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Whose Job is Secure?
Changing work designs in the new economy have led to increased job insecurity. Both old and new economies have experienced the effects of job insecurities, which are twofold in nature. The first effect concerns the way employees support themselves in insecure jobs and the second one outlines the manner in which workers support themselves once jobs have been lost. This seeks a clarification on the issue of whose job is insecure in given economies. Sweet and Meiksins (2008) point out that nowadays, workers are given job protection unlike that which was noted in the earlier phases of industrialization. Thus, workers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries came up with collective ethnic as well as class-based approaches for mitigating personal risks in the employment sector.
After the industrialization revolution period, many workers demanded job security in order to protect their jobs. Notably, most families that joined working institutions during the industrialization period were encouraged to maintain their jobs but were prevented from joining unions or collaborating with their employers. There were no laws regarding job security or insurances. However, later when the government invented welfare programs such as social security programs and laws during the old economy were employed towards protecting workers. These laws and governmental programs have been widely applicable in the new economy in helping employees with employment safeguards.
Job insecurity can cause problems such as depression, stress, and nervousness because once an individual loses their job other problems arise such as who should cater for needs like bills payments. Workers with secure and insured jobs are able to benefit once job loss is noted. This is because the government or private insurance can help them pay bills as they find a solution to the present dilemma by seeking for other jobs in a different working sector. Many research studies have been carried out regarding job security thus psychologists, sociologists as well as economists have tried to identify workers with secure jobs and the way they benefit from such. Pitt-Catsouphes, Kossek and Sweet (2006) reveal that once layoffs are planned, it is better for an individual to instill job security through seeking additional training towards creating an improvement or increasing an individual’s working experience. This acts positively in leading the employers towards reducing the number of layoffs or helping laid-off employees.
The Impact of Mass Layoffs on Unemployment: United States 1996-2004
Number of Claimants
3,000,000
0
A chart indicating mass layoffs in the United States from 1996-2004
The preceding chart indicates the effects of mass layoffs to workers in the United States during the years 1996 to 2004. Employers have diverse reasons for reducing the number of employees in a working environment. Sometimes, this is attributed to the need of reducing monetary costs, downscaling due to consumer marketing or prevailing business conditions; note that these are the main factors contributing to layoffs in many companies. This is because of the need to maintain a manageable number of workers who can produce quality work without incurring any costs. Although, some factors influence job security in a positive manner such as better individual skills or the need for more production in a company, they also infuse workers safeguards in the working sector. Economists suggest that many people achieve job security in times of economic expansion but during economic recession, the same is reduced. Thus, unemployment levels are considered as indicators of job security in the economy, with variations noted in different States.
References
Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Kossek, E. E., & Sweet, S. A. (2006). The work and family handbook:
Multi-disciplinary perspectives, methods, and approaches. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Sweet, S. A., & Meiksins, P. (2008). Changing contours of work: Jobs and opportunities in the
new economy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
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