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Full-Text Articles in Labor Relations

Introduction: Bringing Jobs Back In: Toward A New Multi-Level Approach To The Study Of Work And Organizations, M. Diane Burton, Lisa E. Cohen, Michael Lounsbury Oct 2016

Introduction: Bringing Jobs Back In: Toward A New Multi-Level Approach To The Study Of Work And Organizations, M. Diane Burton, Lisa E. Cohen, Michael Lounsbury

M. Diane Burton

In this paper, we call for renewed attention to the structure and structuring of work within and between organizations. We argue that a multi-level approach, with jobs as a core analytic construct, is a way to draw connections among economic sociology, organizational sociology, the sociology of work and occupations, labor studies and stratification and address the important problems of both increasing inequality and declining economic productivity.


Domesticating The Diaspora: Memory And The Life Of Sister Katie, Caroline Waldron Merithew Jun 2016

Domesticating The Diaspora: Memory And The Life Of Sister Katie, Caroline Waldron Merithew

Caroline Merithew

Three shrines in Illinois honor heroes of the working class: one for the legendary Mother Jones; one for the Virden martyrs, who died for coal mining unionism, and whose memory is kept alive by labor organizers around the world; and one for Catherine (Katie) Bianco DeRorre. Katie's monument, unlike the others, draws few visitors today. But when it was dedicated in 1961, men and women — on the floor of the U.S. Congress, in the neighborhood where Katie grew up, at American universities, in union halls, on the streets of New York City, and in Milan — took notice and …


Better Work And Global Governance, Paul Alois Jun 2016

Better Work And Global Governance, Paul Alois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a case study of Better Work, a program run by the International Labor Organization and the International Finance Corporation. It aims to improve working conditions and productivity in the apparel industry. The purpose of this case study is to examine the role that international organizations can play in global governance. The research presented here comes from interviews, document analysis, and an examination of quantitative data on factories’ working conditions. In-person interviews were conducted in the United States, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Indonesia; many phone interviews took place with individuals in other countries. Both publicly available documents and internal …


The Impact Of Family Economic Structure On Dual-Earners’ Career And Family Satisfaction, Ronit Waismel-Manor, Asaf Levanon, Pamela S. Tolbert Apr 2016

The Impact Of Family Economic Structure On Dual-Earners’ Career And Family Satisfaction, Ronit Waismel-Manor, Asaf Levanon, Pamela S. Tolbert

Pamela S Tolbert

The present study builds on the explanatory power of the “doing gender” perspective to understand the effects of family economic structure on the family and career satisfaction of husbands and wives. Using data from a two-panel, couple-level survey of full-time employed middle-class families in the Northeastern United States, we find that when wives’ earnings increase relative to their husbands’, their career satisfaction significantly increases whereas their husbands’ is significantly depressed. In contrast, family economic structure has little effect on women’ and men’s level of family satisfaction, although we find a significant reduction in family satisfaction among couples who have recently …


Empathy Gaps Between Helpers And Help-Seekers: Implications For Cooperation, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn Apr 2016

Empathy Gaps Between Helpers And Help-Seekers: Implications For Cooperation, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn

Vanessa K. Bohns

Help-seekers and potential helpers often experience an “empathy gap” – an inability to understand each other’s unique perspectives. Both parties are concerned about their reputation, self-esteem, and relationships, but these concerns differ in ways that lead to misinterpretation of the other party’s actions, and, in turn, missed opportunities for cooperation. In this article, we review research that describes the role-specific concerns of helpers and help-seekers. We then review studies of emotional perspective-taking, which can help explain why help-seekers and helpers often experience empathy gaps. We go on to discuss recent work that illustrates the consequences of empathy gaps between helpers …


Bob’S Red Mill: For The Employees By The Employees, Singapore Management University Apr 2016

Bob’S Red Mill: For The Employees By The Employees, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Putting people before profits is more important than accumulating ever-increasing amounts of possession


Annapurna’S Porters: Labor Conditions And The Factors That Shape Them, Ari Grant-Sasson Apr 2016

Annapurna’S Porters: Labor Conditions And The Factors That Shape Them, Ari Grant-Sasson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project sought to determine what the labor conditions of porters working in Annapurna are and the factors both immutable and human-influenced that shape them. To do so, I interviewed government bodies, national and regional trekking organizations, unions, agencies, guides and porters to ascertain what issues a broad term such as “labor conditions” encompasses. Participants highlighted the importance of insurance, wages, weight carried, equipment, access to employment, job training and topography as important factors. I will argue that large advocacy organizations shape these issues, and therefore the porter market, at a national level. Discrepancies in employment experiences between porters are …


Guilt By Design: Structuring Organizations To Elicit Guilt As An Affective Reaction To Failure, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis K. Flynn Mar 2016

Guilt By Design: Structuring Organizations To Elicit Guilt As An Affective Reaction To Failure, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis K. Flynn

Vanessa K. Bohns

In this article, we outline a model of how organizations can effectively shape employees’ affective reactions to failure. We do not suggest that organizations eliminate the experience of negative affect following performance failures—instead, we propose that they encourage a more constructive form of negative affect (guilt) instead of a destructive one (shame). We argue that guilt responses prompt employees to take corrective action in response to mistakes, while shame responses are likely to elicit more detrimental effects of negative affect. Further, we suggest that organizations can play a role in influencing employees’ discrete emotional reactions to the benefit of both …


Underestimating Our Influence Over Others At Work, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn Mar 2016

Underestimating Our Influence Over Others At Work, Vanessa K. Bohns, Francis J. Flynn

Vanessa K. Bohns

Employees at all organizational levels have influence over their subordinates, their colleagues, and even their bosses. But are they aware of this influence? We present evidence suggesting that employees are constrained by cognitive biases that lead them to underestimate their influence over others in the workplace. As a result of this underestimation of influence, employees may be reluctant to spearhead organizational change, discount their own role in subordinates’ performance failures, and fail to speak up in the face of wrongdoing. In addition to reviewing evidence for this bias, we propose five moderators that, when present, may reverse or attenuate the …


The Role Of Leader Emotion Management In Leader-Member Exchange And Follower Outcomes, Laura M. Little, Janaki Gooty, Michele Williams Jan 2016

The Role Of Leader Emotion Management In Leader-Member Exchange And Follower Outcomes, Laura M. Little, Janaki Gooty, Michele Williams

Michele Williams

Drawing upon social exchange and emotion regulation theories, we develop and test a model of four specific leader behaviors directed at managing followers’ negative emotions. These leader interpersonal emotion management (IEM) strategies are posited to affect followers’ organizational citizenship behaviors performed within interpersonal relationships (OCBIs) and job satisfaction via follower perceptions of the quality of the leader-follower exchange relationship. In contrast to most current cognitive-transactional views of social exchange, here we posit that some, but not all, leader emotion management behaviors promote and strengthen the leader-member exchange (LMX) relationship. Specifically, we contend that followers’ perception of problem-focused leader emotion-management strategies …