How bright are the Nordic Lights? : job quality trends in Nordic countries in a comparative perspective
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Date
2017Nordic countries stand out from the rest of the Europe in terms of job quality.
Comparative research literature sought to explain the distinctiveness of Nordic
countries with diverse sets of institutional frameworks. However, global
competition, technological revolution and deregulation are common developments
throughout the industrial world – processes which are seen to erode the meaning
of institutions and nation states as protective mechanisms. This dissertation
discusses the question on the existence and persistence of the Nordic working life
model through the concept of job quality, which are investigated using surveys on
working conditions. The study draws from both universal and institutional
theories to examine changes in work life comparatively. The results lend support to
a persistence of high quality of work life in Nordic countries: the Nordic countries
stood out as the only group where employees’ possibilities to influence their work
and use and develop skills were high and continued to increase. Furthermore, as
institutional theory expects, the risk of class polarization was found to be low as
inequalities in job quality have decreased between manual and professional
employees. The findings partly challenge, partly support the claims concerning the
gender equality paradox in work life in Nordic countries: gender gap in job quality
was decreasing in all regimes, and had disappeared between upper white-collar
women and men in Finland. However, gender gap in job quality remained the
widest in Nordic countries, and was found to be especially persistent among lower
white collar female and male employees in Finland. Several seepages of institutions
were pointed out: intensification of work has increased significantly, especially for
women. Perceived job insecurity has increased and become common experience
regardless of class. Low class inequality was in fact partly due to the degradation of
job quality of male professionals and managers. In addition, the study found that
benchmarked managerial practices, interpreted as institutional avoidance, demand
attention to sectoral and managerial logics in rapidly emerging service industries.
These practices challenge the functioning of institutions as protecting mechanisms.
Consequently, the study concludes that the capability of institutions to resist the
pressures for change and insulate the consequent deterioration of job quality
becomes debatable.
...
Alternative title
Job quality trends in Nordic countries in a comparative perspectivePublisher
University of JyväskyläISBN
978-951-39-7103-8ISSN Search the Publication Forum
0075-4625Keywords
work life change job quality institutional theories gender equality comparative research class inequality Nordic countries Vertaileva tutkimus Kyselytutkimus työelämä laatu muutos tasa-arvo eriarvoisuus työntekijät ammattiasema yhteiskuntaluokat työmarkkinat rakenne instituutiot kansainvälinen vertailu vaikuttaminen työ sukupuoli rakennepolitiikka polarisaatio (yhteiskuntatieteet) kehittäminen globalisaatio polarisaatio Suomi Pohjoismaat Eurooppa
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