The study reported in this thesis investigated individual Library Assistant's perceptions and attitudes towards their work. One objective of the study was to discover if work had meaning to Library Assistants, working in University libraries, other than that of earning a living or money. It was discovered that most Library Assistants perceive that money is more important than the work itself and that library work is not intellectually stimulating or challenging. It was also discovered that their willingness to continue in the same job, after acquiring a lot of money e.g. pools money, was dependent on age and qualification. The thesis is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction in which the Investigator provides background information about work and its meaning. He also explains the general purpose and objectives of the study. Definitions and meanings of some of the key concepts used in the thesis are given. The Investigator takes the view that employment work is an activity in an institutionalised exchange relationship and that it belongs to the formal rather than informal economy. In a narrower sense employment work can be viewed as a way of earning a living and in a broader sense it is a way of self expression, where self image for the employee is sustained by providing opportunities for achievement and recognition. Chapter Two gives an idea about how the literature search was conducted and it provides an extensive literature review of the main topics related to the study. A critical evaluation of some of the research approaches and findings is given. The Investigator argues that the research instruments used by some library and information researchers, borrowed from the social sciences, have sometimes been inflexible and not quite suitable for use in library conditions. The main criticism is that library and information researchers have not developed their own research instruments for the investigation of problems relating to library and information work. Chapter Three provides the methodological approach in which the Investigator discusses his research instrument (CAIn), research procedures and hypotheses to be tested. Six main and five ancillary hypotheses were tested. Chi-Square and reliability tests were carried out in order to test hypotheses and the internal consistency reliability of CAIn. Chapter Four provides first stage data analysis where the perceptions of the Library Assistants are reported and analysed. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to analyse the data. The observation in this chapter is that most Library Assistants are dissatisfied with their promotional opportunities and pay. Although they are happy with their supervision, they consider that they are often not involved in the main stream decision making processes of the library. Chapter Five contains the hypotheses and reliability test for the research instrument. Some of the results point to the fact that job position, at library assistant level, is independent of length of service. This led to the conclusion that if the University Libraries were not promoting internally they were appointing externally hence the perceived lack of internal mobility. On the other hand, sex and age appeared to have influence on the view people held about work as a means to an end. More men than women viewed work as a means to an end. Where age was concerned the older one got the more significant work became. A general discussion is found in Chapter Six where issues relating to professionalism and its influence upon the Library Assistants' perceptions of their jobs, the work structure, rewards, autonomy and the meaning of work are raised. The Library Assistants perceive that a less hierarchical library structure is preferable to a hierarchical one. There appears to be a belief among these people that the professionalisation of the library occupation was responsible for the hierarchy which now exists. This Investigator argues that a conflict which might develop between the professionals and the non-professionals as a result of unfulfilled aspirations or demands for the professionalisation of librarianship will not help improve the position or status of the Library Assistant. Chapter Seven provides conclusion and summary while Chapter Eight gives some recommendations. It is recommended that further studies should be done in order to investigate in more detail the problem of pay satisfaction and promotion. There is also a need to re-assess the work roles and responsibilities of all library and information workers with a view to redesign jobs. A Three Tier Organisational Structure which emphasises an autonomous work groups approach is recommended.

<p>The main purpose of this thesis is to examine how different welfare and production regimes may have structured individuals’ work orientations into cross-national patterns by the late 1990s and early 2000s. Three different aspects of work orientations are considered in the three studies. Study 1: Welfare Regimes, Production Regimes and Employment Commitment: A Multi-level analysis of Twelve OECD countries. Since the introduction of the first social insurance schemes, questions have been raised regarding the trade-off between the adequacy and equity of benefits, and their effects on individuals’ work orientations. This study examines the role of both welfare and production regime institutions for explaining cross-national patterns in individuals’ employment commitment across twelve OECD-countries in the late 1990s. Results from multi-level analyses show firstly how employment commitment is stronger within more generous welfare regimes as well as within more extensively coordinated production regimes. Secondly, institutions are found to be more important for structuring the attitudes of persons with less stable labour market attachment. Thirdly, for men, there are clear positive cross-level interaction effects between institutional structures and individuals’ socio-economic status, whereas institutions matter more equally regardless of socio-economic status for women. In relation to the concerns with the allegedly negative unintended consequences of welfare regime institutions for creating distortions, these seem to be unwarranted with regards to employment commitment. To the contrary, there appears to be a ‘paradox of employment commitment’: clearly earnings-related benefits of more generous welfare regimes appear to generate stronger commitment to take part in paid work.</p><p>Study 2: Unemployment Insurance and Work Values in Twenty-Three Welfare States. This study addresses the question of whether extended ‘social rights’, specifically in the form of unemployment insurance, is undermining people’s willingness to perform their ‘social duties’ in the form of productive work. Multi-level analyses is used to evaluate how three aspects of institutional design may explain cross-national patterns of work values across twenty-three industrialized countries in 2000. There is a consistent tendency for a positive relationship between more traditional work values with higher generosity of benefit levels as well as more demanding eligibility conditions. To the contrary, a negative relationship is found in relation to duration periods. The strength and significance of these relationships however differ across the three value dimensions studied. Firstly, the clearest pattern is found in relation to how work is valued as a ‘duty towards society’, where all institutional effects are significant. Secondly, in relation to valuations of how ‘unemployed persons should accept job offers or lose their benefits’, the positive effects of the eligibility factor are non-significant, and the negative duration effects are only significant among working men. Thirdly, in relation to how work is not valued as a ‘free choice’, institutional effects are only significant when working women within the sixteen ‘older’ welfare states are compared. The effects of economic development are inconsistent across value dimensions and in the opposite direction expected from modernization theory; more traditional work values are found to be stronger in countries with higher levels of economic development. Study 3: Continued Work or Retirement? Preferred Exit-age in Western European countries. The combination of greying populations, decreasing fertility rates and a marked trend in falling retirement age is profoundly challenging the sharing of resources and supporting responsibilities between generations in the developed world. Previous studies on earlier exit-trends have focused mainly on supply-side incentives and generally conclude that people will exit given available retirement options. Substantial cross-national variations in exit-ages however remain unexplained. This suggests that also normative factors such as attitudes to work and retirement might be of importance. Through multi-level analyses, this study evaluates how welfare regime generosity, as well as production regime coordination explains cross-national patterns of retirement preferences across twelve Western European countries. Analysis firstly shows how both men and women on average prefer to retire at 58 years, meaning on average approximately 7 or 5.5 years before statutory retirement age in the case of men and women respectively. Contrary to what is expected from previous research on supply-side factors, preferences for relatively later retirement is found within more generous welfare regimes and also within more extensively coordinated production regimes. For women, however, institutional effects do not remain once substantial cross-national differences in women’s statutory retirement ages are taken into account.</p>

The main purpose of this thesis is to examine how different welfare and production regimes may have structured individuals’ work orientations into cross-national patterns by the late 1990s and early 2000s. Three different aspects of work orientations are considered in the three studies. Study 1: Welfare Regimes, Production Regimes and Employment Commitment: A Multi-level analysis of Twelve OECD countries. Since the introduction of the first social insurance schemes, questions have been raised regarding the trade-off between the adequacy and equity of benefits, and their effects on individuals’ work orientations. This study examines the role of both welfare and production regime institutions for explaining cross-national patterns in individuals’ employment commitment across twelve OECD-countries in the late 1990s. Results from multi-level analyses show firstly how employment commitment is stronger within more generous welfare regimes as well as within more extensively coordinated production regimes. Secondly, institutions are found to be more important for structuring the attitudes of persons with less stable labour market attachment. Thirdly, for men, there are clear positive cross-level interaction effects between institutional structures and individuals’ socio-economic status, whereas institutions matter more equally regardless of socio-economic status for women. In relation to the concerns with the allegedly negative unintended consequences of welfare regime institutions for creating distortions, these seem to be unwarranted with regards to employment commitment. To the contrary, there appears to be a ‘paradox of employment commitment’: clearly earnings-related benefits of more generous welfare regimes appear to generate stronger commitment to take part in paid work. Study 2: Unemployment Insurance and Work Values in Twenty-Three Welfare States. This study addresses the question of whether extended ‘social rights’, specifically in the form of unemployment insurance, is undermining people’s willingness to perform their ‘social duties’ in the form of productive work. Multi-level analyses is used to evaluate how three aspects of institutional design may explain cross-national patterns of work values across twenty-three industrialized countries in 2000. There is a consistent tendency for a positive relationship between more traditional work values with higher generosity of benefit levels as well as more demanding eligibility conditions. To the contrary, a negative relationship is found in relation to duration periods. The strength and significance of these relationships however differ across the three value dimensions studied. Firstly, the clearest pattern is found in relation to how work is valued as a ‘duty towards society’, where all institutional effects are significant. Secondly, in relation to valuations of how ‘unemployed persons should accept job offers or lose their benefits’, the positive effects of the eligibility factor are non-significant, and the negative duration effects are only significant among working men. Thirdly, in relation to how work is not valued as a ‘free choice’, institutional effects are only significant when working women within the sixteen ‘older’ welfare states are compared. The effects of economic development are inconsistent across value dimensions and in the opposite direction expected from modernization theory; more traditional work values are found to be stronger in countries with higher levels of economic development. Study 3: Continued Work or Retirement? Preferred Exit-age in Western European countries. The combination of greying populations, decreasing fertility rates and a marked trend in falling retirement age is profoundly challenging the sharing of resources and supporting responsibilities between generations in the developed world. Previous studies on earlier exit-trends have focused mainly on supply-side incentives and generally conclude that people will exit given available retirement options. Substantial cross-national variations in exit-ages however remain unexplained. This suggests that also normative factors such as attitudes to work and retirement might be of importance. Through multi-level analyses, this study evaluates how welfare regime generosity, as well as production regime coordination explains cross-national patterns of retirement preferences across twelve Western European countries. Analysis firstly shows how both men and women on average prefer to retire at 58 years, meaning on average approximately 7 or 5.5 years before statutory retirement age in the case of men and women respectively. Contrary to what is expected from previous research on supply-side factors, preferences for relatively later retirement is found within more generous welfare regimes and also within more extensively coordinated production regimes. For women, however, institutional effects do not remain once substantial cross-national differences in women’s statutory retirement ages are taken into account.