean gradients, sPAP, heart rate and cardiac output and a decrease in systolic annular diameter and left ventricular volume were found; in 6 pts. a transient left ventricular outflow tract obstruction was observed. CONCLUSION: Basal and Dobutamine stress echocardiography proved to be valuable tools for evaluation of mid-term results of mitral valve repair. In our study population, the surgical technique employed had a favourable impact on several cardiac parameters, evaluated by these methods

Improving social dialogue: What employers expect from employee representatives

The model of social dialogue in organisations between management and employees is facing unprecedented challenges, and changing rapidly. In this new context of labour relations, experiences and expectations of each other are key drivers for the primary parties within this social dialogue. There has been little systematic research investigating the conditions for constructive social dialogue, particularly when it comes to 'soft factors', such as perceived competences, trust, influence and conflict behaviours. Addressing these issues based on theories of conflict, trust and influence, this article investigates the experiences and expectations of employee representatives (ERs) by human resource (HR) managers, their counterparts in social dialogue. The results of surveys conducted in 11 European countries indicate that, overall, employers found a model of structured dialogue with elected employee representatives useful. Furthermore, competences of ERs, cooperative conflict behaviours, informal relations and trust promoted the influence of ERs on organisational decision making and the quality of these decisions. We discuss implications for different systems of industrial relations

La costruzione sociale della precarietà. Il caso del lavoro autonomo individuale in Italia

L’articolo sostiene che per comprendere la precarietà del lavoro occorre contestualizzare i cambiamenti strutturali nelle condizioni soggettive e, viceversa, situare la dimensione soggettiva nelle trasformazioni strutturali del lavoro. Al centro dell’analisi è il lavoro autonomo individuale, un caso interessante per indagare come la precarietà sia socialmente costruita, dal momento che sfida la dicotomia che contrappone, da un punto di vista contrattuale, il lavoro autonomo e il lavoro dipendente. L’obiettivo principale è comprendere in qual modo i lavoratori autonomi individuali esperiscano la precarietà «nel lavoro» e come questa si articoli all’interno dei processi di precarizzazione e auto-imprenditorialità. English abstract: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PRECARIOUSNESS. THE CASE OF SOLO SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN ITALY The article argues that in order to understand precarious work it is crucial to contextualise structural changes in subjective conditions, which is to embed subjectivities in work structures. We analyse the case of «solo self-employment», an interesting case for examining how precarious work is socially constructed, because it challenges the formal dichotomy between self-employment and dependent employment. The focus of the contribution is on how solo self-employed workers in Italy experience precariousness «in work» by understanding how such experience is shaped within the processes of precarization and «self-entrepreneurization»

La costruzione sociale della precarietà : il caso del lavoro autonomo (in)dipendente

L'articolo sostiene che per comprendere la precariet\ue0 del lavoro occorre contestualizzare i cambiamenti strutturali nelle condizioni soggettive e, viceversa, situare la dimensione soggettiva nelle trasformazioni strutturali del lavoro. Al centro dell\u2019analisi \ue8 il lavoro autonomo individuale, un caso interessante per indagare come la precariet\ue0 sia socialmente costruita, dal momento che sfida la dicotomia che contrappone, da un punto di vista contrattuale, il lavoro autonomo e il lavoro dipendente. L\u2019obiettivo principale \ue8 comprendere in qual modo i lavoratori autonomi individuali esperiscano la precariet\ue0 'nel lavoro' e come questa si articoli all'interno dei processi di precarizzazione e auto-imprenditorialit\ue0.The article argues that in order to understand precarious work it is crucial to contextualise structural changes in subjective conditions, which is to embed subjectivities in work structures. We analyse the case of \u2018solo self-employment\u2019, an interesting case for examining how precarious work is socially constructed, because it challenges the formal dichotomy between self-employment and dependent employment. The focus of the contribution is on how solo self-employed workers in Italy experience precariousness \u2018in work\u2019 by understanding how such experience is shaped within the processes of precarization and \u2018self-entrepreneurization\u2019