1st industriall european trade union collective bargaining summer college

Forschungsteam internationaler Arbeitsmarkt

Innovative working time arrangements and the promotion of employment through internal flexibility

1st IndustriAll European Trade Union Collective Bargaining Summer CollegeTerrasini-Cinasi Mare, 3rd September 2012

Dr. Alexandra Wagner


Working Time Developments


Evolution of WT 1991-2010 (EWCS)

3


Working time of full-time employees 2011 (LFS)

4

Average number of actual weekly hours of work in main job, full-timeemployees, 2011

Short Hours (mainly EU15) 37,8 Finnland 38,1 France 38,2 Irland 38,3 Norway and Italy

Long Hours (mainly NMS, but….) 41,3 Hours in Romania 40,7 Luxembourg 40,6 Germany 40,5 UK and Estonia


Average usual working hours per week of full-time employees, 1995/2008, EU15

5


Average usual working hours per week of full-time employees 2006-2011, EU15, EU27 and NMS (LFS)

6


Short-time working schemes – succesful instrument in the economic crisis (?)


Short-time working schemes

According to the ELFS, in 2009 almost two million European employees stated that they worked less due to lack of work for technical or economical reasons.

55% of these employees were in Germany and Italy Many countries expanded their existing short-time working

schemes, others introduced them for the first time. Big variety of forms of short-time working schemes:

Cut of working time by between 10% and 100% Compensation for between 55% and 80% of the foregone pay

Training during short-time working (in some schemes mandatory)

8


List of selected schemes in 10 Member States

9


Distribution of economic short time workers (ESTW) and total employment by sector, EU27 (%)

10


Factors increasing the probability of being a ESTW across Europe

11


Characteristics of economic short-time workers

male prevalence 1.5% of all male employees are ESTW, as against only 0.6% of all female employees

Workers in manufacturing and with relatively low levels of education, in blue-collar occupations, are more likely to be ESTW.

12


ESTW in Germany and Italy

Development of GDPGermany Italy

2009 -5,1 % - 5,5 %2010 + 3,7 % +1,8 %2011 + 3,0 % + 0,4 %

Unemployment rateGermany Italy

2009 7,8 % 7,8 %2010 7,1 % 8,4 %2011 5,9 % 8,4 %

13


Is ESTW…

…an innovative working time arrangement? …an instrument for promotion of employment through

internal flexibility?

In many countries: ESTW = a traditional instrument of active Labour Market Policy

Succesful instrument for safeguarding jobs in a limited time (crisis)

14


The German „success“ of internal flexibility

High amount of working hours on Working Time Accounts …because of long(er) Working Time before the crisis …because of saving working hours for a special aim

• early retirement, Sabbatical, longer parental leave etc.

Problems: Working longer – a precondition for internal flexibility in the

crisis? „Expropriation“ of saved WT in the crisis?

15


Innovative Flexibility?


Labour Market Flexibility

External numerical flexibility which refers to flexibility in adjusting the labour intake (for example, flexibility of hiring and firing);

Internal numerical flexibility which refers to flexibility in adjusting the working time of employees already employed (for example, flexibility of working hours, overtime and part-time work);

Functional flexibility which refers to the extent to which the organisation is flexible (for example, the possibility of an employee holding more than one job (multi-employability) and the flexible organisation of work);

Labour cost/wage flexibility which refers to flexible arrangements concerning the cost of employment (for example, the absence of binding minimum wages/wage indexation, or variable pay).

17


Working-Time Accounts

18

Source: Wotschak/Hildebrandt 2007


Innovative Work Organisation?Workers‘ Involvement and WT-Autonomy


Win-Win-Situation – a possible solution?

Employer and employees have different time preferences: The employer want to adapt working time to workload (high

productivity!) The working time preferences of employees depend on other

time requirements (education, training, opening hours of school/kindergarden, workingtime of the partner, schedule of public transportation)

May be there arise conflicts about working time between employer and employees. This will (eventually) affect the motivation of employees.

Or in other words: a participative working time organisation can be part of the personnel strategy of firms.

20


Characteristics of high performing firms

Despite the different definitions used research shows: High performance organisations generally have the following elements: decentralisation of hierarchies; delegation of responsibilities to employees; presence of (autonomous) teamwork/group work practices; job enrichment and training; performance management and remuneration; employee communication and participation/consultation practices; employer–employee partnerships; workforce diversity and equality strategies flexible working arrangements.

21


Teamwork and workers’ involvement in Europe 2010 (EWCS)

22


The organisation of working time correlated with elements of new production systems

23


Management by Objectives and long working hours


Contract of Labour vs. Contract of Work and Labour

25

Payment

Contract of Work and Labour(Working time is flexible)

Contract of Labour(Performance is flexible)

Performance/Result Working Time


Labour Contract: Performance/Result is Flexible

26

Normal Performance

increased efficiency

Decreased output


Payment

Performance = dependent variable

WT = is fixed (contractually by Labour Contract)


Fordistic Compromise: WT corresponds to a (science based) „normal“ performance

27

Payment

„Normal“ Performance

Contractual Working Time


=BALANCE


Contract for Work and Labour: Working Time is Flexible

28

Overtime

„Reduced“ Working TimeNormal WT

Performance / Result is fixed

Working Time is dependent variable (flexible)

Payment


Longer WT as reliefunder conditions of high intensification?


Limitation of WT under Conditions of fixed Results – Quadrature of the Circle

29

- Intensification - Stress- less scope of action

Results are fixed and ambitious(Management by objectives)


PaymentWT is fixed by contract

Additional Stress by Creating Another

Shortage of Resources


WT-Regulation for professional and managerial staff (PMS)

WT-reduction is not a real important aim! is interpreted as limitation of their autonomy high identification with their work

WT topics for PMS are different from other employees individual influence on organisation and distribution of own WT Individual Work-Life-Balance Limitation of availability

Latest „innovations“ in WT-Regulation shut down connection to the firm server on Saturday/Sunday

and at night no obligation to answer emails/mobile calls out of regular WT

30


Conclusions


WT and promotion of employment

Traditional instruments remain important:reduction of WT and redestribution of volume of work Shorter WT for full-time employees (new WT-Standard) Important role of collective bargaining

Internal Flexibility as an innovative Way of WT-reduction Internal flexibility in itself can‘t promote employment - only in

connection with WT-reduction!! Collectively agreed temporary WT-reduction Scope for individual reduction of WT: Part-time, Sabbaticals etc. Internal flexibility might promote job security

32


33

Problems (grey zones) of working-Time Regulation

invisible extension of working hours by flexibilisation Accumulation of hours on working time accounts

(invisible overtime) Transfer of hours from short-term to long-term WT-account compensation of overtime in money instead of compensation in

time Unpaid overtime

(hours beyond the maximum score on WT-accounts)

Trust based working time

Change of Labour contract


Preconditions for succesful working-time reduction

Reduction of unpaid overtime registration of all working hours (transparancy) Clear definition of working time limits

(and clear definition of working time: training? travelling? Conferences? Business dinner? etc.)

Interest of the employees in WT-reduction Qualification and training (ability of group members to cover

for each other) Flexible working-time organisation New forms of particpation

34


Thank you for your attention!

1st industriall european trade union collective bargaining summer college

Documents