Tag: HRWE

Invisible Work on Maternity Leave: How the Covid Pandemic intensified and exposed the unpaid work of Mothers

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Dr Jenna Pandeli, Dr Chloe Tarrabain and Dr Mahwish Khan

In this blog, we draw upon our own research that explored the experiences of new mothers on maternity leave during the pandemic. We unravel the immense layers of unpaid work that mothers undertake and define this as ‘Invisible Work’. Our work aids understanding of the complex layers of emotion work, physical work, and mental load that women are expected to undertake during maternity leave.

What is Invisible Work?

The term ‘Invisible Work’ was developed by feminist academic Arlene Kaplan Daniels (1987) to describe women’s unpaid labour, such as housework and volunteer work. The concept has since been expanded and used to describe lots of different types of work (not just ‘women’s work’); work that is not valued economically, legally, culturally and work that is socially marginalized, physically out of sight or some combination thereof (Hatton, 2017). Invisible Work is unseen, unacknowledged and neither defined nor recognized or compensated as labour (Kaplan, 2022). Examples of Invisible Work have included prison labour (Pandeli et al, 2019), ‘dirty work’ (Duffy, 2007; Simpson et al., 2012), sex work (Kotiswaran, 2011), student internships (Hatton, 2017), emotion work and so on. Essentially, Invisible Work is being undertaken everywhere, but because this type of work is hidden in some shape or form, this obscures the fact that work is being performed and therefore this contributes to its economic devaluation.

So, what does ‘Invisible Work’ have to do with maternity leave and the pandemic?

For families, the pandemic meant a collapse of the boundaries between public and private space, where work, childcare and personal time all happened within the home. Research on parenting during the pandemic shows how the lack of separation between these spaces impacted mothers in a more pronounced way than fathers. Findings suggest that mothers experienced far greater anxieties and a greater sense of responsibility for their child’s safety (Ben Yaakov and Ben-Ari, 2021) often assuming accountability for making decisions and warding off the virus (Dutta et al., 2020; Kelly and Senior, 2021), and had an increased mental load (Dean et al. 2021; Kelly and Senior, 2021) than their male counterparts. Maternity leave makes this collapse of boundaries more extreme. Women having babies and taking maternity are removed from the economic labour market and confined to the domestic space. Without respite through social interaction, family and professional support, these women sat at the sharp end of the Covid pandemic. They were completing vast layers of unpaid work – emotional, physical and mental.

Dr Jenna Pandeli, Dr Chloe Tarrabain and Dr Mahwish Khan, all researchers at the University of the West of England gave birth (each to their first child) during the lockdowns of the global pandemic in 2020. Their experiences were understandably distressing, emotional and painful. On returning to work, they joked that they felt like they were ‘on holiday’ – being back at work felt like a holiday, which really made them realise that they had undertaken real, sweated labour while on maternity leave…exhausting, stressful and all-consuming labour…If their (professional, stressful, busy) paid jobs felt like relief/a break, what the hell had they been doing on maternity leave!? As a result, they undertook research, using their own experiences as well as interviewing 13 women who had given birth in 2020 to gain a deeper understanding of the type of work they were undertaking whilst on maternity leave in a pandemic.

What type of work were mothers undertaking on maternity leave in the pandemic?

Their research found that new mothers were undertaking significant layers of work during their maternity leave in the pandemic that included such things as:

  • Managing the expectations of maternity leave versus the reality of their experiences
  • Struggling to be heard and advocate for themselves in the absence of support
  • Managing safety, fear, and risk to keep themselves and their babies safe during the pandemic
  • Managing boredom, monotony, and loneliness due to isolation, restrictions, lockdown, and the confinement of motherhood more generally
  • Managing the relentlessness of caring for a baby whilst never being able to ‘switch off’
  • Managing and worrying about societal expectations of being the ‘ideal mother’

The Covid-19 pandemic dramatically altered the expectations and experiences of mothers during their maternity leave; adjusting to these changes and managing their expectations took its toll. Initially anticipating a period of bonding and shared joy, many women found themselves isolated, with limited social interactions and a sense of stolen moments. The absence of crucial social support networks left mothers mourning the maternity leave they had envisioned. The emotional and mental work needed to manage these expectations was often overlooked.

Many mothers felt that their experiences were devalued, leading to feelings of abandonment and disempowerment. Without adequate professional and social support, they had to navigate complex healthcare decisions and the challenges of early motherhood largely on their own, often feeling dismissed. They encountered the usual trope of being considered overly emotional, irrational, and hysterical. Their struggles were not treated as legitimate, and they were forced to ‘just get on with it’ at every stage. Fielding-Singh and Dmowska (2022) have shown us that women experience gaslighting during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum; their realities are denied and thereby destabilized; mothers are rendered non-credible, and their experiences are not taken seriously. Even large organisations are now starting to acknowledge gender bias in healthcare and pain (See Nurofen’s recent ‘See My Pain’ Campaign here: See My Pain | Nurofen). Therefore, women were forced to undertake intense amounts of labour in order to advocate for themselves and their children during this time, and ensure their voices were heard.

Balancing the risks posed by the pandemic with their emotional wellbeing became a complex challenge for many mothers on maternity leave during this time. The lifting of restrictions introduced new fears and anxieties e.g. ‘Restrictions have eased but is it actually safe to go out?’ or ‘I had planned to meet a friend outside for coffee, but she has been in contact with someone who has covid – should I cancel plans?’ Constantly having to make these decisions with limited information, not only for themselves but also to protect their baby only added to their emotional burden and decision fatigue.

Additionally, loneliness and monotony became prominent features of maternity leave during covid as the absence of social support intensified feelings of isolation. Women had to form networks, reach out, socialise while physically and mentally exhausted in order to manage their mental health on maternity leave. Organising coffee meetups or play dates with the added pressure or masks, navigating lockdown rules and restrictions, lateral flow tests etc. was challenging and exhausting, albeit necessary for survival.

Mothers felt immense, relentless pressure to meet unrealistic expectations of being the ‘perfect’ mum, which was exacerbated by the lack of social support, resulting in feelings of exhaustion, guilt, shame, and a distorted sense of self-worth. Society tells us:

“You must feed your child healthy, home-cooked food, but you must still make time to play with them, you must not use screen time, but you must ensure your home is always clean. You must be a calm and gentle parent, but you must parent without support. You cannot use soothers, but your child must nap independently…. actually, don’t let your child nap independently enjoy this time together and have contact naps. You should breastfeed but not for too long. You should go back to work after your maternity leave, but if you do go back, you are neglecting your child. You must ensure you have some ‘me time’ but only after everyone else in your household is sorted and your chores are done. Motherhood is a blessing, and you must enjoy every minute so please don’t complain…. oh, and by the way, when are you going to have another child?’

These are the constant messages, often conflicting and confusing, that women are bombarded with on a daily basis. Mothers are expected to strike exactly the right balance in all areas of their child’s life and development and are considered failures if they can’t meet these impossible expectations, whilst isolated and doing it all alone. Inevitably, this pressure leads to burnout for many mothers.

These are just a handful of examples of the emotional, physical, and mental work taking place whilst on maternity leave and well into motherhood.

What does this tell us about maternity leave more generally? are these experiences only relevant to the pandemic?

Overall, the research argues that these experiences are not necessarily unique to the pandemic, instead what was discovered was the Invisible Work of maternity leave more generally. The pandemic allowed us to see more clearly the work that new mothers were forced to undertake whilst on maternity leave. Covid-19 exacerbated the difficult experiences of motherhood, isolating mothers, removing support, and pushing Invisible Work to an almost unbearable extreme. But we can learn from these experiences as we can now see more clearly the multiple layers of work being undertaken on maternity leave.

You can find out more about this research, read the full report and see the recommendations we make to organisations, policymakers and families going forward here. Please get in touch with Jenna Pandeli if you would like to know more.

References

Ben-Yaakov, O. and Ben-Ari, O.T (2022) Covid-19-Related anxieties and parenting stress among first-time mothers and fathers in their first year of parenthood. Psychology & Health, 37(11),1327-1341.

Dean, L., Churchill, B., & Ruppanner, L (2021) The mental load: building a deeper theoretical understanding of how cognitive and emotional labor overload women and mothers. Community, Work & Family, 25(1), 13-29.

Duffy M (2007) Doing the dirty work: gender, race, and reproductive labor in historical perspective. Gender & Society, 21(3): 313–36.

Dutta, M., Agarwal, D., & Sivakami, M. (2020 The “invisible” among the marginalised: Do gender and intersectionality matter in the Covid-19 response. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 5(4), 302-308.

Fielding-Singh, P. & Dmowska, A (2022) Obstetric gaslighting and the denial of mothers’ realities. Social Science & Medicine, 301: 1-8.

Hatton, Erin (2017). Mechanisms of invisibility: rethinking the concept of Invisible Work. Work, Employment and Society, 31(2): 336–351.

Kaplan Daniels, Arlene (1987). Invisible Work. Social Problems, 34(5): 403–415.

Kaplan, Amit (2022). ‘Just Let it Pass by and it Will Fall on Some Woman’: Invisible Work in the Labor Market. Gender & Society, 36(6): 838-868.

Kelly, S., & Senior, A (2021) Towards a feminist parental ethics. Gender, Work & Organization, 28(2): 807-825.

Kotiswaran P (2011) Dangerous Sex, Invisible Labor: Sex Work and the Law in India. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Pandeli, J., Marinetto, M. and Jenkins, J., 2019. Captive in cycles of invisibility? Prisoners’ work for the private sector. Work, Employment and Society, 33(4): 596-612.

Simpson R, Slutskaya N, Lewis P, Höpfl H (eds) (2012) Dirty Work: Concepts and Identities. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Handbook Launch: Gender and Employment in the Public Sector

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Hazel Conley and Paula Koskinen Sandberg have co-edited a new International Handbook on Gender and Employment in the Public Sector, published by Edward Elgar in their International Handbooks on Gender series.  This blog is based on the introductory chapter of the handbook.  

Professor Hazel Conley would like to introduce her latest publication, at the formal launch of this handbook in the 11.12.23. There will be light refreshments, and ample opportunity to discuss the work. You can register to attend here.

Public sector employment is characterized by its high levels of gender segregation and, in many countries of the world, it is feminized providing both high and low skilled work for women.  Public sector employment is inevitably politically charged because the State is often both employer and paymaster and because adequate public services rely on significant levels of taxation, making it a target for neo-liberal reforms fuelled; in recent times, by austerity.  Here, trade unions still have a significant representation and collective bargaining presence, which periodically results in industrial unrest.

Further, Public sector employment is emotionally charged because it often involves work with the most vulnerable members of society – the old, the young, the sick, the homeless, victims of crime and other emergencies, which has included being on the front line of a global pandemic.  Despite this, the rewards for public sector employment, particularly in relation to gender pay equality, are frequently called into question.  However, these issues also mean that public sector employment has often been the focus of developing gender equality policies, practices and legislation.  These debates provide fertile ground for feminist and academic research on equality, from which the contributions to the Handbook are drawn.  The volume explores theoretical, conceptual and empirical research from established and early career researchers.  It takes an international and intersectional perspective, which acknowledges that those who work in public sector employment have differences in demography that shape their experiences at work.

The 26 chapters of this book explore five main subject areas:

  • Gender and the Neo-Liberal State as Employer
  • Gender and Working Conditions in the Public Sector
  • Women’s Pay, Reward and Pensions in the Public Sector
  • Women’s Representation and Voice in the Public Sector
  • Gender, Pandemic and Public Sector Employment

The book produces a wide range of global evidence detailing the ways in which women’s employment in public services is inevitably impacted by the many political and economic tensions that surround public spending. Women are used as flexible resources to move into or out of the labour market, depending on prevailing political ideologies and economic conditions. Their pay and job quality are used as tools to keep public spending low where neo-liberal ideologies demand while; at the same time maintaining levels of public service that limit the damage to the electoral chances of incumbent governments.

”…Women are used as flexible resources to move into or out of the labour market, depending on prevailing political ideologies and economic conditions...”

During the global pandemic the commitment and dedication of public service workers to the care of others was lauded, but their own health and well-being were secondary concerns, with ethnic minority and migrant women faring particularly badly.  This book documents how years of underfunding combined with the effects of the pandemic have left public services, and the women who work in them, exhausted and demoralized.  Lastly, despite propping up underfunded public services around the globe, women’s progress into leadership positions in this sector remains tortuously slow and unequally rewarded.

Although the evidence in this volume is international and is shaped by quite different cultural and political contexts, the underpinning logic for the position of women identified in each chapter is consistent: women’s paid labour is universally valued less than men’s and their unpaid labour is generally disregarded.  Although one of the main roles of the state should be to uphold the human rights of its citizens not to be discriminated against, it is complicit in discrimination when it draws on gendered assumptions about women’s lives, skills and motivations to keep public spending low.  The book highlights that change is possible, but this would require rethinking how public services, particularly care work, are valued and funded in societies.  Importantly, change can only be achieved if women’s labour ceases to be thought of as secondary, low-skilled, cheap and dispensable.  For these conditions to be realized, the trade unions and organisations that give women working in public services a collective voice must take this up as their raison d’etre and make sure that the exploitation of women is not the go-to solution for limiting public spending.

The International Handbook on Gender and Employment in the Public Sector provides a comprehensive overview of the latest research and policy debates on gender equality and diversity in public sector workforces around the world. Co-edited by Hazel Conley and Paula Koskinen Sandberg, this insightful volume features contributions from leading scholars across various disciplines. If you are interested in learning more about the challenges and opportunities related to promoting gender equality in public sector organizations globally, be sure to get yourself a copy of this important new handbook published by Edward Elgar Publishing.

Studying at Soft Play: Giving Student Parents in HE a Voice

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Stress in students is well-documented in the literature as having negative effects on cognitive, emotional and physical health.  We’re all aware of the great stress most of our students are under, juggling paid work with university work, the ever-rising cost of living, negotiating personal relationships and trying to carve out time for a social life.  But add into the mix, the challenges associated with being a parent, and the stress triggers are amplified.  This blog post by Dr Hilary Drew discusses a new research project, in collaboration with Cardiff Metropolitan and Aberystwyth universities, investigating how students, who are also parents, juggle the demands of family, university work and sometimes paid work and how their ability to complete their chosen programme of study is affected.

What do we know?

Student parents in Higher Education (HE) are not a new phenomenon. Widening participation strategies since the late 1990s have deliberately targeted mature students, a demographic more likely to have caring responsibilities for dependent children than the under-21s (Brooks, 2012).  We know that student parents typically come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and may experience intersectional inequality due to class, gender, disability or ethnicity (Moreau, 2016; Arday, 2017).  Furthermore, in latter years, the number of international students, especially at postgraduate level, has increased. Many of these students are also likely to have dependents, as highlighted by changes to student visa requirements from January 2024, impacting students with dependents.

Whilst we can estimate that there has been an increase in the number of students who fall into the category of being most likely to have parental responsibilities, there are no exact figures available. This is not surprising, as there is no requirement to collect data about student parents, either at institutional or national level.  The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) does not require that universities collect data on caring responsibilities, and many universities do not systematically collect information on student parents.

Hidden Figures

In our provisional enquiries here; at UWE Bristol, we contacted a number of different services across the university to find out whether or not our institution collects any data on student parents, as well as to ascertain the extent to which students with dependents are visible at UWE Bristol.  However, in line with the literature, and in common with the findings of the two other institutions in our research project, we were unable to piece together a conclusive picture of student parents at our institution.  Nevertheless, many student-facing services admitted that more information about student parents would assist them greatly in designing and delivering more targeted support and other initiatives.

Our enquiries about student parents bounced around the university; for example, we were directed to the Student Advice Team, as they support students facing both personal and academic challenges. We were recommended to contact Halley Nursery, but obviously this did not give us a full picture, because students can use other childcare services.  We also spoke to Student Money Services as students may access the Enhanced Childcare Bursary, amongst other university service providers.  Evidently, a further obstacle in obtaining this information is GDPR issues, as services are not able to share sensitive data on individual students and there is no central system where all the different pieces of information about students are captured.

‘That’ Gap

The conflicting demands of being a student and a parent are already well-documented in the literature, as well as, in some cases, undertaking paid work. It is widely reported that balancing parenting and academic work requires careful planning, in contrast with the widespread assumption that students’ lifestyles are hedonistic (Hodge, 2002). Moreover, unequal gender responsibilities at home, which we see elsewhere in society, also play a role here (Connell 2013; Osborne et al., 2004). Student-mothers report needing to develop coping strategies to manage their academic workload.  These include studying when children are at school or nursery, or in bed and restricting any non-university or non-child-related activities (Moreau and Kerner, 2015).  We’ve met parents of younger children who have even admitted to taking study notes along to soft play! Student-mothers admitted feeling guilty about trying to juggle motherhood and their studies; whereas Brooks (2015; 2012) found that student-fathers did not report feelings of guilt about being a student and a parent.

Since most universities are not set up to support students with dependents (Moreau, 2016), once on campus, we see student parents facing a myriad of challenges due to  HE structural and policy barriers (poor on-site childcare facilities; restrictive ‘no child on campus’ policies; late availability of timetables; lectures scheduled too early or too late (Osborne et al., 2004; Alsop et al. 2008; Brooks, 2012; Brooks, 2015; Moreau and Kerner, 2015; Moreau 2016).

Where Next?

Building on the work of Claire Evans (Cardiff Metropolitan University) on student parents during the pandemic (Evans, 2023 Forthcoming),  Hilary Drew[1], Damian Whittard[2], Mahwish Khan[3] and Lucy Venables[4] from UWE, together with Dr Evans[5] and Megan Williams[6] (Aberystwyth University) have gained ethical approval to find out more about students with dependents and are seeking funding to begin work on a project, entitled A Cross-Institutional Analysis of Student Parents’ Experience of Studying in Higher Education.

The overarching aim of the research is to examine parental provision at the three institutions, with the aim of encouraging our institutions to make student parents visible and to use their voices and experiences to inform policy and practice. Across the three institutions (Cardiff Metropolitan University, UWE and Aberystwyth University), we will focus on two key research questions:

To determine how being a student-parent affects engagement with the programme of study;

To determine what kind of initiatives help or hinder student-parents to pursue their HE goals.

Given the exploratory nature of the research questions, a qualitative approach will be adopted. To that end, a series of semi-structured interviews, lasting approximately 60 minutes, will be undertaken. In order to ensure that we can be as flexible as possible, and can fit into the participants’ already busy lives, these interviews will be performed on-line via Teams, telephone or in-person, according to the availability of the participants.  For more information about the study and how to participate, please see our Sway presentation and/or get in contact with Dr Hilary Drew hilary.drew@uwe.ac.uk .

References

Alsop, R., Gonzalez‐Arnal, S. and Kilkey, M. (2008). The widening participation agenda: The marginal place of care. Gender and Education, 20(6), pp.623-637.

Arday, J. (2017). Exploring black and minority ethnic (BME) doctoral students’ perceptions of an academic career. University and College Union.

Brooks, R. (2012). Student-parents and higher education: a cross-national comparison. Journal of Education Policy, 27(3), pp.423-439.

Brooks, R. (2015). Social and spatial disparities in emotional responses to education: feelings of ‘guilt’ among student‐parents. British Educational Research Journal, 41(3), pp.505-519.

Connell, R. (2013). Gender and power: Society, the person and sexual politics. John Wiley & Sons.

Evans, C. (2023) ‘Failing as a parent, failing as a student’: the challenges faced by student parents in the COVID-19 pandemic. Forthcoming.

Hodge, M. (2002) Examination of witness, question 263 (London, House of Commons Select Committee on Education & Skills).

Moreau, M. P., & Kerner, C. (2015). Care in academia: An exploration of student parents’ experiences. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(2), 215-233.

Moreau, M.P. (2016). Regulating the student body/ies: University policies and student parents. British Educational Research Journal, 42(5), pp.906-925.

Osborne, M., Marks, A. and Turner, E. (2004). Becoming a mature student: How adult applicants weigh the advantages and disadvantages of higher education. Higher education, 48, pp.291-315.

[1]  Hilary Drew gained her PhD from Cardiff University. She joined UWE in 2011 and is currently the Director of Partnerships and International at CBL.  She is a member of the HRWE and DRAGoN groups and her research interests are in low pay and student working.

[2] Damian Whittard is an Associate Professor in Economics at UWE, Programme Manager of the Wage and Employment Dynamics Project, and an Academic Assessor for the Government Economic Service. Additionally, he is a Research Fellow funded by ADR UK, an ESRC investment.

[3] Mahwish Khan has a PhD from UWE and she is the Associate Director of Organisation Studies cluster and a member of the HRWE Group. Her research interests include gender and employment, equality and diversity management and comparison of public and private sector employment practices. 

[4] Lucy Venables is the School Manager for Bristol Business School, UWE. She has over seven years’ experience working in student service roles in universities and is interested in using research to better understand and support the student experience.

[5] Before turning to academia, Dr Claire Evans qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC (Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte at the time) and worked in industry. Since working at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Claire’s research interests have focused gender, inequality and low-pay.

[6] Megan Williams, Aberystwyth University, is a qualified accountant (CIMA). She has taught in Higher Education for over 20 years, teaching financial and management accounting to UG and PG students.

Exploring the experience of neurodivergent engineers in the workplace: Re-crafting engineering?

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Dr Vanda Papafilippou & Miss Lucy Downes

The neurodiversity paradigm views neurodiversity as natural variations in human cognition that should be equally valued and celebrated (Chapman, 2022) thus challenging earlier research (and practice) that tended to take a deficit perspective and referred to ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, etc. as disorders that needed to be ‘treated’ (Chapman and Bovell, 2022). Nevertheless, despite the increased awareness of the strengths of neurodivergent thinking and the value that diverse perspectives can bring to organizations (Kirby and Smith, 2021), neurodivergent people may experience discrimination and marginalization once disclosing to their employer (Baldridge and Swift, 2013; Johnson and Joshi, 2017). What is more, to date there is limited research that explores the perspectives of neurodivergent employees to gain an understanding of contextual factors that might create barriers in the workplace (Doyle and McDowall, 2021) but also about how neurodivergent people approach work in general. 

This blog entry looks at neurodiversity from both an academic/research and practitioner perspective, offering some practical future directions for employers. We are specifically focusing on an aspect of our findings: how neurodivergent engineers engage in job crafting. In order to do so, we draw upon Lazazzara et al.’s (2020) job crafting process model which considers the job crafting motives, the impact of context, the forms of job crafting, personal factors and the job crafting consequences.

Our exploratory study focused on how neurodivergent engineers (all sectors, including software) experience the entire employee lifecycle (i.e., recruitment, career development and progression). We chose to focus on engineering as, anecdotally, there are many neurodivergent individuals in the profession as neurominority thinking strengths align to engineering skills, such as creative thinking and attention to detail (Engineering Council, 2022; Loiacono and Ren, 2018). 

Background

Wrzesniewski and Dutton (2001) noted that the need for control over work, establishing a positive self-image and connections with others motivate to engage in job crafting, which, in its turn, is argued to enhance the person-career fit (De Vos et al., 2020) and stimulate employees’ career growth (Hall and Las Heras, 2010). Employees may be proactively and/or reactively motivated to craft their jobs and that the form of job crafting depends also on contextual factors, such as organisational climate and job design components (e.g., resources, workload, demands) (Lazazzara et al., 2020).

However, to date there are no studies on how neurodivergent employees might engage in job crafting. An important gap considering that neurodiverse employees are often excluded and marginalised in the workplace due to negative stereotyping (Den Houting, 2019; Patton, 2019; Priscott and Allen, 2021) and negative organisational cultures (Kapp et al., 2019; Saleh et al., 2022) and this might impact their self-confidence, relationships with colleagues and control over work (Booth, 2016; Sheppard et al., 2016). Taking into consideration that there is little research on neurodiversity and employment (Doyle and MacDowall, 2021) this gap becomes even more pertinent. Therefore, we asked:

What processes can be identified that illustrate when and how neurodiverse engineers engage in job crafting?

How do contextual factors (i.e., organisational climate and job design) influence neurodiverse engineers to engage in job crafting?

 This was a qualitative study drawing upon in-depth semi-structured interviews. We interviewed 35 engineers (i.e., chemical, mechanical, aerospace, civil, software, oil & gas), male (24) and female (11), mostly of White British, one White Australian and 2 from ethnic minority backgrounds (British Asian, British Black). Participants were mainly employed (i.e., in large and smaller organisation) apart from two who were self-employed/ contractors. The participants were recruited using purposive sampling and access was sought via personal contacts, social media (Facebook groups, Twitter, LinkedIn), support from large Engineering organisations (HR and Employee Resource Groups), the Engineering Council, and snowballing. The interview schedule was developed following guidance from Norris et al. (2020) to acknowledge the challenges that autistic participants in particular might encounter. Towards this end we have also included semantic prompting (i.e., a general prompt before asking for a specific instance) and visual prompting.

Findings

To analyse our findings, we drew upon Lazazzara et al.’s (2020) job crafting process model which considers the job crafting motives, the impact of context (supportive vs. constraining), the forms of job crafting (i.e., approach job crafting, avoidance crafting and crafting in other domains), personal factors (supportive vs. constraining) and the job crafting consequences.

The engineers in our sample seemed to engage in job crafting mostly reactively (e.g., because of pressure to behave as ‘engineers’ and work following a specific pattern) but also proactively (e.g., shape their careers/roles according to their strengths, use some strategies in order to improve their performance), depending on how supportive their organisational context was. However, most of them, and especially those in larger organisations, appeared to be experiencing constraints not only due to the organisational context (e.g., negative stereotyping, lack of support from HR and especially their line managers) but also professional standards (e.g., they struggled to ‘fit the box’ of being a chartered engineer). In some cases, line managers ruled out progression opportunities based on the stereotypical assumption that neurodiverse individuals lack the social skills needed to manage a team. The forms of job crafting that are emerging so far are: approach crafting (e.g., adding tasks they enjoyed doing more of, establishing different ways of managing their teams), avoidance crafting (e.g., avoiding networking or socialising, avoiding for going for certain promotions) but also crafting in other domains (e.g., adjusting their working hours when working remotely, changing their physical environment, etc.).

Practical Implications

Our findings can provide a set of practical implications for Engineering as a sector and organisations. Given the current skills shortage of engineers (Armitage et al., 2020), it is of crucial importance that the sector adapts its practices to ensure that it attracts, recruits, and retains neurodiverse engineers through building a genuinely inclusive professional culture which is also reflected on the criteria for chartership (i.e., being less prescriptive). The key learnings for HR are:

Commitment to an inclusive workplace culture

Organisations need to move away from deficit thinking around neurodiversity and work towards a more positive and inclusive culture which in its turn, will provide a supportive context for job crafting and most importantly enhance the sense of organisational and professional belonging.

Retention of talent: revisiting job descriptions career progression criteria

Organisations need to carefully reconsider job design (e.g., Do all engineers need to approach the problem in the same way? What skills and experience are essential?) and ensure that they offer autonomy in carrying out job activities (but also support when neurodiverse employees might struggle with their work-life balance).

Performance management

All line managers should be trained in how to manage, support, and review the progress of neurodiverse employees. HR could also evaluate performance management, using a neurodiversity lens, and identify which encouraged behaviours (e.g., being ‘diplomatic’) or practices (e.g.., networking) might impede career progression and/or influence what considered ‘good performance’.

References

Armitage, L., Bourne, M., Di Simone, J., Jones, A. and Neave, S. (2020). Engineering UK 2020: Educational pathways into engineering. EngineeringUK.

Baldridge, D.C. and Swift, M.L. (2013) Withholding requests for disability accommodation: The role of individual differences and disability attributes. Journal of Management. 39 (3), pp.743-762.

Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Stott, C., Bolton, P. and Goodyer, I. (1997) Is there a link between engineering and autism?. Autism. 1 (1), pp.101-109.

Booth, J. (2016) Autism equality in the workplace: Removing barriers and challenging discrimination. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Chapman, R. (2020) Defining neurodiversity for research and practice. In Chapman, R., ed. (2020) Neurodiversity Studies. London: Routledge, pp. 218-220. 

Chapman, R. and Bovell, V. (2022) Neurodiversity, advocacy, anti-therapy. In Matson, J. and Sturmey, P. (2022) Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Springer, Cham, pp. 1519-1536. 

Costello, E., Kilbride, S., Milne, Z., Clarke, P., Yilmaz, M. and MacMahon, S.T. (2021) September. A Professional Career with Autism: Findings from a Literature Review in the Software Engineering Domain. In European Conference on Software Process Improvement. Springer, Cham.

De Vos, A., Van der Heijden, B. I. J. M. and Akkermans, J. (2020). Sustainable careers: Towards a conceptual model. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 117: 103196, pp. 1-13.

Den Houting, J. (2019). Neurodiversity: An insider’s perspective. Autism. 23 (2), pp. 271-273.

Doyle, N. and McDowall, A. (2021) Diamond in the rough? An “empty review” of research into “neurodiversity” and a road map for developing the inclusion agenda. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal. 41 (3), pp.352-382.

Engineering Council (2022) Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Available from: Engineering Council (engc.org.uk) [Accessed 4 January 2023]. 

Hall, D. T. and Las Heras, M. (2010) Reintegrating job design and career theory: Creating not just good jobs but smart jobs. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 31, pp. 448–462.

Johnson T, D. and Joshi, A. (2016) Dark clouds or silver linings? A stigma threat perspective on the implications of an autism diagnosis for workplace well-being. Journal of Applied Psychology. 101 (3), pp. 430–449.

Kapp, S.K., Steward, R., Crane, L., Elliott, D., Elphick, C., Pellicano, E. and Russell, G. (2019) People should be allowed to do what they like:  Autistic adults’ views and experiences of stimming. Autism. 23 (7), pp.1782-1792.

Kirby, A. and Smith, T. (2021) Neurodiversity at work: Drive innovation, performance and productivity with a neurodiverse workforce. London: Kogan Page Publishers.

Lazazzara, A., Tims, M. and de Gennara, D. (2020) The process of reinventing a job: A meta–synthesis of qualitative job crafting research. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 116: 103267, pp.1-18.

Loiacono, E.T. and Ren, H. (2018) Building a Neurodiverse High-tech Workforce. MIS Quarterly Executive. 17 (4),  pp.263-279.

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Sheppard, E., Pillai, D., Wong, G.T.L., Ropar, D. and Mitchell, P. (2016) How easy is it to read the minds of people with autism spectrum disorder?. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 46 (4), pp.1247-1254.

Wrzesniewski, A., & Dutton, J. E. (2001) Crafting a job: Revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. The Academy of Management Review. 26 (2), pp. 179–201.

Can industrial relations and trade unions be ‘smart’ in the digital world of work? Insights from three cases: Industry 4.0, e-commerce, and digital platforms in Italy

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Dr Stefano Gasparri

The effect of digitalization

Digitalization has become the ‘buzzword’ that captures all aspects of technological change associated with the increasing use of digital technology in organizational and productive processes, especially after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the diffusion of remote work that followed.

The business case seems straightforward: Digitalization drives productivity and, therefore, organisational growth and profitability (Forbes 2022; WEF 2023). However, we know that the digital transformation of workplaces is not a neutral process for the people involved and, in particular, it affects how workers and their managers interact. Indeed, digitalization is leading to standardization, work intensification, monitoring and surveillance of workers in an increasing number of workplaces. The spread of digital ‘labour platforms’ is also conducive to novel transformations of the ‘standard’ type of employment contract and presents trade unions with further difficulties in representing new groups of ‘atypical’ workers, such as ‘gig’ workers. Furthermore, the labour-replacing impact of digitalization may be considerable, especially for low skilled workers in low pay sectors and in countries with low levels of digital infrastructure and e-skills development.

To engage with these emerging issues, Arianna Tassinari and I investigated the capability of trade unions in Italy to actively govern and respond to the challenges of digitalization in the regulation and reordering of work and employment or, very simply put, to be tech-savvy and ‘smart’. The resulting research led to an article, published in the journal Relations Industrielles – Industrial Relations and now ( open access) exploring three illustrative issue areas that encapsulate the main challenges and opportunities of digitalization.

The research

We began by considering the role of trade unions in policy discussion surrounding the technological restructuring that digitalization imposes across the economy (e.g., Industry 4.0). We followed by examining trade union efforts to bargain with disruptive players, such as e-commerce platforms (e.g., Amazon). We then investigated trade union responses to the spread of ‘platform work’ as a novel model of work organization and contracting (e.g., food-delivery digital platforms). In general, upon a review of the literature and interviews with trade union officials and industrial relations experts; we note that union strategies and their effectiveness have been significantly shaped by the interplay between the political opportunity structure unions face at different levels and the power resources and capabilities they can mobilize.

First, the depth of trade union involvement in national policy initiatives such as Industry 4.0 remained limited, akin to ‘cosmetic’ consultation rather than substantive negotiation. Trade unions have thus sought to make use of their resilient power resources—especially network embeddedness and narrative resources—to develop their framing and learning capability. They have invested considerable resources, in both their production of knowledge to influence public debate about digitalization and their capability for intermediation and articulation. Simultaneously they work with employer organizations to extract concessions from the government on issues such as skill development.

Second, trade unions aiming to bring to the negotiating table key players in e-commerce such as Amazon took advantage of the degree of resilience that collective bargaining still enjoys in the country but, at the same time, faced difficulties due to the unilateral approach to industrial relations by management and the differences in the employment contract model between, first of all, warehouse workers and drivers. Results, as expected, were mixed: major agreements to regulate work and employment at Amazon were signed, but fragmentation between segments within sectors persisted, i.e., between those who are covered by protective institutions and those who are not.

Thirdly, given that digital platforms fall outside the scope of existing workplace representation and collective bargaining institutions, established trade unions have been limited in the channels of action available to them. Because of this, they have not yet managed to intervene effectively in the emerging platform economy through traditional, grassroots unionization. Instead, in the case of drivers, they have focused on strengthening their framing and intermediation capabilities by amplifying the demands of self-organized riders and pursuing novel collaborations and strategic alliances with the riders’ organizations. In this regard, they have shown themselves able to adapt their repertoires of action to compensate for their weaknesses.

Our conclusion

Overall, our findings suggest that unions have been able to respond to and manage digitalization. They have expanded already established institutions and utilised collective bargaining by investing considerable resources and by using their varied capabilities. The desirability of strengthening collective bargaining is unmistakable. It remains to be seen however, if such adaptive approaches are ‘smart’ enough to effectively govern the digital transformation of work for the whole supply chain or, if more radical institutional experimentation will become necessary. In particular, will this be enough for areas with weaker labour markets and areas with more hostility to organized labour? Either way, even if the goal of ‘smart’ industrial relations might be achieved in ways that are far from straightforward, trade unions still have an active role to play.

References

Gasparri, S. and Tassinari, A. (2020), ‘Smart’ Industrial Relations in the Making? Insights from Analysis of Union Responses to Digitalization in Italy, Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations, 75(4): 796-817.

WEF (2023), Why we need to prioritize digital transformation – even in a downturn

Forbes (2022), The Path To Digital Transformation For Businesses

Researching equality, diversity, and inclusion in Italy: why are transsexual individuals not included in the ‘equality debate’?

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Please note, this article discusses topics of suicide and discrimination and may be distressing or triggering for some. Links for support on topics that are discussed in this article can be found at the bottom of this page.

Sara Fanti

As an international PhD student researching pay gaps, gender, and sexual orientation in the context of my native country – Italy, I read a number of Italian newspaper articles to keep up with the latest business world news as well as current events in general. One article, in particular, caught my attention. This article left me baffled and in deep grief for my country, my community, and humanity: The suicide story of a transgender woman.

The story of Cloe Bianco

A single tree with a rope swing sits on a pink field with a baby blue sky, giving connotations of the trans pride flag.

Cloe Bianco was a high school teacher at the “Scarpa-Mattei” Agricultural School in San Donà di Piave (VE), Italy. In 2015 Cloe decided to ‘come out’ as a transgender woman to the school where she had worked for years. Specifically, to come out to her students, finally living her life as the person she had always felt she was “since she was 5 years old” (La Stampa, 2022). On the morning of 27th of November, Cloe walked into her classroom and introduced herself with her new name, asking her students to refer to her using the correct pronouns she/her. Unfortunately, Cloe’s courage to be herself did not sit well with some of the parents of her students, who promptly e-mailed the regional alderman for the Ministry of Education to complain about what had happened. This resulted in Cloe receiving a disciplinary sanction resulting in a three-day suspension, followed by a demotion to administrative roles in a back office of the school where she was permanently employed, and subsequentially any other schools in her Region (i.e. Veneto) where she tried to work as teacher (Open, 2022)[1].

On the 11th of June 2022, the remains of Cloe’s body were found in a torched campervan where she had been living in isolation for seven months. The investigation that followed uncovered a suicide letter left in her blog. The verdict: Cloe died of suicide at the age of 50, after she had been actively prevented from fulfilling her fundamental Constitutional right and duty to work (Art. 4 of the Italian Constitution).

Cloe’s story is just one of the many where active discrimination in the workplace undermines the lives of Italian LGBT+ people every single day. Whilst most western countries focus, more or less effectively; on developing inclusivity within the labour market, Italy falls far behind.

Even failing to legislate basic, protective laws against discrimination for gay, bisexual, transgender or non-binary people.

So, my question, as an extremely frustrated Italian academic is this.

Why, in Italy, is it so easy to ruin the life of somebody who works in the public sector by explicitly discriminating against them and get away with it?

To answer this question, it is first important to understand the influence of culture on the debate around gender vs. assigned-at-birth sex, and how this ultimately results in the lack of interest when including sexual and gender-based minorities in the equality, diversity, and inclusion debate.

Gender vs. Sex

The debate of gender and gender identities is not new in literature. Nonetheless, the definition of ‘What is gender’ is still very relevant and in a constant flux of redefinition and negotiation. A simple definition accepted by LGBT+ literature is that gender refers to the psychological sense of self, it relates to how someone deeply and truly feels on the inside and that this is based on their individual understanding of genders. Anatomical sex (or assigned-at-birth sex) is typically assigned at birth based on biological and physical characteristics such as chromosomes, hormones, genitals, body hair etc.

Queer theorists define gender as the result of power performances, negotiated within societies which are influenced by culture and the historical period (Foucault, 1981; Butler, 1990, 1993; Harding, 1998) It is performed in every moment and aspect of individuals’ lives throughout external appearance – gestures, language, clothes – prior to any choice of gender identity (Butler, 1990). Soon-to-be-parents are told what sex the baby will be, and while raising them, project their own socially learnt bias of gender. These include a series of norms on how to behave, how to dress, how to express emotions and, how to care for others, which differ depending on the assigned-at-birth sex.

The biological sex assigned at birth, plays a pivotal role in the societal expectations placed upon an individual. These expectations are dependent on whether they are born with female or male characteristics and can begin to form before they are even born. Gender identity however, develops within an individual’s sense of self and defines what an individual believe about themselves and who they are. Sometimes, this might not coincide with the anatomical or biological sex. Transgender, transsexual, gender-queer (GQ), gender-fluid, non-binary are all terms that are used to describe people whose gender identity does not align with their anatomical or biological sex (Stonewall, 2020).

“Gender identity develops within an individual’s sense of self and defines what an individual believe about themselves and who they are…”

Nevertheless, this definition of gender is often refused by institutions of conservative countries such as Italy, where an essentialist idea of sexuality is still very predominant. Within a gender essentialist paradigm every person is believed to be born with a male or female “essence” which is determined by the biological sex assigned at birth (Gagnon & Parker, 1995). Femininity and masculinity are, therefore, understood as a natural contraposition of sexes that is at the essence of sexuality regardless the culture and historical time, is defined by biology and chromosomes, and is carried within it a definite set of personality traits. The first gentle and maternal, and the other aggressive and strong (Segal, 1994).

Essentialist standpoints are often used to rationalise gender-based biases and heterosexist or transphobic discourses. For example, to justify the gender segregation of the labour market, gender pay gaps, and to withhold legislation in support of LGBT+ rights. Gender essentialists’ standpoints are clearly taken in the Italian political debate and supported by the Catholic Church which deeply influence political choices and welfare measures in Italy in a clientelist relationship.

When inclusivity is not even in the picture

A slate-grey city scape immersed in fog, displaying a foreboding scene

The first attempt to give a definition of gender as opposed to anatomical sex has been introduced in the proposal of the so-called DDL Zan (Disegno Di Legge, tr. Law Draft). Drafted in 2019, by Alessandro Zan, a member of the Chamber of Deputies and leading member of the gay association Arcigay. The DDL Zan (Senato della Repubblica, 2020) included a total of ten articles. Five of which suggest modifications to existent articles in the penal code giving aggravating circumstances for crimes against gay, bisexual, transexual, disabled people, and women. This law draft provides a definition for biological sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity; it defines the line between the right to freely express an opinion as opposed to hate speech against sexual minorities and women; it proposes a national awareness day against homophobia, bi-phobia, and trans-phobia; and, finally, it proposes a strategy to collect hate crime data on a national scale and a plan to actively fight against homophobia, transphobia, and gender discrimination.

The opposition to this law was strongly supported by far-right parties – i.e., La Lega, Fratelli D’Italia (FdI), Il Popolo della Famiglia etc. – as well as the Catholic Church and pro-life associations. The main point of debate was precisely the Article 1 which provides a definition of gender and anatomical sex as two distinct concepts as outlined above. The opposition would have been willing to vote in approval of the law only if that definition was cancelled from the draft (La Repubblica, 2021). Terminating Article 1, however, would have further alienated trans people, excluding them from being protected against discrimination and transphobic crimes. Finally, without reaching an agreement, the drafted law was voted out by the Senate of the Republic in April 2021. A new discussion was scheduled in April 2022, but to date (June 2022) nothing has happened.

Conclusions

Cloe’s story is just one of many discrimination cases that end in tragedy. Gay Help Line, the main call centre helpline that provides phone support for LGBT+ people, reported in 2021 a steady increase of calls concerning discrimination such as: discrimination in accessing the labour market, or maintaining a job after coming out (35%); discrimination in accessing private (25%) or public services (22%) such as healthcare or housing; discrimination as customers (18%). It is also reported a 10% increase in calls concerning hate crimes against trans people, especially bullying, stalking, non-consensual sharing of private photos in the workplace (15%), aggressions and threats (19%). Also, 42% of cases concern family abuse, 59% of which are perpetuated by adult family members and 9% by partners; 21% of the cases concern violence perpetuated by strangers. 17% of all calls come from transgender or non-binary people. Gay Help Line also reported that very few people in the LGBT+ community report this type of crimes to the police.

The Italian Constitution proclaims equality and dignity amongst all citizens regardless of their personal or social condition (Art. 3). Sex and sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace and in the hiring, process is illegal under the Article 7 of the Legislative Decree no.165/2001; the Article 15 of Law no. 300/1970; and the Legislative Decree no. 216/2003. However, it appears clear that trans people are not included in the equality debate, and there is close to no interest in providing them the Constitutional right of equality and inclusion in society, let alone in the workplace.

Finally, the newly elected right-wing government, not only has purposely left out any reference to equality, diversity, and inclusion in their election campaign, but has also actively promoted legislations against adoption rights and surrogacy which have been contested by LGBT+ activists as discriminatory and homophobic (BBC, 2022) raising concerns for the future of equal and civil rights in Italy.

[1] To read an English version of the story, please see – https://jane-67706.medium.com/of-suicide-and-transphobia-1b077865b73f

Links for support

LGBT Foundation – Helpline and Email Support

Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen

Mindline Trans+ – Trans+ emotional support helpline

Citations

Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. London and New York: Routledge.

Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that matter: On the discursive limits of sex. New York, 38.

Foucault, M. (1981). The history of sexuality: An introduction, volume I. Trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage.

Gagnon, J. H., & Parker, R. G. (1995). Conceiving sexuality. Conceiving sexuality: Approaches to sex research in a postmodern world, 3-16.

Gay Help Line. (2021). Report Gay Help Line. [online] Available at: https://gayhelpline.it/report-gay-help-line/.

Harding, J. (1998). Sex acts. Practices of Femininity and Masculinity, London.

L’Unione Sarda English. (2022). Coming out at school, then marginalization: the story of Cloe Bianco, the trans teacher who set herself on fire. [online] Available at: https://www.unionesarda.it/en/italy/coming-out-at-school-then-marginalization-the-story-of-cloe-bianco-the-trans-teacher-who-set-herself-on-fire-a7ttj2qu [Accessed 20 Jun. 2022].

La Repubblica, 2021. DDL Zan, cos’è e cosa prevede, articolo per articolo e il testo integrale. la Repubblica. Available at: https://www.repubblica.it/politica/2021/06/22/news/omofobia_legge_zan_ecco_che_cosa_prevede-307139790/ [Accessed March 15, 2022].

La Stampa. (2022). La storia di Cloe Bianco, la prof transgender che si è data fuoco nel suo camper: ‘Ora sono libera’. La scuola la sospese dopo il coming out. [online] Available at: https://www.lastampa.it/cronaca/2022/06/14/news/la_storia_di_cloe_bianco_la_prof_transgender_che_si_e_data_fuoco_nel_suo_camper_ora_sono_libera_la_scuola_la_sospese_do-5405846/ [Accessed 20 Jun. 2022].

Open. (2022). Dal coming out a scuola al suicidio, tutta la storia di Cloe Bianco: la prof di fisica uccisa dalla transfobia. [online] Available at: https://www.open.online/2022/06/15/cloe-bianco-transfobia-suicidio-storia/.

Segal, L. (1994). Straight sex: Rethinking the politics of pleasure. Univ of California Press.

Senato della Repubblica , 2020, Misure di prevenzione e contrasto della discriminazione e della violenza per motivi fondati sul sesso, sul genere, sull’orientamento sessuale, sull’identità di genere e sulla disabilità available at: https://www.senato.it/service/PDF/PDFServer/DF/356433.pdf

Senato della repubblica, n.a., Constitution of the Italian Republic retrieved from https://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf

Stonewall (2020). List of LGBTQ+ Terms. [online] Stonewall. Available at: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/help-advice/faqs-and-glossary/list-lgbtq-terms.

Kirby, P. (2022) Who is Giorgia Meloni? the rise to power of Italy’s new far-right PM, BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63351655

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Graduate Employability – Doing Enough?

Author ripleywk | Posted on
Dr John Neugebauer, Visiting Fellow, Bristol Business School

How often do we step back to think critically and analytically about the issue of graduate employability? Here are some personal thoughts, based on my own experience in senior management in human resources, as an academic who has also been involved in higher education (HE) Knowledge Exchange, and most recently as a co-editor of the forthcoming SAGE Handbook of Graduate Employability.

Much Achieved Already

Strenuous efforts have been made across the HE sector to improve employability and knowledge exchange. Many employers have sought to improve graduate prospects. And, of course, graduates themselves are better prepared within the UK.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that tertiary education averaged across 22 OECD countries is 45% and for the UK 56% (OECD, 2021 P43). According to the OECD, graduate status is also linked with the broader society benefits, such as positive development of employment, higher per capita income, and health and social outcomes (OECD, 2021).

For the UK, Higher Education (HE) statistics for 2021 seem suitably reassuring:

The employment rate for working-age graduates (aged 16 – 64) was 86.7%, for postgraduates 88.2%; and for non-graduates 70.2%;

The median salary premium for graduates over non-graduates was £10,000 and £16,000 for postgraduates;  

65.2% of working-age graduates, and 77.4% of postgraduates were in high-skilled employment. For non-graduates the figure was 24.3% (ONS, 2022

Despite popularist nay-sayers, the value of Higher/Tertiary Education is valued, not only in the UK, but also globally.  

But we don’t need to look very far to hear criticisms of graduate employability, and challenges for the future. Here are some personal views on issues which HE can still address.

Do we understand what future skills graduates need?

Across the overall global labour market (including non-graduates) the World Economic Forum (WEF) expects 85 million jobs to be displaced, but 97 million new roles to emerge, by 2025. (WEF, 2020). To respond to changing labour market requirements and the need for reskilling and retraining, the WEF places its emphasis on critical thinking and analysis, problem-solving, self-management, active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility (WEF, 2020). These are skills which higher education should be well equipped to deliver.

Understanding employers’ needs, especially the needs of smaller organisations

UK employment markets for graduates depend on a combination of open market (advertising roles then hoping to fill them), and varying degrees of organisational-HE relationships to co-operate in understanding needs and seeking to achieve an appropriate level of supply. But one significant area where scoping employment demand and supply is especially difficult is with smaller employer destination organisations.

Within the UK, the Federation of Small Businesses, (2021) claims that small and medium sized organisations account for three fifths of total employment and around half of economic turnover in the UK private sector; 48% of employment is within small organisations, employing less than 50 people.

Employers themselves, HE institutions, Local Enterprise Partnerships may seek to understand graduate requirements. But it is difficult to bring together a comprehensive and cohesive strategy in such a fragmented employment market.

Inclusion

Graduates enter an employment market where challenges of inclusion are similar to those of the wider workforce; other barriers are specific to higher education.

Gender pay gaps remain evident across all UK sectors of graduate employment (ONS, 2022 ; CIPD, 2017). The WEF (2020) has also reported that without proactive efforts, inequality is likely to be exacerbated by the dual impact of technology and the pandemic recession. Chapter submissions for the Handbook also highlighted researched challenges based on ethnicity, and disabilities, where UK opportunities continued to favour white British graduates, and those who are non-disabled (ONS 2022).

Class and/or elitism continues at all levels of the employment market, including opportunities for graduates. ‘Elite universities’ produce the highest returns, and draw ‘top’ employers to their graduates (for example, see Rivera, 2015, Sullivan, et. al., 2018, Berghaus, 2020). In the UK, media and even Government ministers stoke the devaluation of some HE courses, for example by speaking about international students ‘…propping up, frankly, substandard courses at inadequate institutions’  (Smyth 2022).

This might be changing, but very slowly. For example, PwC, the accounting and consulting group which recruits 2,000 graduates a year, has recently announced its intention to  extend its campus visiting programme from 75 to over 100, drop the requirement for a 2.1 degree or higher, and no longer insist that graduate recruits should have first undertaken an internship with PwC. Along with similar plans for employers in the sector, it will also extend their remote/virtual outreach to undergraduates (Saunders, 2022).

Despite these public pronouncements, my own experience discussing graduate opportunities with a range of high-profile employers suggests a continued preference for ‘top’ universities. We will need to see more actual evidence of the positive impact of these wider resourcing pools.   

Macro-economic timing mismatches  

The African Union Agenda 2063 sets goals to revitalise and expand tertiary education, research and innovation, so as to address continental challenges and promote global competitiveness across its member states. (African Unity, 2013). Even so, The Economist (2019a) reports that these worthy objectives are often frustrated – graduates are leaving universities in Africa, but a lack of inward investment and opportunity limits their ability to work at professional level within Africa. The Economist (2019b) similarly reported on difficulties which students China encountered finding graduate level roles

A more radical response from HE?

And in case we might feel at ease- even comfortable- about the state of graduate employability, what might we think of more radical measures?

In a comprehensive review of graduate readiness for employment in Australia, Pennington, and Stanford, (2019) set out the opportunities, but considerable challenges, facing Australian graduates (even before Covid 19 global disruption). They comment on the demands for universities to produce candidates who are ready for roles but challenge the ‘distortions’ caused by employers’ expectations of graduates “fully formed” from the day they start work (P 99). However, Pennington, and Stanford, (2019) noted that 78% of Australian employers regarded post placement/internship graduates as better prepared, but that such opportunities had reduced by 25% to 29%.

This observation appears to be replicated elsewhere. For example, in the UK, the Institute of Student Employers (2021) continued to criticise a perceived lack of graduate employability skills such as lack of self-career management, poor team skills, and poor upward management of the manager. (Ironically, human resource managers might observe that some of those perceived deficient skills, were not confined to graduates, recent or otherwise.)

Little wonder that apprenticeships, apprenticeship degrees, and simply entering the workplace without a degree are seen as legitimate other options to studying for a degree. How also will degree related apprenticeships develop? As we evaluate widening experience of these, is there really any reason why they should not be just as robust academically as more conventional degree courses? And if they are, how willingly and capably would all stakeholders (HE, employers, students) transition to this model? For example, how could an extension in workplace internships or placements, not necessarily linked with an extension in the time of a degree course, make more intensive use of the 20 weeks a year when most students are not in class?

Conclusion

Higher education is a big, international and global business, and not just for the Universities. Students invest life years, money and commitment to their futures. Employer organisations offer opportunities. Wider societies benefit.

But we cannot allow the progress achieved over the past few decades to be an ‘end’ position. The journey of learning, discovery, and improvement continues. You might not agree with some ideas in this blog – but I hope that it will continue to stimulate our appetite to develop research and practice in this important area of HE activity.

If you are interested in the above, please contact John at john.neugebauer@uwe.ac.uk

References

CIPD (2017) The graduate employment gap: expectations versus reality, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London

Federation of Small Businesses (2021) UK Small Business Statistics Take from https://www.fsb.org.uk/uk-small-business-statistics.html on 22 October 2022

Institute of Student Employers (2021) Graduates lack work-ready skills that businesses need during Covid era, reports ISE Student Development Survey, available at https://ise.org.uk/page/graduates-lack-work-ready-skills-that-businesses-need-during-covid-era?msclkid=6649341abb6811ec93011f03070489b1

ONS ( 2022)   Calendar Year 2021, Graduate labour market statistics. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets (taken from the web 22 October 2022)

Pennington, A. and Stanford, J. (2019), The Future of Work for Australian Graduates: The Changing Landscape of University Employment Transitions in Australia, The Australia Institute, Centre for Future Work, Canberra

Rivera, L. A. (2015) Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs, Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey

Saunders, T (2022) PwC expands university visits in the race for new recruits The Times 5 October  2022

Smyth, C (2022) Ministers may cap number of children foreign students can bring to UK’ Sunday Times, 9 October 2022

Sullivan, A., Parsons, S., Green, F., Wiggins, R.D., Ploubidis, G. (2018) Elite universities, fields of study and top salaries: Which degree will make you rich?  Volume 44, Issue 4 P663-680

The Economist (2019a) Tertiary Education in Africa A Higher Challenge August 10, P38-39

The Economist (2019b) Idle Hands, August 3, P48-49

World Economic Forum (2020) The Future of Jobs Report 2020 Taken from WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf (weforum.org) 22 October 2022

The “Necessary evil” of a compliance role for HR: Examining the day-to-day realities of human resources (HR) practice

Author ripleywk | Posted on

Dr Helen Mortimore and Dr Catherine Mackintosh

The problem for HR practitioners

When was the last time you heard somebody praise their HR department: “oh, they’re so helpful” or “they’re great at what they do”? HR professionals battle for credibility in organisations and struggle to convince others of their contribution. Many organisational members probably do not really know or have any interest in knowing what HR practitioners actually do on a day-to-day basis, never mind understand what doing it “well” might look like. Even more challenging for HR professionals though, is this lack of understanding and interest in the realities of HR practice is arguably just as true of many of the academics who study it.

The current narrative of most HR academics, practitioners, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) emphasises the value of HR professionals as business partners to line managers who carry out devolved people management activity (e.g., Guest, 1987; Ulrich, 1997). In other words, it is suggested that to be strategic, HR practitioners should advise but not intervene with line managers who “do” people management. This idea of the “devolution” of HR management (HRM) is broadly accepted (Purcell & Hutchinson, 2007) but, nevertheless, is problematic for practitioners. It creates a tension where they are required to relinquish power to line managers but the accountability for HR outcomes remains with them (Sheehan et al., 2014). Current research tends to under-play and under-examine the influence of national regulation on HR practice (Gilbert et al., 2015). In the UK, where our research was undertaken, this means there is not sufficient consideration of how protective employment law, such as the Equality Act (2010), influence the work of HR professionals. In the UK, tribunals are the enforcement option for handling employment rights and HR practitioners are tasked by their organisations with managing legal risk and avoiding claims. However, this aspect of HR practice is near impossible to fulfil if HR professionals fully embrace the logic of devolution. Instead, the regulatory context creates an “interventionary” compliance role for HR, yet the HRM narrative that promotes devolution delegitimises such activity and may leave HR practitioners reluctant to promote this element of their role.

Our research

To gain insight into how HR professionals understand and navigate this tension between devolving people management activity to line managers, and the need to ensure compliance with national regulation, in our study we focused on talking to HR practitioners about what they actually do day-to-day (rather than what HR work “ought” to be). Our findings indicate that HR practitioners frame their role as both advisory and interventionary: they take an advisory, non-interventionary role when line managers’ decision-making is within a ‘safe zone’ but intervene when line managers risk provoking a tribunal claim. Both HR and line managers, from the perspective of the HR professionals, accept the need and value of this compliance role, seeing it as a “necessary evil” to protect the organisation.

Our findings highlight the strategies HR practitioners use to encourage compliant behaviour from line managers. At times, HR practitioners need to involve and garner support from those higher up the organisational hierarchy (e.g., the senior management team) in order to compel line manager action. As such, our data reveals that even in scenarios where a HR practitioner does not have the power to dictate line manager decision making (e.g., because HR lacks status within the organisation or the individual practitioner is more junior) they still have methods of moving between an advisory and interventionary approach to working with their stakeholders. When they consider it necessary to intervene, HR practitioners will also highlight the risk of tribunal claims and/or procure specialist legal advice to persuade line managers to adopt a specific course of action. This evidences how line managers can be unwilling to accept the recommendations of HR practitioners without the reinforcement of external legal advice, and therefore the challenges HR professionals face in establishing credibility with organisational actors. Importantly, while HR practitioners have strategies for overcoming these challenges and to influence line manager behaviour, these tactics do not necessarily resolve their struggles for status.

Despite HR practitioners use of employment lawyers to persuade and appease line managers, they do not simply regurgitate the third-party advice they have sourced. Our findings also demonstrate how HR professionals add value through their own balancing of the legal position and the specific needs and context of their organisation (e.g., taking into account the employer’s management of previous similar cases). However, HR professionals will not necessarily disclose this value adding activity to line managers as it may undermine the force and influence of obtaining the third-party advice. As such, aspects of HR’s compliance role, the skills and knowledge that they use to support positive outcomes for organisations, can go unseen and undervalued.

So what?

Based on the findings of our study, we propose that the value of and craft involved in HR’s compliance role has been downplayed by academics and the profession. We bring into question the nature of HR business partnering in organisations by highlighting that in their day-to-day working lives practitioners move between interventionary or advisory approaches to working with managers. We therefore suggest that intervention is not incommensurate with a HR Business Partner role but can be an essential element of it, and a component of effective HRM. Consequently, we call for researchers and the CIPD to acknowledge the need for and value of HR’s regulatory and compliance responsibilities in support of HR departments and professionals more clearly demonstrating their contribution to organisations.

If you are interested in this research and would like to know more, please contact: helen.mortimore@uwe.ac.uk or catherine.mackintosh@uwe.ac.uk

The Casual Employment of Higher Education Students in the Hospitality Sector: contributing to local labour markets?

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This month’s guest blog is written by Dr Hilary Drew, Associate Head of Department – Partnerships (BIM) at UWE Bristol.

Over the last decade, many of us at UWE Bristol will have witnessed a growing number of our students working part-time, or even full-time, alongside their studies.  Given the number of bars and restaurants in Bristol, and other university cities, it will come as no surprise that the majority of students tend to find jobs in the hospitality sector.  Despite this increase in working students, surprisingly, there is little UK research from the past decade focusing on the casual employment of higher education students in the sector.

Together with researchers from Cardiff Metropolitan University, Hilary Drew and Felix Ritchie from UWE Bristol were interested in finding out more about the contribution made by students to local labour markets. Since the 1990s, the hospitality industry has been increasingly characterised by casual forms of employment.  These kinds of jobs are attractive to students and, as previous research has argued, this leads to increased competition for work with non-students. We were very interested in the impact this competition had on opportunities for low-skilled local workers seeking jobs in hospitality, as well as for our students.

Interestingly, the research we conducted found an opposite effect on local labour markets than reported in previous research.  Our findings suggested that, rather than replacing local low-skilled workers, hospitality employers value student workers for their flexibility. Therefore, employers tend to employ both students and non-students, in order to complement each other, particularly with reference to working time preferences.  Having said this, we found evidence that employers pay more attention to the welfare and needs of non-student workers, in order to protect their core of full-time and permanent part-time staff.

Importantly, our study shows that student employees can, and frequently do, provide long-term commitment to employers, as the relationship is viewed as having a specific shelf life of 3-4 years (the length of an undergraduate degree). We found evidence of both loyalty and satisfaction on both sides and, therefore, our findings contradict the usual view of student work as transitory within the hospitality industry.

Many critics have argued that term-time working presents a specific challenge for students in that they struggle to manage the commitments of work, study and – possibly! – a busy social life.  We were also interested in whether or not this was true, particularly as, at UWE, we are committed to supporting our students to develop skills that will make them future-ready, ambitious and innovative.  Students in our sample were valued by employers for their particular skill sets, as well as for their flexibility.  Conversely, we found that students reported valuing their working experience as something which would benefit them for their further career. This is very much supported by other previous studies, which also suggest that student employment contributes to students’ own development, especially around helping to improve time management and communication skills. working, the obvious issue with our research is that it was carried out prior to the Coronavirus pandemic, especially since hospitality was the sector arguably hardest hit by Covid.  With long periods of lockdown, and then restrictions placed on social contact, bars and restaurants were forced to close down – many permanently – and high numbers of employees were furloughed or made redundant.

Although the sector is slowly rebuilding itself, there has been a marked shrinkage in jobs, and the effect that this has had on competition between students and local non-student workers is, as yet unknown. In addition, the opportunities provided by the hospitality sector to help students build up valuable employability skills have also been removed or, at the very least, damaged by the pandemic.

Thus, our aim is to revisit our research post-pandemic over the coming months, to find out what has changed. In particular, we want to know if there have been any changes to the way in which employers treat student and non-student workers.  We’re also keen to expand our participant sample, to look at what’s going on in some other university cities.   Moreover, we hope to find evidence of a resurgence of work opportunities for our future students in hospitality as the sector begins to recover.

Forbes Article – ‘Gig workers are the workforce of the future: Here’s how to engage them’

Author jyotishaw | Posted on

Dr Rochelle Haynes, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at UWE Bristol and CEO of Crowd Potential Consulting Group co-authored a recent global survey of nearly 2,000 independent workers and business leaders, some of the survey findings were highlighted in a recent article written by Larry English for Forbes last month.

(Excerpts taken from Forbes article)

More and more, workers are breaking free of the 9-to-5 paradigm and striking out on their own as independent contractors, freelancers and digital nomads.  Although a large percentage of business leaders expect gig workers to make up a larger share of their workforce in the near future, the reality is few have figured out how to effectively engage them. A recent global survey of nearly 2,000 independent workers and business leaders showed that only 10% of gig workers feel highly valued by their clients, and half feel undervalued. Additionally, many of these workers receive no support and are rarely recognized or rewarded for their contributions, says Dr. Rochelle Haynes.

The relationship between businesses and gig workers must evolve if businesses want to continue attracting top talent and maintain a competitive edge. In addition to highlighting the problems gig workers encounter, Dr. Haynes’s research also provided clarity on how businesses can better engage these workers and tap into their value:

  • Design a comprehensive onboarding process for gig workers. “One of the things we heard from digital nomads was that they’ve had jobs get delayed because they couldn’t get in touch with a person in the organization,” Dr. Haynes says.
  • Create a work environment that embraces all types of workers. Dr. Haynes, who helps companies and gigsters work better together, suggests putting mechanisms in place to make sure gig workers’ needs are being met – perhaps by offering a coworking membership or setting up hot desks at the office so gig workers can easily drop in.
  • Figure out what thrills your gig workers. “A lot of gig workers complained that they weren’t appreciated and recognized for what they do in the same way full-time workers were,” Dr. Haynes says, adding that companies need to learn how to adequately recognize the contributions of everyone.
  • Provide gig workers with some security. While some gig workers are happy to hop from job to job with no safety net, many others would appreciate some security, Dr. Haynes says. Considering that the biggest risks gig workers face are late payments and unreliable cash flow, companies should offer reliable payment and clear, mutually agreed-upon contracts.  

To find out more about the four points above on successfully engaging Gig workers, read the full Forbes article HERE

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