Struggling to be heard: the past and present of employee voice in Belarus

This paper addresses a highly under-research question of employee voice in Belarus using labour process theory, specifically, Ramsay’s (1977) cycles of control theory to assess the evolution of voice at transitional periphery. Using the sample of 10 industrial enterprises, the paper explores the degree of management control over formal voice and the role of trade unions in defending of independent voice at the collective level. Informal voice at the individual level is also analysed. The findings demonstrate that the degree of direct control over formal voice in Belarus exceeds that in the Soviet Union due to suppression of independent trade union voice. The loss of workers’ control over the labour process has led to decreasing informal voice at the individual level. However, the earlier argument on workers’ patience is not supported due to a growing number of organised workers protests

Factors That Influence Self-Reported Health Changes With Caregiving

Objective: This study examined factors associated with the self-reported change in health status as a result of caregiving. Method: Multinomial logistic regression were performed to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, care recipients’ characteristics, and caregiving experiences that affect caregivers’ perceptions of health affected by caregiving using data from 1,087 caregiver respondents in the Caregiving in the U.S. 2015 data set. Data were collected through an online or telephone survey of randomly selected adults in 50 states. Results: Worsened self-reported health with caregiving occurred for caregivers aged 50 to 64, racial/ethnic minorities, those who lived within 20 min of the care recipient’s home, the presence of cognitive deficits, prolonged caregiving, and limited availability of accessible and affordable care services. Importantly, the feeling of choice in taking on care responsibilities was associated with an over fourfold increase in the odds ratio (OR) of better health in response to caregiving (OR = 4.21; confidence interval [CI] = [1.95, 9.08]; p \u3c .001). Discussion: Results suggest that improving accessibility of social service resources to assist caregivers in being better supported and having more choice in caregiving responsibilities may foster a positive change in health status with caregiving

Belarus: Researching labor management in the environment of silence

The case study describes research process, the choice of research paradigm, and research methods for the study of incidence of centrally reduced working time at Belarusian industrial enterprises. The adherence of the management of Belarusian companies to Soviet-style organizational culture which assumes complete secrecy over issues of employment relations and personnel management coupled with the lack of secondary data made the author create a specific combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to extract trustworthy information. The role of gatekeepers and important ethical decisions are also discussed

Labour management in Belarus: transcendent retrogression.

Labour management practices at enterprise level in Belarus are more negative for workers than under the Soviet system. Welfare has largely disappeared, as has Soviet-style informal bargaining; wage payment may be in kind; training is minimal; job insecurity is extreme and trade unions perform a corporatist role. Thus, as Burawoy argued, ‘involutionary retrogression’ has indeed taken place, but in what may be denominated a ‘transcendent’ form

The state and company management in Belarus

The chapter analyses changes in the level of decision-making autonomy of state-controlled and private companies operating in Belarus under the conditions of increasing institutional concentration. We find that the excessive regulatory burden still allows for some enterprise-level autonomy in investment decisions, particularly for private companies, while state-controlled companies have to resort to using their informal connections to secure the ability to operate semi-autonomously. The findings thus challenge the thesis on extreme rigidity of Belarusian regulatory system and shed light on certain management practices at the company level

Investment in personnel and FDI in Belarusian companies

We examine trends in investment in personnel in Belarussian enterprises and the impact they have on companies’ capacity to attract FDI and modernise. Others have argued in favour of the economy’s robust fundamentals, using macro-level data. They have suggested that Belarussian industry has attracted considerable FDI, due in part to high investment in human capital. Our findings, based on micro-level data from Belarussian enterprises in 2009–2014, demonstrate that investments in personnel have decreased since the global financial crisis and are suboptimal, reducing industry’s capacity to attract and retain FDI. Management has limited ability and inclination to address these problems, due to government pressure. We conclude that the model may be becoming less sustainable as a result

Investment in personnel and FDI in Belarusian companies

We examine trends in investment in personnel in Belarussian enterprises and the impact they have on companies’ capacity to attract FDI and modernise. Others have argued in favour of the economy’s robust fundamentals, using macro-level data. They have suggested that Belarussian industry has attracted considerable FDI, due in part to high investment in human capital. Our findings, based on micro-level data from Belarussian enterprises in 2009–2014, demonstrate that investments in personnel have decreased since the global financial crisis and are suboptimal, reducing industry’s capacity to attract and retain FDI. Management has limited ability and inclination to address these problems, due to government pressure. We conclude that the model may be becoming less sustainable as a result

Classifying the secondary component of the binary star W Aquilae

AIMS: The object W Aql is an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star with a faint companion. By determining more carefully the properties of the companion, we hope to better constrain the properties of the AGB star. METHODS: We present new spectral observations of the binary star W Aql at minimum and maximum brightness and new photometric observations of W Aql at minimum brightness. RESULTS: The composite spectrum near minimum light is predominantly from the companion at wavelengths $\lambda$ < 6000 $\AA$. This spectrum can be classified as F8 to G0, and the brightness of the companion is that of a dwarf star. Therefore, it can be concluded that the companion is a main sequence star. From this, we are able to constrain the mass of the AGB component to 1.04 - 3 $M_\odot$ and the mass of the W Aql system to 2.1 - 4.1 $M_\odot$ . Our photometric results are broadly consistent with this classification and suggest that the main sequence component suffers from approximately 2 mag of extinction in the V band primarily due to the dust surrounding the AGB component.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, research not

Compulsory reduced working time in Belarus: Incidence, operation and consequences

This article examines compulsory reduced working time (CRWT) in five Belarusian factories, to assess its impact on employment relationships and evaluate arguments about ‘Soviet legacies’ and labour ‘patience’. Local use of CRWT increased between 2001 and 2012, and took a form more inimical to worker interests, thereby differing from official macro statistics. Managers expressed discontent at being pushed by state policy to use CRWT, but used it as a disciplinary tool. Workers perceived worsening work relationships and threats of collective response were in evidence. Arguments about ‘Soviet legacies’ and labour’s ‘patience’ therefore currently appear inappropriate