Labour market flexibility

The degree of labour market flexibility is the speed with which

Theory

The most well-known concept of labour market flexibility is given by Atkinson.[5]^[6] Based on the strategies companies use, he notes that there can be four types of flexibility.

External numerical flexibility

External numerical flexibility is the adjustment of the labour intake, or the number of workers from the external market. This can be achieved by employing workers on

according to the firms' needs. Employers typically prefer high levels of unemployment because, as workers become more desperate for employment, they are willing to work for lower wages, thus increasing employer profits.

Internal numerical flexibility

Internal numerical flexibility, sometimes known as

of the working classes.

Functional flexibility

Functional flexibility or organizational flexibility is the extent to which employees can be transferred to different activities and tasks within the firm. It has to do with organization of operation or management and training workers. This can also be achieved by outsourcing activities. Job rotation is a label given to many functional flexibility schemes.

Financial or wage flexibility

reflect the supply and demand of labour and so that employers can force employees to compete for wages, thus lowering the average wage paid to employees and ultimately to maximize profits while decreasing the standard of living of the working classes. This can be achieved by rate-for-the-job systems, or assessment based pay system, or individual performance wages.

Flexibility for workers

Labour market flexibility refers to more than the strategies used by employers to adapt to their production or business cycles as it is in the definitions above. Increasingly, the common view is that labour market flexibility can potentially be used for both workers and companies, or employees and employers.^[7] It can also be used as a method to enable workers to "adjust working life and working hours to their own preferences and to other activities".^[8] As companies adapt to business cycles and facilitate their needs through the use of labour market flexibility strategies, workers adapt their life cycles and their needs through it (Chung, 2006).

The

also emphasizes the importance of the development of working time flexibility as an alternative to implementing external flexibility as the sole method of increasing flexibility in the labour market (ETUC, 2007).

In their report on working time, the TUC has also argued that flexible working should be extended to all workers through stronger regulations.^[10] As authors Gerson and Jacobs agree, "flexibility and autonomy are only useful if workers feel able to use them" (Gerson & Jacobs, 2004, pg. 238).^[11]

Some of the widely used arrangements that enable workers more flexibility in their work include flextime, remote work, and part-time jobs.

See also

• Contingent work – Non-permanent type of employment
• Corporate amnesia – Loss of shared knowledge and experience
• Employment Protection Legislation
   – labour termPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Flexicurity – Welfare state model with a pro-active labour market policy.
• Flexitime
   – Flexible hours schedule in workdaysPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Labour economics – Study of the markets for wage labour
• Labour law – Laws that mediate the relationship between workers, employers, unions and governments
• Occupational licensing – Form of government regulation on professions or vocations for compensation
• Precarity – Lacking in predictability, job security, material or psychological welfare^[12]
  • Precarious work – non-standard employment poorly paid, insecure, unprotected, and cannot support a householdPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback, Unemployment – People without work and actively seeking work, Gig economy – Economic system of freelance workers
  • Exploitation of labour – Economic phenomenon
• Working time – Period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor

Notes

References

• Atkinson, J. (1984). Flexibility, Uncertainty and Manpower Management (PDF) (Report). IMS Report No. 89. Institute of Manpower Studies, Brighton.
• Atkinson, J.; Meager, N. (1986). Changing Working Patterns: How companies achieve flexibility to meet new needs. Institute of Manpower Studies, National Economic Development Office, London.
  ISBN 0729207889
  .
• Chung, H (2006) Labour Market Flexibility, for Employers or Employees? A multi-dimensional study of labour market flexibility across European welfare states, Paper presented at the 2006 Annual ESPAnet Conference, Shaping Euoropean Systems of Work and Welfare, 7~9 September 2006, Bremen.paper link
• Fagan, C.; Hegewisch, A.; Pillinger, J. (2006). Out of Time: Why Britain needs a new approach to working-time flexibility (PDF). Trade Union Congress, London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.
• Reilly, Peter Andrew (2001). Flexibility at work: balancing the interests of employer and employee. Aldershotd: Gower.
  ISBN 978-0-56608-259-7
  .
• Wallace, C. (2003) Work Flexibility in Eight European countries: A cross-national comparison. Sociological Series 60.Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna.
• "'Flexibility' or 'exploitation'? What do we know about zero-hours contracts?". Understanding Society. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2023-11-02.

External links

• ReflecT: Research Institute for Flexicurity, Labour Market Dynamics and Social Cohesion at Tilburg University.
• CARMA