This thesis deals with different aspects of the Spanish Labor Market. The first chapter explores the impact of product market competition on job instability. Empirical results show that job instability rises with competition. The second chapter addresses the existence of network effects on immigrants' remitting behavior. Using a unique data base, I find positive network effects on the probability of remitting as well as on quantity remitted. The final chapter studies the role of the recent construction boom in explaining decisions to drop out of high-school. The construction boom is shown to increase the likelihood of dropping out of high-school. / Esta tesis trata diferentes aspectos del mercado laboral español. El primer capítulo explora el impacto de la competencia en el mercado de productos sobre la inestabilidad del empleo. Los resultados empíricos muestran que la inestabilidad en el empleo crece con el nivel de competencia. El segundo capítulo plantea la existencia de efectos de las redes sociales de inmigrantes sobre el envío de remesas. Mediante el uso de una base de datos exclusiva, he encontrado efectos positivos de las redes sociales sobre la probabilidad de enviar remesas así como sobre la cantidad enviada. El último capítulo estudia el papel del reciente boom de la construcción en el abandono escolar durante la educación secundaria. Se demuestra que el boom de la construcción ha incrementado la probabilidad de abandono escolar durante la educación secundaria.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka huruvida och på vilket sätt unga individer med behovs- och deltidsanställning upplever att deras anställningsform påverkar deras hälsa, livssituation och vardagsliv. I uppsatsen beskrivs behovs- och deltidsanställningar som otrygga då de i många fall innebär ett oförutsägbart schema och en oförutsägbar inkomst. Studien är kvalitativ och bygger på fem intervjuer med unga individer mellan 20–30 år som alla har, eller under de senaste sex månaderna har haft, en behovs- eller deltidsanställning som huvudsaklig sysselsättning. Det insamlade datamaterialet analyseras med hjälp av fyra sociologiska teorier, dessa är flexibilitet på arbetsmarknaden, krav- och kontrollmodellen, ekonomi-skam och ekonomi-sociala band modellen samt psykologiska kontrakt. De slutsatser som dras är att en otrygg anställningsform leder till psykiska påfrestningar hos de anställda, som i stor utsträckning upplever stress och oro inför framtiden. Konsekvenserna grundas till stor del i en ostabil och oförutsägbar ekonomi. Av resultatet framgår även att de sociala relationerna med både chef och kollegor spelar stor roll för upplevelsen av den otrygga anställningsformen. Om arbetstagaren har en god relation med chef och kollegor upplever denne i större utsträckning anställningsformen och dess medföljande villkor som bättre. / The purpose of this essay is to gain further knowledge of how young adults with temporary and part time employment experience the consequences of their employment regarding health, life situation and everyday life. In this study temporary and part time employment is described as insecure employment because of their often unpredictable schedule and income. The study is built on five qualitative interviews with young adults between the age of 20–30 years old. They all have, or within the last six months have had, a part time or temporary employment as their main occupation. The result is analysed with the help of four sociological theories. These include flexibility on the labour market, the demand and control model, the economy-shame and economy- social bonds model and the theory of psychological contracts. The conclusions made are that an insecure employment leads to psychological tension. The individual tends to experience a lot of stress and worries for the future because of increased psychological tension. These are consequences that are based on an unpredictable and unstable personal economy. The result also shows that the experience of an insecure employment can depend on the individual's relationship with manager and co-workers. If the individual has a good relationship with manager and co-workers, it is more likely to experience the form of employment and its accompanying terms as better.

This treatise specifically explores section 198 of the Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995, which regulate temporary employment service. However, before one can assess this section in particular, other legislation has to be considered dealing with temporary employment services, read in conjunction with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 (hereinafter the “Constitution”), as all legislation is subject thereto. As summarised by Navsa AJ in the judgment of Sidumo& Another v Rustenburg Platinum Mines Ltd & Others: “The starting point is the Constitution. Section 23(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides that everyone has the right to fair labour practices”. The Labour Relations Act, 66 of 1995 (hereinafter the “LRA”) is also subject to the Constitution, and section 198 has to be evaluated and assessed against the Constitution as is set out in section 1 of the LRA, which provides that: “The purpose of this Act is to advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and the democratisation of the workplace by fulfilling the primary objects of this Act, which are (a) to give effect to and regulate the fundamental rights conferred by section 27 of the Constitution...” The LRA was drafted while the Interim Constitution was in effect, this being the reason why section 1(a) refers to section 27 of the Constitution, the Interim Constitution, and not the final Constitution, which was enacted in 1996. The Honourable Justice Conradie held in NAPTOSA & others v Minister of Education, Western Cape & others [2001] 22 ILJ 889 (C): “that the effect of section 1(a) is to ensure that the LRA “[marries] the enforcement of fundamental rights with the effective resolution of labour dispute temporary employment service . . . If an employer adopts a labour practice which is thought to be unfair, an aggrieved employee would in the first instance be obliged to seek a remedy under the LRA. If he or she finds no remedy under that Act, the LRA might come under constitutional scrutiny for not giving adequate protection to a constitutional right. If a labour practice permitted by the LRA is not fair, a court might be persuaded to strike down the impugned provision. But it would, I think, need a good deal of persuasion”. The Constitution and the LRA lay the basis for temporary employment services in the South African law context, and are the primary laws dealing with this topic. Although the main focus of the treatise is section 198 of the LRA in dealing with temporary employment services, it is evident that secondary labour legislation also regulates temporary employment services. It is noteworthy that each piece of legislation has different requirements and/or essentials regulating temporary employment services, even though some of the legislation have very similar provisions. Secondly, each of the pieces of legislation also determines and attaches different meanings to who the real employer is. This is important so as to establish who, as between the temporary employment service and its client, may be held liable for obligations arising out of the employment relationship. A tripartite relationship is created by temporary employment service arrangements, in that there is the temporary employment services –client relationship, the temporary employment service’s employer - employee relationship and the client –employee relationship, each with its own rights, obligations, and requirements for termination. A further focus of the treatise is the problems experienced in the employment relationship between the temporary employment service and its employees and the termination of the relationship. The difficulties and potential unfairness arising from termination of the relationship between the temporary employment service and its employees have resulted in legislative developments and proposed amendments, most notably the repeal of section 198. These proposals are discussed herein, including the question of whether section 198 should be repealed, or whether temporary employment services should be more strenuously regulated in order to resolve the problems being experienced with the application of section 198 in its present form. It is proposed in conclusion that temporary employment services be more strenuously regulated, as the repeal of section 198 will not be socially and economically beneficial to the workforce of South Africa, nor the Labour Market. Further, it would be contrary to the Constitution and purpose of the Labour Relations Act.

Background: Motivation creates meaning in both big and small things. Previous studies have shown that the field of motivation is important as it affects the skills individuals develop, which jobs and careers individuals take on and also how individuals allocate resources such as attention, effort and time. Motivation is essential for both individual well-being and organizational success. In an increasingly globalized world, companies can become more competitive by hiring consultants and reports have shown that the consulting sector is expanding. Purpose and issue: The purpose with this study is to examine how work motivation is founded in consultants and also if there are any factors that differs between full time employed and part time employed consultants. Method: This study is a qualitative case study. Eight semi structured interviews, where the respondents have been answering questions related to work motivation, have been made. The collected empirical data has then been analyzed using a theory synthesis and previous research. Conclusion: The result in this case study has shown that fellowship and relationships, own growth, responsibility, rewards and goals are important elements in motivation. It is, however, a bit problematic to make a general conclusion out of these results because they contain different perceptions, reasonings and opinions among the respondents.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In the early 1990s, South Africa (SA) entered its democratic transition, which created expectations of a dramatic turnaround in the country’s economy.1 The readmission of SA to the global arena introduced the economy to concepts such as globalisation. Globalisation came with some implications and impact that have been widely debated.2 The democratic transition brought a significant change to the job spectrum, generating an increase in Temporary Employment Service (TES) and a decrease in permanent employment.3 The reasons leading to this increase are that subcontracting is beneficial to employers in that this process results in the transferral of social risks to the subcontractor, reducing direct exposure to labour legislation.4 Regarding the pertinence of this issue, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the biggest union federation in the country, and the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), have long called for the elimination of labour brokers.5 COSATU, in its presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Labour in 2009, argued that labour brokers act as intermediaries to access jobs that allegedly exist, and which in many cases would have existed previously as permanent full time jobs.6 On the other hand, political organisations, such as the Democratic Alliance (DA), Congress of the People (COPE) and Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), have called for the regulation of labour brokers.7 These organisations argued that competition among businesses has increased over the past few decades. Therefore, in order to remain competitive, it is imperative to enhance technology and to adopt flexibility regarding human resource processes to minimise costs and to allow companies to broaden their investment based on the positive turnover that will occur. The continuing point of view of the opposition political coalitions has been to boost the corporate.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In the early 1990s, South Africa (SA) entered its democratic transition, which created expectations of a dramatic turnaround in the country’s economy.1 The readmission of SA to the global arena introduced the economy to concepts such as globalisation. Globalisation came with some implications and impact that have been widely debated.2 The democratic transition brought a significant change to the job spectrum, generating an increase in Temporary Employment Service (TES) and a decrease in permanent employment.3 The reasons leading to this increase are that subcontracting is beneficial to employers in that this process results in the transferral of social risks to the subcontractor, reducing direct exposure to labour legislation.4 Regarding the pertinence of this issue, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the biggest union federation in the country, and the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), have long called for the elimination of labour brokers.5 COSATU, in its presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Labour in 2009, argued that labour brokers act as intermediaries to access jobs that allegedly exist, and which in many cases would have existed previously as permanent full time jobs.6

Nina Fällstrand Larsson Psychosocial safety climate for workers with temporary employment in elderly care. Master Thesis in Occupational Health Science (15 credits). Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies. University of Gävle. Sweden Psychosocial safety climate for workers with temporary employment in elderly care Psychosocial safety climate refers to workers psychological health, well-being and safety in an organisation, and it reflects the organisations’ ability to protect workers health and safety. Psychosocial safety climate can be measured with the PSC-4 tool consisting of 4 dimensions covering organisational policies and practice. The aim of this study is to examine in what extend job preferences and job security can predict psychosocial safety climate for workers with temporary employment in elderly care. The design is cross sectional with data collected by a survey from the research program Flexible working (Flex-A) at University of Gävle. The respondents were 109 workers with temporary employment in care facilities for elderly. The variables job preferences and job security have been analysed with a linear regression analysis including age and gender as cofounders. The unadjusted analysis did not reach significance, but the age and gender adjusted analysis did. However, none of the predictors were significant. The conclusion is that psychosocial safety climate cannot be predicted by job preferences and job security for workers with temporary employment in elderly care. In addition, gender and age should be considered as possible confounders in future studies. Keywords: Psychosocial safety climate, Temporary employment, Job insecurity, Employment preference / Psykosocialt säkerhetsklimat hos timanställda inom äldreomsorgen Stress och ohälsa är ett stort problem på dagens arbetsmarknad, speciellt för medarbetare inom vård och omsorg. Det psykosociala arbetsklimatet återspeglar organisationens förmåga att skydda medarbetarnas hälsa och säkerhet, och innefattar medarbetarnas psykiska hälsa, välbefinnande och säkerhet i en organisation. Det psykosociala säkerhetsklimatet kan mätas med verktyget PSC-4 som består av 4 dimensioner och ger uttryck för organisationens värderingar, kommunikation och engagemang. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka betydelsen av anställningspreferens och anställningstrygghet för det psykosociala säkerhetsklimatet hos timanställda i kommunens äldreomsorg. Frågeställningen är i vilken utsträckning anställningspreferens och anställningstrygghet predicerar psykosocialt säkerhetsklimat. Studien har en tvärsnittsdesign där det empiriska materialet är sekundärdata från forskningsprogrammet Flexibelt arbete (FlexA) vid Högskolan i Gävle. Urvalet i studien består av 109 timanställda inom kommunens äldreomsorg. Variablerna anställningspreferens och anställningstrygghet har använts i en linjär regressionsanalys. Resultatet visar att det inte finns något signifikant samband som kan predicera det psykosociala säkerhetsklimatet. Den justerade regressionen med kontrollvariablerna ålder och kön är signifikant (p = 0,006). Däremot är inga av de ingående prediktorerna signifikanta, men resultatet visar att ålder och kön är viktiga att beakta i analyser av det psykosociala säkerhetsklimatet. Slutsatsen är att anställningspreferens och anställningstrygghet inte kan predicera psykosocialt säkerhetsklimat för timanställda inom kommunens äldreomsorg.

Det har skett stora förändringar på arbetsmarknaden, där visstidsanställning/ behovsanställning blivit alltmer vanligare anställningsformen i Sverige. Individer som inte har fast anställning har även sämre psykosociala arbetsförhållanden och upplever större stress på arbetsplatsen, vilket i sin tur kan leda till mental ohälsa. Även kvinnor upplever sig ha sämre psykosociala arbetsförhållanden jämfört med män. I denna studie undersöks sambandet mellan psykosociala arbetsförhållanden, arbetsbelastning, anställningsform samt kön och mental ohälsa. De psykosociala förhållanden mäts genom den så kallade krav- och kontrollmodell som omfattar vilken typ av arbete individen utför. Resultatet uppvisade positiva samband mellan både psyksociala arbetsförhållanden, alltför många arbetsuppgifter, visstidsanställning, kvinna och mental ohälsa då mental ohälsa var större hos de individer som upplever sig ha höga krav och låg kontroll i arbetet (spänt arbete) än hos individer med låga krav och hög kontroll på arbetsplatsen. Även alldeles för stor arbetsbelastning hade en stor betydelse när det gäller mental ohälsa. Detta gäller även anställningsform då resultatet visade att visstidsanställda var i högre utsträckning utsatta av mental ohälsa än de som har fast anställning. Emellertid vad gäller kön så resultatet uppvisade att kvinnor drabbas i högre utsträckning av mental ohälsa jämfört med män däremot kan detta inte kopplas till krav och kontroll på arbetsplatsen. Studien avslutas med diskussion kring de resultat som har erhållits från regressioner. / There have been major changes in labor markets, where temporary employments have become increasingly more common form of employment in Sweden. Individuals who do not have a permanent job have also worse psychosocial working conditions and experience greater stress in the workplace, which in turn can lead to mental ill health. Although women perceive themselves as having poorer psychosocial working conditions compared to males. The present study examines the relationship between psychosocial working conditions, workload, employment status, sex and mental ill health. The psychosocial working condition measured by the so called demands and latitudes model that includes the type of working the individual performs. The result showed a positive correlation between psychosocial working conditions, too many tasks, temporary employment, women and mental ill health where mental ill health was grater in those individuals who have high demands and low control at work than those with low demands and high control in the workplace. Also heavy workload had a major role in the mental ill health. This also applies to employment status when the results showed that temporary workers were more often affected of mental ill health than those with permanent employment. However, in terms of gender, the results showed that women are affected more often of mental ill health compared to men; however, this cannot be linked to demand and control in the workplace. The study concludes with discussion of the results obtained from the regressions.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-85). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil