Work Organisation, Jobs and Employment in Information Society

1. Work Organisation, Jobs and Employment in Information Society Ian Miles PREST & CRIC

2. Technology “impact” on employment and working life... IT has to be applied: Implementation requires skills, and reflects organisational strategy Organisational change predominantly involves changing job practices (and numbers?) But technology enables (or disables!) structures and processes Technological and Organisational Change

3. So the issues include: ? • How are organisations changing • How are jobs changing • How are employment and skills changing • And how does IT (and IS more generally) fit into this??

4. Not only IT & IS...IPTS Study: Demographic Change

5. Responses? • Facilitating older workers to stay on • Easing the entry of more women into the workforce • Helping unemployed and under-employed into work • Supporting mobility and migration

6. T One account of the current restructuring goes... • We have been through a period dominated by Fordism • This has been undermined (in part by its own success) • New models are emerging...

7. A Transition to Post-Fordism? • What forces might lead to exhaustion of Fordism? • What forces might positively promote emerge of post-Fordism? • How do these relate to IT and IS? Examples only.. • Its success: affluent markets fragment, demand more • New factors of production require new logic • IT as changing cost structures, product cycles... A starting point for what follows was Michael Ruston, NLR 1989

8. Fordism<>Post-Fordism Production Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs

9. Fordism<>Post-Fordism Production Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Niches, Demanding Consumers, Changing and Fragmenting Marketing Mass Markets, Stable Tastes, Loyal Consumers

10. Fordism<>Post-Fordism Production Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Niches, Demanding Consumers, Changing and Fragmenting Marketing Mass Markets, Stable Tastes, Loyal Consumers Flatter hierarchies “delayered firms” More lateral communications, Organic rather than bureaucratic, Autonomous profit centres, internal markets, outsourcing, networks, professionalism, entrepreneurism Business Organisation Steep Hierarchy, Vertical Chains of Command, Mechanistic Orgn., Vertical & Horizontal Integration, Central Bureaucracy

11. Fordism<>Post-Fordism Production Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Niches, Demanding Consumers, Changing and Fragmenting Marketing Mass Markets, Stable Tastes, Loyal Consumers Business Organisation Flatter hierarchies “delayered firms” More lateral communications, Organic rather than bureaucratic, Autonomous profit centres, internal markets, outsourcing, networks, professionalism, entrepreneurism Steep Hierarchy, Vertical Chains of Command, Mechanistic Orgn., Vertical & Horizontal Integration, Central Bureaucracy Localised bargaining, pay systems; “atypical” work forms and workers, segmented workforce, Pluralistic classes, multiparty systems, social movements Mass unions, centralised bargaining with common scales, traditional proletariat; Unified classes, dualistic politics, class parties Labour Organisation Work and Class

12. Fordism<>Post-Fordism Production Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Fixed Product Lines, Long Product Runs Niches, Demanding Consumers, Changing and Fragmenting Marketing Mass Markets, Stable Tastes, Loyal Consumers Business Organisation Flatter hierarchies “delayered firms” More lateral communications, Organic rather than bureaucratic, Autonomous profit centres, internal markets, outsourcing, networks, professionalism, entrepreneurism Steep Hierarchy, Vertical Chains of Command, Mechanistic Orgn., Vertical & Horizontal Integration, Central Bureaucracy Localised bargaining, pay systems; “atypical” work forms and workers, segmented workforce, Pluralistic classes, multiparty systems, social movements Labour Organisation Work and Class Mass unions, centralised bargaining with common scales, traditional proletariat; Unified classes, dualistic politics, class parties “Consumer choice” Credit transfer, modules, independent study Public Services: Welfare & Education Standardised services, Prescribed courses

13. Organisational Restructuring? • Organisational structures “flatter”, “delayered”: challenge to middle management, and new responsibilities for front-office/field/production staff • Combination of decentralisation with integrated reporting systems: Virtual organisations? Networking, outsourcing, new governance of supply chains and EDI networks • Rise of new activities like call centres, Web firms • Some tendencies to smaller organisational size • Atypical work

14. From FTU-CURDS STOA report, FLEXCOT conference “Atypical Work” • ATYPICAL TIME USE: part-time, flexitime, shift work... • ATYPICAL LOCATIONS: satellite offices, mobile work, telecentres, telework... • ATYPICAL CONTRACTS: fixed term, “zero hour”, performance-related pay • ATYPICAL EMPLOYMENT: self-employment, subcontracting, agency employment...

15. Deskilling Job displacing Degraded labour versus Upgrading Employment generating New forms of Employment Research Methods vary with divergent results: especially large-scale surveys suggest modest change, while case studies and models are more dramatic Polarised Debates

16. Use of IT at work associated with reductions in traditional work hazards - dangerous environments, physical stress and strain Some new physical/ergonomic problems - RSI, chemicals, VDUs? Psychosocial stress and job design issues - pacing, responsibility, training lacks, supervision. Numerous Surveys suggest: But: Need to consider specific occupations & environments Need to consider successive generations of IT

17. DIFFUSION SURVEYS • Remarkable pace of diffusion • Few studies use comparable indicators • Some efforts to develop IT-intensity measures, but largely ‘qualitative’ • Cross-national aggregate differences in part reflect differences in economic structure (but ‘league table’ varies sometimes); in part apparently differences in innovative dynamism • Consistent differentiation by: - firm/establishment size - economic sector • Focus typically limited

18. Front Office, Fieldworkers Mobile systems Back Office, Large scale, number crunching, routine tasks Networks, integrated systems Stand alone Nonroutine tasks, processing knowledge, images, etc. Convergence of Technologies Integration of Functions

19. Surveys- as opposed to case studies - suggest: • Both “upgrading” and “deskilling” occur, with former largely dominant • Growth in high level managerial and technical occupations • New skill mixes appearing with shortages of specific skills • Limited organisational change, though experiments, and growth of “atypical” work

20. LABOUR DEMAND WORK CONTENT INCENTIVES PROBLEMS Finnish study, 1980s: LOWER WHITE COLLAR Continuing Growth More fragmented, repetitive Less independent, better training opportunities Less satisfying, more stress & conflict UPPER WHITE COLLAR Continuing Growth Little change Better opportunities for training & promotion More criticism, satisfaction unchanged BLUE COLLAR Falling at increasing rate More demanding, more versatile Better promotion and training opportunities Greater satisfaction; more mental stress, social conflict

21. SECTOR PRIMARY MANUFACTURING SERVICES PROCESS VARIABLE/COMPLEX MATERIAL SOCIAL INFORMATION OCCUPATION SENIOR MANAGERS ADMIN/JUNIOR MGT CLERICAL/SECRETL DATA PROCESSORS IT PROFESSIONALS Other PROFESSIONALS IT CRAFT & TECH Other CRAFT & TECH DIRECT PRODUCERS DISTRI, SALES, SCC MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE AUTOMATION SYSTEMS MIS, Networks, email, CSCW, integrated databases, spreadsheets, WP, etc. Programming etc Structured ADVANCED MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS Decision Support Some Robotics Decision Support MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS, DATA CAPTURE. Mapping IT at Work

22. Working Life in Information Society • Employment remains central to inclusion - structurally and psychologically • Long term project to challenge this • More immediate goals in Europe: enlarge/share employment - modernised full employment • Balance employment and family work - and social participation

23. Relation between New IT and Working Conditions is not Technologically Preordained -rather: • Technologies, Work Organisation, etc are designed and chosen • but “imperfectly”, by multiple players, typically with partial knowledge and different objectives; they differ in power, and learn from experience • Across different times and places there are diverse outcomes and organisational paths. Ideas are transferred. Scope for selection and policy.

24. OECD jobs study 1 “ • Cross sectional studies that use firm-level or establishment-level data to investigate the relationship between technology and worker skills suggest that the development and use of advanced technologies is associated with the employment of highly skilled workers, although the direction of the causality is hard to establish. For the United States, Siegel (1995b), examining the relationship between computer expenditures and age and educational level, found a positive correlation between labour quality indices and computer expenditures. Nyholm (1995), using Danish data, found that establishments using advanced manufacturing technologies employ more highly skilled and educated workers than those that do not. Pacelli et al. (1995) show that the percentage of non-manual workers (white-collar) in Italy increases with technology for all firm sizes. Doms et al. (1995) examined the skill levels of workers in 358 US manufacturing establishments using information on the use of 17 advanced manufacturing technologies and found that the more technologically sophisticated establishments employed more highly educated workers, more scientists and engineers, and more production workers with at least some university training.

25. OECD jobs study 2 “ • Time-series studies: Doms et al. (1995) found that US establishments that adopted advanced technologies by 1993 had relatively high-skilled work forces in 1977. Siegel (1995) examined longitudinal data on a setof US manufacturing plants and found a positive relationship between technology use and worker skills, but also support for upgrading of skills once new technology was installed. Baldwin et al. (1995) used several Canadian surveys to obtain much more direct evidence on whether technology requires more skilled workers. They found that, depending on the technology, skill requirements increased in between 47 and 59 per cent of firms adopting new technologies, while only a negligible number of firms reported reduced skill requirements. In conclusion, there is evidence both that higher skills are needed to implement technology successfully and that implementing technology will raise the skill level required of the work force.

26. Workforce attitudes to IT generally positive (some specific fears) IT investment is generally seen as progressive. Uncertainty yields stress. Hopes for job upgrading and retraining What about the Workers? • Consultation very late in the innovation process; senior staff most (and earliest) involved. Legal norms have little impact. • Employees rarely consulted as to technological change or choice • Participation viewed positively - where tried • Usually plans to extend. Both sides find benefits.

27. Skills and Training Systems • Strong, persistent demand for many specific high level technological skills, in “users” as well as IT suppliers • Rapid growth of demand for multiskilling • Complex demand for new competences (not just “skills”) • Declining demand for unskilled labour • Need for communication skills across all positions • General trend in education & training toward “vocationalisation”, but takes many forms and role of employees varies

28. IPTS Study (early 2000!!) - Skill Needs: • Highly qualified personnel • Net masters - main area of focus • Europe’s under powered RTD labour force (EU 5/1000; US 7/1000; Japan 9/1000) • Net capability • content creation - 24 hour web journalism • new business skills • multimedia & multichannel artistic skills • Net literacy

29. Policy Issues (Freeman & Soete) • Reduce bottlenecks in work organisation, skills, education, training • Improve general environment for IT diffusion across Europe, make policy more demand led • Facilitate coherence of micropolicies (and document better).