This study seeks to uncover the local social relations of unpaid overtime work of social workers working in non-profit social service organizations in Ontario. Previous research has identified unpaid overtime work performed by social workers as an ongoing labour issue. For example, Baines, MacKenzie Davis, & Saini (2009) found that 71% of social workers surveyed were ‘donating’ one-six hours of time to their jobs a day. Institutional ethnography is used as a theoretical and methodological framework for this inquiry. Accordingly, this research project focuses on uncovering knowledge about the social organization of unpaid overtime work. This knowledge may be useful for those seeking to make specific changes to the organization of the work of social workers to further prevent or eliminate unpaid overtime work. During this study, three Ontario social workers were interviewed about their jobs and unpaid overtime, and provided further written information over email. One particular account of a problematic, or topic for IE research, was not formulated in this thesis as originally intended. However, three accounts of the everyday experience of unpaid overtime work of social workers are presented and could each be used to formulate a problematic for future IE research into this topic. Potential threads of ruling which are visible in the local setting are discussed, with particular emphasis on the ruling relations of non-payment of overtime work. Other potential threads of ruling identified and discussed include the social organization of ‘an endless workload’ and the social organization of social work ethics. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW) / Recent research in Ontario has demonstrated that many social workers who work for non-profit organizations such as government social services or community-based non-profits regularly perform unpaid overtime work. The objective of this study was to understand more about how social workers come to work unpaid overtime hours at their jobs in non-profit social service organizations. To accomplish this, Institutional Ethnography (IE) was used as a theoretical and methodological framework for research. IE is a critical sociology which is used to uncover the social organization of a part of every day life, rather than knowledge about the people who experience it. Studying this research topic contributes to the knowledge of those seeking improved labour justice for social workers. The information discovered in the course of this research about how unpaid overtime work comes to happen for social workers can be useful for those trying to change and prevent unpaid overtime work.

Why do people work in the voluntary sector? Is the sector distinct, with characteristics that differentiate it from the private and public sectors? Is it important to consider the existence of the so-called ‘third sector’ when analysing behaviour in the labour market? Is altruism really an important motivation for workers in this sector? This dissertation is concerned specifically with the labour market in the voluntary sector: that is, workers who are the paid employees of independent nonprofit organisations. Using a large, national dataset, we explore empirically the predictions of the economic theory of voluntary organisations. In particular, is there evidence for a ‘warm glow’, the extra utility that workers receive for working towards a goal that they share with their employer? Does this glow exist, and is it brighter in the voluntary sector? We examine in turn sector differences in wages, working hours, and find evidence that employment in the voluntary sector is significantly different in some characteristics from both the private and public sectors. The main economic theories of voluntary sector wage-setting rely on some formulation of ‘warm glow’ utility or intrinsic motivation derived from working for an organisation with a mission shared by motivated employees. This leads to a prediction of lower wages in the voluntary sector. The empirical findings in the existing literature have focussed on US data, and the results have been mixed. Using pooled cross-sectional and panel datasets based on UK employment data between 1997 and 2007, we show that there is some evidence of warm-glow wage discounts in the sector for male workers, but that these wage differences have been eroded as the sector has grown. Although there is not a significant sector wage difference found for women, there is evidence that they have also experienced faster wage growth in the voluntary sector than the private. There are significant sector differences in working hours within the Health & Social Work industries, particularly in overtime working. Workers in the voluntary sector work more hours of unpaid overtime, whilst those in the private sector work more hours of paid overtime. Controlling for overtime hours has a significant effect on sector wage differentials. In particular, accounting for unpaid overtime results in evidence of a warm-glow wage discount for female workers. We analyse this data at a time when the sector has been growing dramatically, driven by government policy to reform public services. Our findings suggest that this policy has had unintended consequences for the voluntary sector labour market.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the reasons why young part-time employees work unpaid overtime in the trade industry. The phenomenon of working overtime without financial compensation can be understood as part of the informalization of working life. In order to understand the reasons that young store employees work unpaid overtime, the results are analyzed based on the perspective of power by Foucault (1980) and with the help of the human capital theory by Becker (1993). The questions that deal with the reasons why young part-time employees work unpaid overtime are based on these two theories, to describe how the results can be understood based on the theoretical frameworks. Previous research has made it clear that part-time employees are a vulnerable group and that unpaid overtime is a widespread problem. Research has also highlighted that power and human capital can be underlying causes of the problem. Based on a qualitative method, the material has been collected using eight semi-structured interviews, the majority of which were conducted physically. To analyze the results of the collected material, a thematic analysis has been used where five different themes have been identified. The result shows that young part-time employees experience unpaid overtime to a large extent and this can be explained based on the fact that there are underlying power structures and a strong desire to invest in the human capital. / Studiens syfte är att undersöka orsakerna till att unga deltidsanställda arbetar obetald övertid inom handelsbranschen. Fenomenet att arbeta övertid utan ekonomisk ersättning kan förstås som en del av den pågående informalisering av arbetslivet. För att förstå orsakerna till att unga butiksanställda arbetar obetald övertid analyseras resultatet utifrån maktperspektiv av Foucault (1980) samt med hjälp av humankapitalteorin av Becker (1993). Frågeställningarna som handlar om orsakerna till att unga deltidsanställda arbetar obetald övertid utgår från de två teorierna, för att beskriva hur resultatet kan förstås utifrån de teoretiska ramverken. Tidigare forskning har tydliggjort att deltidsanställda är en utsatt grupp och att obetald övertid är ett omfattande problem. Forskning har också belyst att makt och humankapital kan vara bakomliggande orsaker till problemet. Med utgångspunkt i kvalitativ metod har materialet samlats in med hjälp av åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer där majoriteten utförts fysiskt. För att analysera resultatet av det insamlade materialet har en tematisk analys använts där fem olika teman identifierats. Resultatet visar att unga deltidsanställda upplever obetald övertid i stor utsträckning och det kan förklaras utifrån att det finns bakomliggande maktstrukturer och en stark vilja att investera i sitt humankapital.

Inspiré par la réflexion quant aux nouvelles formes d’organisation du travail de la nouvelle économie, ce mémoire s’intéresse à la question des heures supplémentaires non formellement rémunérées chez une frange de travailleurs hautement qualifiés, les concepteurs de jeux vidéo. Très innovantes pour les employeurs, ces formes d’organisation, en particulier l’organisation par projets, ne sont pas sans poser des problèmes aux travailleurs. À l’instar des travailleurs du savoir qui sont souvent prêts à investir de longues heures au travail, les concepteurs de jeux vidéo travaillent fréquemment en heures supplémentaires. Or ces heures supplémentaires sont non seulement non rémunérées, mais elles sont aussi longues et fréquentes. Comment en vient-on à faire accepter aux concepteurs cette situation, sans toutefois exiger d’eux qu’ils travaillent en heures supplémentaires? Pour explorer cette question, les discours de 53 concepteurs de jeux vidéo montréalais ont été analysés. Les résultats de cette recherche dévoilent une explication basée sur un système informel de récompenses et de châtiments qui induit chez la majorité des concepteurs de jeux interrogés une propension à travailler en heures supplémentaires non rémunérées. / Inspired by the reflection made on the new forms of work organization system brought by the new economy, this M. Sc. Thesis is interested in unlimited overtime informally compensated for, among a highly skilled group of workers: video game developers. Innovative from employer’s standpoint, these types of organization system, in particular the project-based system does generate problems for the workers. Like the knowledge workers who are willing to invest long hours of work, the video game developers frequently work overtime. Not only is this overtime unpaid, but also it is long and frequent. How does management come to make the developers consent to such a demand, without requiring them to work overtime? To explore this question, we analyzed the interviews done with 53 designers from the Montreal’s video game industry. Indeed, interviews revealed that a majority of game developers make unlimited unpaid overtime on a regular basis. The results of this research offer an explanation based on an informal system of rewards and punishments.

Inspiré par la réflexion quant aux nouvelles formes d’organisation du travail de la nouvelle économie, ce mémoire s’intéresse à la question des heures supplémentaires non formellement rémunérées chez une frange de travailleurs hautement qualifiés, les concepteurs de jeux vidéo. Très innovantes pour les employeurs, ces formes d’organisation, en particulier l’organisation par projets, ne sont pas sans poser des problèmes aux travailleurs. À l’instar des travailleurs du savoir qui sont souvent prêts à investir de longues heures au travail, les concepteurs de jeux vidéo travaillent fréquemment en heures supplémentaires. Or ces heures supplémentaires sont non seulement non rémunérées, mais elles sont aussi longues et fréquentes. Comment en vient-on à faire accepter aux concepteurs cette situation, sans toutefois exiger d’eux qu’ils travaillent en heures supplémentaires? Pour explorer cette question, les discours de 53 concepteurs de jeux vidéo montréalais ont été analysés. Les résultats de cette recherche dévoilent une explication basée sur un système informel de récompenses et de châtiments qui induit chez la majorité des concepteurs de jeux interrogés une propension à travailler en heures supplémentaires non rémunérées. / Inspired by the reflection made on the new forms of work organization system brought by the new economy, this M. Sc. Thesis is interested in unlimited overtime informally compensated for, among a highly skilled group of workers: video game developers. Innovative from employer’s standpoint, these types of organization system, in particular the project-based system does generate problems for the workers. Like the knowledge workers who are willing to invest long hours of work, the video game developers frequently work overtime. Not only is this overtime unpaid, but also it is long and frequent. How does management come to make the developers consent to such a demand, without requiring them to work overtime? To explore this question, we analyzed the interviews done with 53 designers from the Montreal’s video game industry. Indeed, interviews revealed that a majority of game developers make unlimited unpaid overtime on a regular basis. The results of this research offer an explanation based on an informal system of rewards and punishments.

En raison de la nature des biens et services distribués à caractère social et collectif et des missions sociales rendues, le secteur public est davantage susceptible d’attirer des travailleurs développant une motivation pro sociale que le secteur privé. Notre thèse élabore des tests empiriques afin de révéler la présence de cette forme de motivation chez les agents du secteur public. Notre premier chapitre cherche à évaluer les différences de satisfaction dans l’emploi au regard de diverses caractéristiques le définissant afin de mettre au jour des préférences différentes entre les salariés des secteurs public et privé, nous renseignant ainsi sur leur source de motivation respective. Nous trouvons que les employés du secteur public font montre d’une motivation pro sociale supérieure aux salariés du privé en étant prêts à travailler de plus longues heures tout en acceptant des salaires plus faibles que les salariés du privé. Dans les deux chapitres suivants, nous testons l’existence d’un comportement de don du travail supérieur de la part des agents du secteur public à l’aide de deux mesures de sur-effort dans l’emploi : la probabilité de faire des heures supplémentaires non payées et le phénomène du présentéisme au travail. Les résultats montrent que la présence d’une motivation pro sociale des agents du secteur public ne les conduit pas à fournir un don d’effort supérieur aux salariés du privé. Toutefois, dès lors que l’on cherche à modifier les méthodes d’incitation et d’organisation du travail ou encore la source de leur motivation spécifique, les agents du secteur public réduisent ce comportement d’effort supplémentaire gratuit. / Because of the nature of the public goods provided and the social services performed, the public sector is more likely to attract workers with a higher prosocial motivation than the private sector. Our thesis develops empirical tests to reveal the presence of this form of motivation among public sector agents. Our first chapter seeks to evaluate the differences in job satisfaction, defined with respect to various characteristics, in order to identify different preferences between employees in the public and private sectors, thus providing information on their respective sources of motivation. We find that public sector employees show greater prosocial motivation than private sector employees, the former being willing to work longer hours and accepting lower wages than the latter. In the two following chapters, we test whether public sector employees put more effort in the workplace, all other things being equal, using two measures of overeffort: the probability of working unpaid overtime and the phenomenon of presenteeism at work. The results of these studies highlight the presence of a pro-social motivation of public sector employees which however does not lead them to provide an effort greater than that provided by private sector employees. We find that the incentive to effort takes different forms according to the specific managerial and organizational characteristics of the work, and is compatible with motivations of different nature. Finally, we show that if such specific motivation did not exist, the provision of effort of public employees would be less frequent.