The Oxford Handbook of Job Quality

This Handbook aims to provide an interdisciplinary and international benchmark text for understanding job quality, particularly in the context of the new digital technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. It highlights the importance of job quality in addressing various challenges, such as health, welfare, productivity, innovation, economic competitiveness, democracy, and environmental sustainability. The Handbook brings together contributions from different fields and perspectives, cataloging diverse research on job quality and its implications. It emphasizes the complexity and multiple interpretations of job quality and offers distinct responses to the question of why it matters for different individuals, groups, and societies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 624 pages
Publication date: 24 June 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The aim of this Handbook is to produce an interdisciplinary and international benchmark text for anyone wanting to understand job quality. Job quality matters and has long and continually done so, even if the terminology used to describe it has, and continues, to vary. Debate about the future of work and job quality in the twenty-first century centres on the impact of the new digital technologies of the putative fourth industrial revolution. This debate compounds existing concerns about the restructuring of employment and, importantly, a worrying proliferation of poor-quality jobs, often within the context of neo-liberal political-economic hegemony since the early 1980s or the economic crisis that followed the Global Financial Crisis of the late 2000s. Job quality is offered as a solution to challenges such as health, welfare, productivity, innovation, economic competitiveness, democracy and democratic participation, Bildung/cultivation, societal equality, individual and collective quality of life, and environmental sustainability. As job quality is a key factor in addressing these and the other challenges, it needs to be understood in all its complexity in terms of what it affects as well as what affects it. This Handbook draws together into a single volume: first, an explicit focus on job quality both as a significant factor in and of itself and as producing instrumental effects on a range of other processes and outcomes; second, a catalogue of the diverse range of multiple contributions and applications related to job quality; and third, the complexity and multiple interpretations of the concept of job quality. Each chapter provides distinct responses to the question of why job quality matters, coupled to a contention about for whom or for what job quality matters most.

The term "job quality" has been used in a variety of ways over time, reflecting the changing nature of work and the evolving understanding of what constitutes a good job. While there is no one-size-fits-all definition of job quality, it generally refers to the extent to which a job provides workers with a fair level of compensation, benefits, and working conditions that allow them to develop their skills, achieve their goals, and contribute to society.

One of the key challenges facing the world of work today is the increasing prevalence of low-quality jobs. These jobs are often characterized by poor pay, limited opportunities for career advancement, and inadequate working conditions. Low-quality jobs can have a significant impact on workers' health, well-being, and economic security, leading to increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

In addition to the negative impact on workers, low-quality jobs can also have broader societal consequences. They can contribute to income inequality, reduce productivity, and undermine economic growth. Low-quality jobs are often concentrated in specific industries or sectors, such as manufacturing or hospitality, and can have a particularly negative impact on communities that rely on these industries for their economic livelihood.

Despite these challenges, there are a number of factors that can contribute to the development of high-quality jobs. These include investments in education and training, policies that promote job creation and economic growth, and efforts to improve working conditions and labor standards.

One of the key challenges facing the development of high-quality jobs is the increasing prevalence of automation and technological change. While these technologies can create new opportunities for innovation and productivity, they can also lead to job displacement and the erosion of traditional job skills.

To address these challenges, it is important to promote a more inclusive and sustainable economy. This can include policies that support job creation in sectors that are vulnerable to automation, such as healthcare and education, as well as investments in skills development and training programs that help workers adapt to changing job demands.

In addition to these policy-level interventions, there are also a number of individual and organizational actions that can contribute to the development of high-quality jobs. These include promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, providing workers with opportunities for career advancement and development, and investing in workplace wellness and safety programs.

In conclusion, job quality is a critical issue that affects the well-being and economic security of workers and society as a whole. While there are a number of challenges facing the development of high-quality jobs, there are also a number of factors that can contribute to their creation. By promoting policies that support job creation and investment in education and training, as well as by promoting individual and organizational actions that promote diversity and inclusion, we can work towards a more inclusive and sustainable economy that provides workers with the opportunities and resources they need to thrive.

Weight: 1214g
Dimension: 253 x 179 x 38 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198749790