This thesis is a case study about the choices and constraints faced by women clerical workers in a labour market where they have very little autonomy in negotiating their pay and conditions of employment. On the one hand, clerical work has developed as a feminised occupation with a history of being low in status and low paid. On the other hand, it is an ideal occupation for women wanting to combine work and family across their life cycle. How these two phenomena impact upon women clerical workers ability to negotiate enterprise agreements is the subject of this thesis. From a theoretical perspective this thesis builds upon Catherine Hakim�s preference theory which explores the choices women clerical workers� make in relation to their work and family lives. Where Hakim�s preference theory focuses on the way in which women use their agency to determine their work and life style choices, this thesis gives equal weighting to the impact of agency and the constraints imposed by external structures such as the availability of part-time work and childcare, as well as the impact of organisational culture. The research data presented was based on face-to-face interviews with forty female clerical workers. The clerical workers ranged in age from 21 to 59 years of age. The respondents were made up of single or partnered women without family responsibilities, women juggling work and family, and women who no longer had dependent children and were approaching retirement. This thesis contends that these clerical workers are ill placed to optimise their conditions of employment under the new industrial regime of enterprise bargaining and individual contracts. Very few of the women were union members and generally they were uninformed about their rights and entitlements.

部分工時工作在先進國家實施許久，且各國部分工時人口多佔一定比例並具有明顯的性別特性，即部分工時勞動型態女性化之現象，特別是女性勞工為了調和工作與家庭生活而選擇了部分工時工作。現階段我國尚未就部分時間工作制定專法，因此部分工時者相關法律仍需回歸現有傳統全時工作者之勞動法令。惟就法令面而言，國內部分工時者與全時工作者勞動條件全然相同，卻仍然產生邊緣化發展趨勢，即便雇主及勞工有縮短工時需求，但運用部分時間工作的比例仍然偏低，顯示現行規定不但無法充分落實保障部分工時工作者勞動權益，與促進利用目標也是背道而馳。對雇主來說缺乏進用誘因，對大多數未就業的婦女而言也無意願藉由部分工時工作來調和工作與家庭之間的衝突。爰上，本研究主要目的係探討我國部分時間工作勞工法制建構可行性，從中發現現行法規在適用部分工時勞動型態產生的窒礙難行之處，立法時兼顧部分工時之勞動條件及促進利用之可能。 本研究藉由相關文獻回顧與整理，瞭解部分時工作現況、定義、適用及所遭遇之問題；再透過與勞工團體、資方團體、政府機關、學者專家及勞工個案代表進行深度訪談，蒐集勞資政學各方代表對於部分工時法制建構之意見，以尋求發現我國部分工時法制建構之方向。經文獻及訪談結果發現，在面臨婚育或家庭照顧而選擇退出職場，再度返回職場二度就業之婦女並從事部分時間工作者，其最大特性是多數仍有家庭照顧責任，僅是責任減輕、非家庭中主要負擔家計者，基於補貼家用考量，而選擇部分時間工作，認為部分工時具有工時短及工時彈性，可以兼顧家庭照顧，對部分工時工作的滿意度高，故部分工時勞工保護之立法仍應兼顧促進利用規劃，以吸引潛在婦女勞動力投入職場。 本研究經由文獻探討及訪談結果歸納以下建議： 一、制定部分工時勞動專法，明文規範部分工時勞動權益。 二、避免部分工時全職(時)化發展，創造友善的部分工時工作機會。 三、明文規範部分工時均等待遇原則。 四、以部分時間工作提供全時工作以外之就業選項，避免已婚婦女因婚育而離開職場。 五、部分工時勞工之教育訓練，應同時兼顧技能再生安全。 / Part-time employment in advanced countries has been implemented for a long time, It has provided female could chose part-time work to reconcile work and family life therefore, it got very high female population accounts for a certain percentage in the part time work. It caused the trendies to feminize of the phenomenon with significant gender characteristics. However, Taiwan has not yet institutionalized in Part-Time Worker Protection Law, thus the legal status of part-time workers still needs to be governed by the traditional full-time workers' labour laws. Although the part-time worker and full-time work be treated with the same law and the same working condition in Taiwan but why employees and employers using this kinds of working pattern still low percentage in the whole labour population accounts and the part-time workers and forward to marginalized development. It shows that the existing regulation not only could not fully implement the protection of part of the labor rights of workers. consequently, the goal of the promote to use the part-time worker is also run counter to the partial hours workers of the labor rights and also short of incentives for employers to use the part-time worker. For most unemployed potential women, there is no intention to reconcile work and family conflicts by working hours. This study is reviewed and collected by relevant literature to understand the current situation, definition, application and problems encountered in the part-time work. According to depth interviews with labour groups, employers' groups, government agencies, academics and labour case representatives to collect the opinions of the representatives of the parties and seeking to find the direction of the construction of Part-Time Worker Protection Law of our legal system. From the literature and interviews found out, women abandon the job when they get marriage or give birth to their own breed and to devote for the family. Those women get employed once again to choose to be a part time worker the most of reasons is that women have family care responsibilities although they are not main economic supporter consequently they reduce the part of the cost of living and subsidize home when they chose part time work. Most of them admit the part-time work has working hour’s elasticity and short hours and flexibility. Because of those reasons, they are satisfied this type of work pattern of the part-time work. Part-Time Worker Protection Law of the labour protection legislation should still take into account the promotion of the use of planning and to attract potential women's labour force into the labour market. Based on the findings, this summarizes the following suggestions : 1) To establish the Part-Time Worker Protection Law in Taiwan, specific regulations the part-time worker rights and definition clarity. 2) It should create a friendly part-time employment environment and prevent part-time work become full-time work. 3) To establish of equal treatment between full-time and part-time. 4) Create another choice of employment for marriaged women, to avoid the most women quit their job as they got marriage and bore their breeds. 5) The part-time labors' education and training should also improve their skills reproduction security.

The present rate of fossil fuel burning, the main source of commercial energy, is adversely impacting global climate. Present social and economic practices need to be examined to question their level of energy use and related greenhouse gas emission. Energy used to operate buildings and to transport people is a significant portion of the total energy consumption and reductions in these uses will be crucial to addressing the global issues. This thesis examines the potential for energy use reduction in the performance of office work through the use of Alternative Work Arrangements ("AWAs"). The analysis considers the operating energy of an office building, operating energy of alternative work locations and the transportation energy spent by employees in commuting from home to work. A brief synopsis of the present atmospheric, energy use and workplace trend is presented. The synthesis of these trends is used as a framework to evaluate the impact of AWAs. The work arrangements in the Burnaby Fraser Tax Services Office ('BFTSO'), Surrey, BC are used as a case study to analyze the operating and commuting energy spent by the employees working by different arrangements. Telework is found to be the most energy efficient work arrangement implemented at the BFTSO. Under optimum operating conditions, net energy saving per teleworker can be 34.06 GJ per annum. Net savings in greenhouse gas emission per teleworker can be 1950 kg per annum. For hoteling work arrangement, net energy savings per hoteling employee under optimum conditions can be 32 GJ per annum. Related savings in greenhouse gas emissions can be 1532 kg per annum. The proportion of total operating and total commuting energy for the BFTSO is almost equal. However, the greenhouse gas emission from total commuting energy is three times that from operating energy due to differences in carbon intensity of the fuel mix. Under optimum conditions the implementation of AWAs at the BFTSO can result in 36 percent saving in total operating energy and 43 percent saving in total commuting energy. The magnitude of the savings is location dependent due to differences in climate, fuel mix and transportation patterns. Alternative Work Arrangements have mixed social impact. It can improve the ability of employees to balance their personal and professional life. It can also lead to isolation that can adversely impact morale and work output. The participation rate in AWAs within organizations is currently low, less than 2 percent. However, the implementation of AWA is widespread with most organizations using some form of AWA. To increase the participation rate in AWAs, a comprehensive approach needs to be adopted, considering the professional, personal, economic and social impact of AWAs. Government intervention through supporting regulations and incentives can be a strong catalyst for increasing participation rates in AWAs.

The present rate of fossil fuel burning, the main source of commercial energy, is adversely impacting global climate. Present social and economic practices need to be examined to question their level of energy use and related greenhouse gas emission. Energy used to operate buildings and to transport people is a significant portion of the total energy consumption and reductions in these uses will be crucial to addressing the global issues. This thesis examines the potential for energy use reduction in the performance of office work through the use of Alternative Work Arrangements ("AWAs"). The analysis considers the operating energy of an office building, operating energy of alternative work locations and the transportation energy spent by employees in commuting from home to work. A brief synopsis of the present atmospheric, energy use and workplace trend is presented. The synthesis of these trends is used as a framework to evaluate the impact of AWAs. The work arrangements in the Burnaby Fraser Tax Services Office ('BFTSO'), Surrey, BC are used as a case study to analyze the operating and commuting energy spent by the employees working by different arrangements. Telework is found to be the most energy efficient work arrangement implemented at the BFTSO. Under optimum operating conditions, net energy saving per teleworker can be 34.06 GJ per annum. Net savings in greenhouse gas emission per teleworker can be 1950 kg per annum. For hoteling work arrangement, net energy savings per hoteling employee under optimum conditions can be 32 GJ per annum. Related savings in greenhouse gas emissions can be 1532 kg per annum. The proportion of total operating and total commuting energy for the BFTSO is almost equal. However, the greenhouse gas emission from total commuting energy is three times that from operating energy due to differences in carbon intensity of the fuel mix. Under optimum conditions the implementation of AWAs at the BFTSO can result in 36 percent saving in total operating energy and 43 percent saving in total commuting energy. The magnitude of the savings is location dependent due to differences in climate, fuel mix and transportation patterns. Alternative Work Arrangements have mixed social impact. It can improve the ability of employees to balance their personal and professional life. It can also lead to isolation that can adversely impact morale and work output. The participation rate in AWAs within organizations is currently low, less than 2 percent. However, the implementation of AWA is widespread with most organizations using some form of AWA. To increase the participation rate in AWAs, a comprehensive approach needs to be adopted, considering the professional, personal, economic and social impact of AWAs. Government intervention through supporting regulations and incentives can be a strong catalyst for increasing participation rates in AWAs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate