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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
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Working Time Developments
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Evolution of WT 1991-2010 (EWCS)
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Working time of full-time employees 2011 (LFS)
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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
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Average usual working hours per week of full-time employees, 1995/2008, EU15
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Average usual working hours per week of full-time employees 2006-2011, EU15, EU27 and NMS (LFS)
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Short-time working schemes – succesful instrument in the economic crisis (?)
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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)
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List of selected schemes in 10 Member States
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Distribution of economic short time workers (ESTW) and total employment by sector, EU27 (%)
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Factors increasing the probability of being a ESTW across Europe
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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.
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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 %
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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)
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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?
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Innovative Flexibility?
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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).
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Working-Time Accounts
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Source: Wotschak/Hildebrandt 2007
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Innovative Work Organisation?Workers‘ Involvement and WT-Autonomy
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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.
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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.
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Teamwork and workers’ involvement in Europe 2010 (EWCS)
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The organisation of working time correlated with elements of new production systems
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Management by Objectives and long working hours
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Contract of Labour vs. Contract of Work and Labour
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Payment
Contract of Work and Labour
(Working time is flexible)
Contract of Labour
(Performance is flexible)
Performance/Result Working Time
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Labour Contract: Performance/Result is Flexible
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Normal Performance
increased efficiency
Decreased output
Performance/Result Working Time
Payment
Performance = dependent variable
WT = is fixed (contractually by Labour Contract)
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Fordistic Compromise: WT corresponds to a (science based) „normal“ performance
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Payment
„Normal“ Performance
Contractual Working Time
Performance/Result Working Time
=BALANCE
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Contract for Work and Labour: Working Time is Flexible
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Overtime
„Reduced“ Working TimeNormal WT
Performance / Result is fixed
Working Time is dependent variable (flexible)
Payment
Performance/Result Working Time
Longer WT as reliefunder conditions of high intensification?
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Limitation of WT under Conditions of fixed Results – Quadrature of the Circle
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- Intensification - Stress- less scope of action
Results are fixed and ambitious
(Management by objectives)
Performance/Result Working Time
Payment
WT is fixed by contract
Additional Stress by Creating Another
Shortage of Resources
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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
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Conclusions
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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
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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
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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
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Thank you for your attention!