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Though the growth of the gig economy has coincided with increased economic precarity in the new economy, we know less about the extent to which gig work (compared with other self-employment arrangements and non-gig work) may fuel economic insecurity among American households. We fill this gap in the literature by drawing on a sample of 4,756 workers from a unique national survey capturing economic hardships among non-standard workers like app- and platform-based gig and other self-employed workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from generalized boosted regression modeling, utilizing machine learning to account for potential endogeneity, demonstrated that gig workers experienced significantly greater economic hardship than non-gig and other self-employed workers during the pandemic. For example, gig workers were more likely to experience food insecurity, miss bill payments, and suffer income loss compared with non-gig and other self-employed workers during the pandemic. While household liquid assets endowment prior to the pandemic reduced the effect of gig work on experiencing economic hardships, having dependent children in the household increased this effect. Thus, contrary to democratizing entrepreneurship opportunities, these findings suggest that the expansion of the gig economy may exacerbate labor market inequality, where wealth-endowed families are protected against adverse economic consequences of the gig economy. We discuss the implications of these findings for inequality-reducing labor market policies, including policies that account for the interconnectedness of family and the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The companies in Big Tech (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft) increasingly rely on contract workers, not only as suppliers but as contributors who fulfill key organizational functions without formal employment. To understand contractors' communicative construction of their organizational membership, we analyzed contract workers' descriptions of membership negotiation in Big Tech using crowdsourced company reviews (n = 500). Contract workers noted their positions enhanced their career development but also described being constrained in negotiating full inclusion within organizations, influencing work processes, and changing their membership status. We discuss the findings' implications for understanding and practicing membership negotiation in nonstandard work arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many vision tasks, utilizing pre-trained features results in improved performance and consistently benefits from the rapid advancement of pre-training technologies. However, in the field of stereo matching, the use of pre-trained features has not been extensively researched. In this paper, we present the first systematical exploration into the utilization of pre-trained features for stereo matching. To provide flexible employment for any combination of pre-trained backbones and stereo matching networks, we develop the deformable neck (DN) that decouples the network architectures of these two components. The core idea of DN is to utilize the deformable attention mechanism to iteratively fuse pre-trained features from shallow to deep layers. Empirically, our exploration reveals the crucial factors that influence using pre-trained features for stereo matching. We further investigate the role of instance-level information of pre-trained features, demonstrating it benefits stereo matching while can be suppressed during convolution-based feature fusion. Built on the attention mechanism, the proposed DN module effectively utilizes the instance-level information in pre-trained features. Besides, we provide an understanding of the efficiency-accuracy tradeoff, concluding that using pre-trained features can also be a good alternative with efficiency consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Vocational education has an irreplaceable role in cultivating high-quality talents adaptedtotheneeds of modern industries, promoting flexible employment in the labor market, and promotingthesustainable development of the regional economy. However, due to the differences in the education system, qualifications, and curriculum between regions, there are many problems in vocational education intheGreater Bay Area that need to be solved. Based on this, this paper analyzes in detail the functions androlesof the QF (qualifications framework) in vocational education, and by comparing and analyzingthecharacteristics and current situation of vocational education in each region, it provides several effectivepaths that are in line with the development of vocational education in the Greater Bay Area by constructinga highly efficient and synergistic system of vocational education and by promoting the development of regional economic integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I focus on the association between contingent employment and the division of domestic labor within marriage. A voluminous literature has shown that women's lower economic resources, relative to their spouse's, decreases their bargaining power and increases their share of domestic labor within marriage. I examine the associations between women's contingent work, a type of devalued employment, and allocation of domestic labor in South Korea, where there is a sharp divide in employment quality between permanent and contingent work. Using longitudinal data from 5000 married women in South Korea and fixed-effect analysis, this study reveals that women in contingent positions shoulder a greater share of domestic labor compared to women in permanent positions even after accounting for tangible rewards including wages and access to fringe benefits. I also find that the negative associations between women's income share and their housework share was weaker for women in contingent positions than for those in permanent positions. These results suggest that contingent employment may have deeper negative consequences on women's bargaining power in marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Primatological Society (IPS) held a meeting in Malaysia to discuss various topics related to primatology. The meeting covered issues such as the International Journal of Primatology, membership and financial matters, conservation efforts, and future IPS congresses. President Ratsimbazafy expressed gratitude and announced the next IPS Congress in Madagascar in 2025. VP Turner proposed creating an officers' handbook, while Humle suggested compensation for instructors and volunteers. The meeting concluded with plans for future congresses and the consideration of various proposals. [Extracted from the article]

Background: There is recognition of the growing prevalence of alternative work arrangements, contingent jobs, and work secured through an app. However, there have been few systematic efforts to understand the impact of these forms of work on individuals and households. Methods: The data derive from the California Work and Health Survey administered to a sample of the working age population of the state solicited through random‐digit dialing of cell phone numbers. 4014 individuals completed the survey, 26% of those with an in‐service cell phone number. We present odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals from logistic regression estimating the impact of being an independent contractor, in other forms of alternative work arrangements, in contingent jobs, and in work secured through an app, on economic and health status and working conditions in main jobs, with and without adjustment for covariates. Results: Several of the forms of work analyzed are associated with lower earnings and higher rates of wage theft, household poverty, benefit recipiency, and expectation of hardships in food, housing, and medical care in the immediate future. Association between the forms of work and current health status is less consistent. However, several forms of work are associated with working conditions known to be risk factors for subsequent health problems. Conclusions: Public policy to mitigate the adverse impacts of work, largely developed in the 20th Century when there was an identified workplace, may be insufficient to protect workers' well‐being for alternative work arrangements, contingent jobs, and work secured through an app. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing quickly, and it can now perform a variety of tasks that humans can, if not more efficiently. Concerns regarding its effects on employment, particularly for contingent labour, are growing, nevertheless. This research looks at the opportunities and challenges AI brings to this deprived section of the workforce. The study uses thematic analysis to find patterns and insights using secondary data from scholarly publications along with a descriptive method. Results explore how AI can enhance job prospects, efficiency in talent sourcing, reduction of bias, job matching, skill development, and project management. Conversely, the findings highlight potential adverse impacts of AI, including marginalizing contingent worker groups through job displacement, creating job insecurity, raising ethical concerns, issues of surveillance and privacy, widening skill gaps, and reducing workers' bargaining power. The findings underscore the importance of proactive policy measures and strategic investments in training programs to mitigate adverse effects while maximizing the benefits of AI integration. This study contributes to the understanding of AI's dual impact on employment and provides actionable recommendations for policymakers, employers, and stakeholders in navigating the evolving labor landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is undergoing an intense transformation driven by technological advances, globalization, digitalization and changing economic dynamics. This paper delves into the future workforce scenario of India which is reckoned as an emerging global economy and experiencing transformational shifts in its employment landscape. The paper focuses on responsibilities of both employers and employee collectives (trade unions) in proactively addressing challenges and opportunities in current VUCA era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research seeks to understand, for the first time, what motivates knowledge-intensive organizations (KIOs) to initiate knowledge management (KM) activities in times of routine and emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic was placed at the center as a case study of an extreme crisis. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the adoption of the qualitative-constructivist paradigm, the study was conducted among 52 KM professionals through in-depth interviews and focus groups. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis method, according to the principles of the grounded theory approach. Findings: The findings reveal that opportunities and risks are two types of catalysts which accelerate KM efforts in times of routine and emergency respectively. Due to KM's support of the transition to flexible employment during COVID-19, the authors show that this field experienced real growth and prosperity in the "new normal." KM initiatives were promoted during the COVID-19 crisis in light of gaps in retention, sharing, accessibility and development of knowledge. Originality/value: Given that knowledge risks are a field with fragmented understanding, the results contribute to understanding the importance of risk management related to knowledge in times of crises and turmoil. The authors call for incorporating this niche into the overall risk management of the organization, while adopting a holistic and long-term perspective of KM. Furthermore, the authors uncover KM's position in KIOs during the global pandemic. The paper proposes food for thought regarding informal knowledge sharing in virtual environments typical of the "Corona routine". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since conflict is a ubiquitous phenomenon in inter-but also intraorganizational work, conflict management behavior (CMB) is a preconditioning factor for successful cooperations. Prior research shows that CMB can be individualistic or collectivistic in orientation and highlights the episodic nature of CMB. However, in focusing on analyzing specific conflicts and conflict dynamics in collaborative contexts, research paid less attention to how conflict and CMB are influenced by structural patterns and thus might overstate the role of individual agency compared to the role of the general structure of the cooperation. We address this issue by investigating the inter-organizational cooperation of IT-freelancers and their client organizations. Based on 18 semi-structured problem-centered and expert interviews with IT-freelancers, representatives of client organizations and agencies, we show that the CMB orientation depends on the institutionalized sequential stages of the cooperation. While individualistic CMBs dominate the pre-contract sequence, in which recruitment processes and negotiations take place, the parties switch to collectivistic CMB in the contract sequence, in which the actual cooperation is carried out. The postcontract sequence serves for reflections on the cooperation and thus influences the willingness to engage in future cooperations and, in turn, affects future pre-contract sequences. With a focus on the IT industry, the paper addresses research gaps related to the specific temporality and temporal structuring of contingent work. It introduces a sequence-oriented framework and analysis of conflict and conflict management in interorganizational projects, complementing related episodic perspectives on conflict, and psychological contracts with a more chronological and structural perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing the power of storytelling as an influencing writing centre practice (McKinney), this paper examines my near-decade long relationship with writing centres and explores stories I have told about writing centre work. Using analytic autoethnography, I analyze three reflective narratives from my writing centre history across two countries, through multiple disciplines. Despite the differing contextual factors of these narratives and the stories they feature, my analysis reveals institutional neoliberalism as the guiding influence on my storytelling. This finding is discussed alongside literature on emotional labour, contingent employment, and institutional interference. Ultimately, this paper highlights the untapped potential of autoethnography as an accessible methodology for precariously employed writing centre scholars and calls on the field to consider the influence of neoliberalism on our communication with students and tutees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between union organization, workplace representation, the quality of industrial relations and strike incidence, as well as the implications of the matters at stake in localized disputes. Strike incidence is found to be higher in establishments where union density is higher, and where workers are covered by mixed-level collective agreements and in flexible employment. Further, distrust is associated with increased strike incidence, and conversely for employee-focused strategies and heightened employee motivation. These results are robust to controls for possible endogeneity of union density and country (cluster) heterogeneity. In terms of outcomes, higher union density, works councils, profit sharing, and a machine/computer-driven work pace are associated with worker wins, while collective bargaining, firm profitability, and more frequent meetings with management are linked with more balanced agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work flexibility as an element of work flexicurity has had an impact on employment at the national level. In this study, work flexibility is expressed through flexible work arrangements. Organisations may implement various flexible work arrangements, depending on their size or specifically promoted policies in this sense. Thus, organisations indirectly contribute to higher employment at the national level. The aim of the study is to evaluate flexible work arrangements from the perspective of organizations in order to determine to what extent they are available for implementation. To test and validate the results, we develop a questionnaire that includes ten flexible work arrangements. Each flexible work arrangement is rated on a Likert scale from 1 to 5. The survey comprises 350 companies of different sizes from various sectors, located in urban and rural areas. In order to process, analyse and interpret the results, several statistical methods are used: principal component analysis, the ANOVA procedure and the post-hoc test. The findings show that some flexible work arrangements are better rated than others. Differences are also identified in the evaluation of flexible work arrangements by organization size. Our results provide evidence that some organizations show reluctance towards certain flexible work arrangements. Moreover, flexible work arrangements with higher scores are more likely to be implemented by organizations, which may lead to higher employment at the national level. Implications for Central European audience: Work flexibility is an important and promising element in the context of changing work paradigms. In this context, organizations need to adapt their HR strategies and policies by taking into account work flexibility trends. It will enable them to attract the required workforce both quantitatively and qualitatively. Likewise, organizations implementing different flexible work arrangements could contribute indirectly to increasing employment at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of analyzing the impact of employment in the observed flexible forms of work on the unemployment rate in Austria, Croatia, Italy, Hungary and Slovenia, the author systematically investigated and analyzed the impact of working time flexibility and labour law status flexibility on the unemployment rate. The aim of this paper is to investigate the connection between the unemployment rate and the proportion of people surveyed in the sample who work in the following flexible forms of work: work in shifts, evening work, night work, work on Saturdays, work on Sundays and work from home. The research in the paper was conducted on the EU LFS official data set obtained on the basis of the RPP 35/2020-LFS project approved by the European Commission and Eurostat. The author analyzed a sample of 447,031 respondents in the period from 2008 to 2018. In the research part of the work, a statistically significant model of the linear association of the criterion variable of the unemployment rate with the predictor variable SENSSH and a statistically significant model of the nonlinear association of the criterion variable of the unemployment rate with the predictor variable SENSSH will be generated for each observed EU country. Based on an extensive analysis of data from selected EU member states, results were obtained that indicate an evident reduction in the unemployment rate in 80% of the observed countries through the introduction of flexible forms of employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has experienced rapid development in the digital economy. Using data from 30 provinces in China between 2011 and 2017, this paper constructs a two-way fixed effects model to study the effects and mechanisms of the digital economy development on social insurance funds revenue. An increase of one unit in digital economy development led to a 0.56% increase in basic endowment insurance funds revenue and a 0.33% increase in basic health insurance funds revenue. The digital economy increased the social insurance funds revenue by promoting employment and increasing income. Furthermore, the effects of digital economic development on social insurance funds revenue were heterogeneous for different levels of economic development and urbanization. The conclusions stood after robustness tests by changing the method of weighting the digital economy indicators and using instrumental variables. This paper confirmed the positive role of the development of the digital economy in increasing the revenue of social insurance funds from the perspective of quantitative research and explored the mechanisms in depth. In order to increase social insurance funds revenue, it is essential to accelerate the development of the digital economy, especially in regions with lower economic development and urbanization, and to address the needs of the technically unemployed and those engaged in flexible employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines agrarian reform and social assistance policies in Brazil based on field research carried out in the Pastorinhas land settlement. The origin of this territory is related to the promise of implementing a public policy of agrarian reform in the 1990s, a fact that led a contingent of rural workers to occupy a farm in the rural area of Brumadinho, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The qualitative research sought to understand how access to land and social programs allowed families currently settled in Pastorinhas to overcome the challenges they faced and build a more dignified life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The normally low-risk and routinised nature of supermarket frontline work evolved drastically amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a refined conceptual framework of extreme work, this article examines how the public health crisis coupled with maxinisation of organisational flexibility gives rise to extremity in mundane work settings. The findings based on 50 interviews with workers and managers who worked throughout the pandemic on the UK supermarket frontline offer empirical insights into the macro-micro dynamics of extreme-mundane work. These insights reveal a nuanced narrative of supermarket work as both alienating, owing to the frequent encounters of abuse and undervalued responsibilities, and fulfilling as a respite from social isolation induced by the pandemic. This narrative illustrates the complexities of individual motivations to engage with extreme work, while highlighting a need for structural support in coping with elevated exposure to risks and uncertainties. The article argues that the nature of work and workplaces in the face of extreme externalities remains contingent upon human resource management practices on the frontline of a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People experiencing homelessness co-occurring with substance use or offending ('severe and multiple disadvantage' SMD) often have high levels of poor oral health and related health behaviours (particularly, substance use, smoking, poor diet). This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions in adults experiencing SMD to improve oral health and related health behaviours. Methods and findings: From inception to February 2023, five bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Scopus) and grey literature were searched. Two researchers independently screened the search results. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), comparative studies and economic evaluations were included that reported outcomes on oral health and the related health behaviours. Risk of bias was assessed and results narratively synthesized. Meta-analyses were performed where appropriate. This review was registered with PROSPERO (reg. no: CRD42020202416). Thirty-eight studies were included (published between 1991 and 2023) with 34 studies reporting about effectiveness. Most studies reported on substance use (n = 30). Interventions with a combination of housing support with substance use and mental health support such as contingent work therapy appeared to show some reduction in substance use in SMD groups. However, meta-analyses showed no statistically significant results. Most studies had short periods of follow-up and high attrition rates. Only one study reported on oral health; none reported on diet. Three RCTs reported on smoking, of which one comprising nicotine replacement with contingency management showed improved smoking abstinence at 4 weeks compared to control. Five studies with economic evaluations provided some evidence that interventions such as Housing First and enhanced support could be cost-effective in reducing substance use. Conclusion: This review found that services such as housing combined with other healthcare services could be effective in improving health behaviours, particularly substance use, among SMD groups. Gaps in evidence also remain on oral health improvement, smoking, and diet. High quality studies on effectiveness with adequate power and retention are needed to address these significant health challenges in SMD populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the dynamics of precarious employment within the global shipping industry, examining the historical and contemporary factors that have led to the current state of workforce vulnerability. Analyzing the experiences of seafarers from diverse roles and backgrounds, the paper explores the industry's shift towards flexible employment practices, underscored by the 'flagging out' process and the rise of temporary contracts. The impact of globalization, containerization, and the changing labor supply of seafarers is discussed. Additionally, the paper considers the evolving mindset in the industry that has long relied on an 'endless supply' of seafarers. The concept of structural power is introduced as a lens to understand seafarers' bargaining position within the economic system of the global shipping industry, highlighting the interconnectedness of historical transformations, labor market developments, and seafaring working conditions. Several recommendations are made at the end of the paper to address current practices in the global shipping industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gedrag & Organisatie is the property of Amsterdam University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Utilizing boundary theory as a guiding framework, this study aims to explore facets of work–life balance (WLB) that women entrepreneurs experience in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It sheds light on strategies women entrepreneurs use to manage and shape boundaries between their personal and professional lives. Design/methodology/approach: In this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 50 women entrepreneurs to gain a deeper understanding of their WLB challenges. Findings: Integration is a boundary management approach used by most women in our sample, facilitated by the thin work–life boundary inferable from their entrepreneurial careers. Integration has all the hallmarks of being imposed on women entrepreneurs because of family role challenges and societal expectations, on top of their entrepreneurial obligations. Women are reactors; they shoulder societal, family and entrepreneurial roles while having little control over events and circumstances. Practical implications: Boundary theory suggests two roles must be interconnected to coexist successfully. Women entrepreneurs can benefit from the synergy between their personal and professional lives. As their roles tend to be more complex, it is essential to consider the consolidation of both spheres as an ongoing process to maximize their benefits. Originality/value: Today's independent forms of working are contingent on flexible work arrangements, work intensification and wireless communication. Understanding how women entrepreneurs find balance amid boundarylessness adds to our limited knowledge of people in comparable environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Concreta is the property of Editorial Concreta and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Organizations are increasingly introducing new work arrangements triggered by fast-paced knowledge acquisition, exponential technological growth, and demographic changes. Even though many studies have provided an in-depth understanding of how technology changed individual forms of modern work (e.g. virtual teams, shared leadership, remote work), the field needs a broader view of what constitutes technology-driven work arrangements and why they are implemented in organizations. The purpose of our paper is to systematically review, structure, and integrate the empirical evidence on current research on technology-driven work arrangements and to identify blind spots, which will serve as a springboard for the further development of the field. Based on our understanding of technology-driven work arrangements as flexible approaches to work within and beyond organizational boundaries that result from technology-driven transformation processes characterized by intensified spread, speed, and depth, we identify 191 studies that meet our inclusion criteria and organize them into six thematic clusters. We integrate our findings into an overarching framework based on complexity theory. We argue that three thematic clusters identified in our systematic literature review (organizational architectures across boundaries, knowledge integration processes across boundaries, and flexible employment relations across organizational boundaries) address an organization's need for external flexibility. In contrast, three other clusters (virtual teams within organizations, virtual communication processes within organizations, and enhancement of self-responsibility of organizational actors) address internal flexibility needs, reflecting the overall goal of technology-driven work arrangements to achieve internal and external flexibility via coordinated and consistent patterns of action across all clusters. We additionally highlight underexplored research opportunities and provide promising avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We implemented a methodology to calibrate capital structure models for banks that have issued contingent convertible securities (CoCos). Typical studies involving capital structure model calibration focus on non-financial firms as they have lower leverage and no contingent convertible securities. From a theoretical perspective, we found that jumps in the asset value process were necessary to obtain a satisfactory fit to the market data. In practice, contingent capital conversion triggers are discretionary, and there is considerable uncertainty around when regulators are likely to enforce conversion. The market-implied conversion triggers we obtain indicate that the market expects regulators to enforce conversion while the issuing bank is a going concern, as opposed to a gone concern. This fact is presumably of interest to potential dealers, regulators, issuers, and investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While search engines are discursively framed as automated, self-governing machines, they remain dependent on human laborers. This behind-the-screen workforce includes not only programmers and engineers but also categories of workers that have drawn far less attention. The latter include search quality raters, contingent workers tasked with supplying a "human check" on search algorithms. To explore the human–machine entanglements in search engine evaluation, we draw upon 21 in-depth interviews with raters located across the globe; we supplement our interview data with an analysis of worker training documents. Our findings reveal that despite Google's stated efforts to make algorithmic systems more sensitive to human subtlety, raters experience their work in ways that are—paradoxically—algorithmic. Indeed, workers framed their experiences through regimes of standardization, discipline, and invisibility. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of our analysis, including worker dehumanization and the exacerbation of power hierarchies in the global, on-demand economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As public sector agencies face rising imperatives to digitally transform citizen services, data systems, and internal operations, questions persist as to whether investments in big data analytics and automation capabilities, evidenced to drive organizational performance in private industry, translate to bureaucratic government contexts. This research quantitatively investigates the link between digital capabilities and organizational performance in the Jordanian ministry of Justice. Survey data collected from 292 public officials assessed capabilities in data-driven decision making, flexible automation, and interactive constituent communications alongside organizational agility and performance indexes spanning efficiency, quality, and satisfaction metrics. Structural equation modeling analysis reveals that digital capabilities relate significantly to heightened agility and all targeted performance areas. Improved agility mediates over half the performance impact attributable to upgraded technical systems, highlighting the vital role of evolving digitally enabled flexibility in realizing returns on analytics and process modernization initiatives. Findings validate the applicability of conclusions on digitization returns formed in corporate environments to public sector contexts, contingent on bundled change management programming enabling both technical and adaptive capacity building across the workforce. As global regions expand e-governance programs premised on harnessing emerging technologies to enhance civic institutions, this research offers generalizable models guiding multifaceted preparations to amplify impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Gig workers have become an important component of the contemporary workforce and have generated extensive interest among researchers. The purpose of this article is to provide an integrative review of the literature on gig workers. Consistent with the more recent studies, we adopt a broad definition of gig work, which is characterized by the temporary nature of the work, project‐based compensation, work flexibility, and non‐membership in an organization. We first discuss the major themes in the literature based on an input–process–output framework. Specifically, we review what factors drive individuals to engage in gig work, how gig work impacts gig workers based on four theoretical approaches, and what outcomes individuals experience as a result of engaging in gig work. Based on the literature review, we highlight six future research agendas. We also discuss practical implications for gig workers, traditional organizations, digital labor platforms, and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a need to better understand autism across the life course, including the lives of both autistic people and supporting relatives. As part of a larger mixed methods cohort study involving autistic adults, carers and relatives this sub-study focused on the experiences of relatives alone to learn more about the lives of people from the wider personal networks. Our research questions were: 1. What are the experiences of family members who care for and/or support autistic adults, 2. How can the viewpoints of relatives add to what we know about transitions and challenges experienced by autistic adults, and 3. What strategies/support have been helpful for adults and relatives? Methods: Relatives of autistic adults were purposively sampled and recruited using the Relatives/Carers cohort from the Adult Autism Spectrum Cohort—UK. 18 participants aged 31-81years who were related to 16 autistic adults aged 18-57years were interviewed for 24-91minutes. Interview transcripts were examined using reflexive thematic analysis. Main findings: Two overarching themes were developed, 'Family support goes a long way in caring for autistic adults' and 'When families turn to society for support' with subthemes. Relatives described benefits they had gained and their admiration for autistic adults. They reflected on how they gave support for independence in various contexts of dependence. They also identified the challenges that both autistic adults and families face navigating support systems (for example for healthcare and employment). An important novel outcome was the advocated value of role-models with lived experience who come from outside of the family. Recommendations: The findings lead to recommendations for: (i) Strategies to reduce the barriers for support that are faced by autistic individuals and relatives during crisis points; (ii) recognition and support for what enables both relatives and autistic adults to function independently (e.g. funded activities, flexible employment); (iii) future planning conversations to include relatives who can enhance knowledge and help plan for future care or support needs for autistic adults and (iv) opportunities for role models (persons with lived experience, autistic adults and relatives) to inspire others and disseminate knowledge. Conclusions: These findings add valuable insights into the experiences of relatives of autistic adults and challenge the reader to have greater appreciation of the many roles relatives can contribute across time and in a variety of contexts. These perspectives add important information for those working with and planning provision for autistic adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of gender in career mobility is a major practical and scholarly concern. Drawing on boundaryless career literature and social role theory, we examined whether gender influences employees' psychological mobility, whether this influence varies depending on the nature of career boundaries (the boundaries of job, organisation and industry) and whether it is contingent on organisational or occupational characteristics. We conducted cross‐classified multilevel analyses on 3,527 Australian employees nested within 725 organisations and 43 occupations. The results suggest that females show higher mobility preferences than males when it comes to crossing industries but not changing organisations or jobs. However, their preference for crossing career boundaries is significantly reduced when their organisation has a strong presence of female leadership. We also find that in female‐dominated occupations, females show a higher cross‐organisational mobility preference than males, while in male‐dominated occupations, females show a lower cross‐organisational mobility preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document outlines a legal judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the rights of fixed-term employees, particularly university researchers. It highlights the importance of preventing abuse through successive fixed-term contracts and addresses issues of discrimination, appraisal procedures, and career development for researchers with fixed-term contracts compared to those with indefinite contracts. The judgement allows for flexibility in fixed-term employment in the university sector while also ensuring increased rights and career development for fixed-term university researchers, emphasizing the principle of non-discrimination in employment contracts. [Extracted from the article]

The games industry has seen a burst of new interest in the prospect of unionization. The efforts of organizations like Game Workers Unite have attracted much favorable coverage in the enthusiast and trade industry press, increasing awareness amongst videogame audiences of the difficult working conditions facing professional game developers. However, often missing from these discussions is an articulation of what unionization would look like for the significant number of game developers working in precarious conditions in small, often informal teams. The fragmented nature of contemporary gamework presents challenges in aggregating worker power similar to those found in other fields of creative or precarious work and entrepreneurial careers, where contingent work is typically organized around piecemeal, project–based funding arrangements. In this paper we draw from empirical research with Australian game developers to identify a number of barriers to unionization posed by small-scale game production. We also identify how within these same circumstances, novel and alternative forms of solidarity and collective action are beginning to emerge. The article ultimately argues that any successful attempt to unionize videogame workers will need to both account for, and take advantage of, the complex situation of small-scale videogame production in local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging literature on demand-led structural transformation and structuralist macroeconomics finds that demand-growth can positively complement industrial policy and drive structural transformation but there is no firm consensus which policies can achieve a sustained virtuous circle of demand-, output- and productivity growth. Looking at evidence from manufacturing companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), this paper supports the view that demand-growth can effectively complement industrial policy but only if demand problems of different nature are addressed simultaneously. Increases in government spending need to be combined with distributional policies favouring the disposable income of workers and subsistence communities and with policies that can address country-specific and historically formed supply-side problems in vertically linked sectors to counteract external demand problems manifesting through the balance of payments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research topic is geographical marginality, and the main aim of the research is to develop a methodology for identifying, analyzing and determining marginal areas of Međimurje on the spatial level of settlement. Exploratory factor analysis was used in the research via GIS methods. The 30 selected variables were used for exploratory factor analysis. The suitability of the variables was tested using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and Bartlett’s test. Free, open source R, JASP and QGIS software were used. In the analysis, six factors were identified, by which the characteristic types of settlements in Međimurje were identified: 1) Spatial concentration and economic dynamics; 2) Demographic dynamics and population aging; 3) Education and economic diversification; 4) Availability of central functions; 5) Traditional extensive agricultural production; and 6) Stationary work contingent focused on primary activities. Based on the factor scores, a Međimurje index of marginalization of settlements (MIMaNa) was calculated. Based on this index, the degree of geographical marginality of settlements in Međimurje was determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes how discourses of professionalism, insecurity, and exploitation among English as a second language/English for Academic Purposes (hereinafter ESL/EAP) instructors and curriculum‐level administrators at two Canadian universities relate to their understanding of fair work. These understandings are examined in a nested manner, in keeping with social positioning theory. Via discourse and thematic analysis of job advertisements and semi‐structured interviews, we illuminate aspects of the gigification of ESL/EAP in Canada, wherein ESL/EAP instructor work is increasingly rendered un(der)paid, constantly evaluated, surveilled, and precarious. Viewed through the lens of "magic time," an infinite category of work time, we document the frustrations of ESL/EAP instructors who recognize their own exploitation. The relevance of this study is described in relation to the growing numbers of international students at English‐speaking universities throughout the world requiring a robust program infrastructure supporting their success, while the ESL/EAP instructors who provide these programs are increasingly made disposable through contingent employment relationships. The increasing reliance on contract professors teaching for‐credit courses in higher education has come to be known as adjunctification. In the noncredit, the more marginal context of ESL/EAP instructors subject to the forces of international student supply and demand, underpaid even by contract faculty standards, and engaged in often cutthroat competition for the few remaining contracts, we reference contextual differences by calling it gigification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to examine the influence of workers' identification with their supervisors on safety behaviour in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: Employing the job demands–resources theory, this research tested the relationships among relational identification as a personal resource, respectful engagement as a job resource, employee safety voice as a positive work behaviour and safety behaviour as the outcome. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse 120 quantitative data collected using a questionnaire survey. Findings: Relational identification, which reflects workers' identification with their supervisors, is a significant predictor of safety behaviour. Furthermore, respectful engagement and employee safety voice sequentially mediate the relationship between relational identification and safety behaviour. Research limitations/implications: The internalisation of safety norms, values and practices in construction projects is contingent on the identification of workers with their supervisors. Originality/value: Safety behaviour of workers is a significant predictor of safety performance in construction projects. Research on numerous antecedents of safety behaviour points out that leadership is a significant predictor of construction workers' safe behaviour. Contributing to research on construction safety leadership, this research found that leader-subordinate relationship is key to make construction workers more psychologically ready to internalise the importance of safety behaviours at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-employment is much more frequent among artists and creative workers than other occupations. This has led to the emergence of the notion of the 'artist-entrepreneur,' which associates these workers with autonomy and independence and the ability to choose their own career paths. This study explores motivations for self-employed artistic work by using data from five waves of the Contingent Worker Supplement to the Current Population Survey collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Using Coarsened Exact Matching, we compare artists to non-artists in predicting motivations for self-employed work. We find that artists are different than non-artists in terms of their entrepreneurial motivations. Artists are less likely to seek self-employment for economic reasons as compared to other motivators. They are more likely to do so for reasons related to independence, time flexibility, and personal reasons. However, the preference for independence and time flexibility is not associated with self-employed artistic work more than it is associated with other types of self-employed work. The main difference between self-employed artists and non-artists is in the likelihood of choosing self-employment for lack of choice and for economic reasons. The findings make us question the notion of the 'artist-entrepreneur' by showing that both self-employed artists and non-artists have similar motivations related to seeking professional self-determination, but that self-employed artists are more likely to be motivated by their precariousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees with a flexible contract, i.e., those with either a temporary contract, temporary agency workers, or those on a contract with flexible working hours, face more job and income insecurity than employees with a permanent contract. In theory, wages of flexible jobs should be higher than those of permanent jobs, to compensate for lower job security, lower expected employment outcomes and lower investment in human capital. In many countries, however, wages of flexible jobs are lower than those of permanent jobs. We examine heterogeneity within flexible jobs by estimating wage differentials for specific groups of employees. We use administrative and survey data between 2006 and 2019 for the Netherlands to estimate wage differentials between flexible and permanent employment. We find negative wage differentials for all three types of flexible employment, but most notably for men, the higher educated, temporary agency workers and employees at large firms. Our results are robust to sample selection, alternative measures of occupations, hourly wages, and contract type, and alternative estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic accounts of repugnance concern two broad questions: the rationalisation of sentiments of repugnance (do emotional and visceral reactions of repugnance track valid reasons for not engaging in or condemning certain (trans)actions?) and institutional design (how to institute, regulate, or restrict markets in response to reasonable objections). If repugnance expresses valid practical reasons for regulating or limiting markets, our institutions should acknowledge and express these. If attitudes of repugnance are not rationalisable in the sense of instrumental or moral values, we should disregard or eventually counteract or reduce them. Focusing on a special case of repugnance, when commodification, i.e., the sale of goods or services for money meets societal disapproval, this paper identifies three characteristic ways to combine conceptual, empirical, and normative arguments and map repugnance into a disciplinary 'epistemic frame' of economics: repugnance as taste; repugnance as proxy for market failures or moral reasons; repugnance as hypocrisy or contingent cultural fact. Correspondingly, economists advise to (1) work around; (2) make sense of; and (3) explain away people's sentiments of repugnance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-going decreases in average employee tenure and associated increases in turnover necessitate a better understanding for the factors that underlie organizational commitment. CSR initiatives offer a promising avenue for enhancing commitment, while simultaneously improving the overall impact organizations have on their varied stakeholders. Drawing on social identity and P-O fit theories, a moderated mediation model incorporating perceived external prestige and psychosocial development was tested. Data were collected from 333 participants (Mage = 42.65), employed across a variety of industries and levels. Prestige mediated the relationships between various stakeholder-directed contexts of CSR and affective commitment. Furthermore, ego strength was found to moderate the second stage of the mediated effect. The results of this study suggest that the mediating role of prestige is contingent on an employee's psychosocial development, such that as ego strength increases, prestige becomes a less critical component of the model. Implications, limitations, and opportunities for future study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining female streamers' everyday interactions with their viewers and their experiences as showroom livestreamers (xiuchang zhubo) in China's livestreaming industry, this article adopts—but also re-examines—the premises of relational labour in order to investigate the gendered power relations involved in the showroom livestreaming sector. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with female livestreamers, we argue that showroom livestreaming work is contingent on relational labour and constitutes a precarious balancing act. One the one hand, female streamers are positioned in a gendered economy, searching to monetize their production of sexually ambivalent intimacy. On the other hand, through constant negotiation, they try to maintain the correct degree of intimacy in order to avoid violating both platform regulations and the social moral standard. Therefore, the implicitly sexualised and intimate performances undertaken by female streamers are the result of negotiating livestreaming platforms' technological and economic affordances, the male viewers' needs for intimate personal interactions, and their own subjectivities. We claim that the economy of aimei, or ambivalent intimacy, represents a deeper form of exploitation, whereby female streamers themselves bear the responsibility to navigate tensions and emotional alienation at the nexus of financial security, sexual desire, and morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the term zones of compounded informality to demarcate locations wherein regulatory exclusions in distinct domains interact to escalate the impact of exclusions for people who live and work in these areas. Based upon a study of India's Delhi, National Capital Region (Delhi‐NCR), I explain how the interaction of flexible planning and employment in particular locales produce zones of compounded informality as a technique of governance. Circular migrant workers in Delhi‐NCR overwhelmingly live and work in these zones, wherein unstable employment and housing contribute to nomadic migration. Legal exclusion from housing protections interacts with other procedural pathways, creating barriers to accessing social protection and citizenship rights. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), and a survey of 981 workers, I consider how zones of compounded informality in Delhi‐NCR interact with India's Aadhar biometric identification system to variegate access to the franchise and Targeted Public Distribution System (PDS) for migrant and other low‐wage workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to investigate two external flexible forms of employment—the leasing of workers through Temporary Work Agencies (TWAs) and the contracted workers employed through Business Service Providers (contractors). Undoubtedly, these two forms of employment are complex and often give rise to confusion. First, this article reviews the characteristics of these types of workers and the operation of these businesses. Second, it presents the results of a mixed method of empirical research (quantitative and qualitative) regarding contracted workers. Our sample was 365 contracted workers from the cities of Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras, Greece. In particular, quantitative research is conducted using a methodology called RDS (Respondent Driven Sampling) that is innovative in the field of labour economics and labour relations. Some significant findings of our qualitative research are used to improve, extend, and interpret the quantitative results. Our research proves that contracted workers, who are employed at the premises of the banks, are leased workers, and the contracting undertakings usually operate unlawfully as TWAs. Our research proves that Banks in Greece are using "pseudo-contracting" to circumvent the European Directive 2008/104/EC and the Greek Laws 4052/2012 and 4254/2014, both of which provide institutional protection to workers leased through TWAs. In more detail, the relevant European Directive and the Greek Law 4052/2012 provide salary equality and equal labour rights for the leased workers in Greece and the EU, when they share the same qualifications as the permanent employees of the user undertakings. The employers' aim in adopting this policy is mainly to pay lower salaries to contracted workers, who in practice have the characteristics of leased workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The role of time pressure on individual employees' creativity remains ambiguous, with prior studies reporting positive, negative, and curvilinear relations. The present research aims to address this issue. Drawing from the attentional focus model, we (a) distinguish the consequences of time pressure for radical versus incremental creativity and (b) introduce external and internal knowledge scanning as distinct mediating mechanisms. Moreover, we cast employees' long‐range and short‐range planning as moderators of the indirect time pressure–creativity linkages. Time‐lagged data from 203 employees and their supervisors revealed that time pressure hampered employees' radical creativity by undermining their external scanning, with long‐range planning alleviating this negative indirect relationship. In contrast, we found an indirect, inverted U‐shaped linkage between time pressure and incremental creativity through internal scanning. Unexpectedly, this indirect relation was not contingent on employees' short‐range planning. These results offer a new theoretical perspective that helps to reconcile previous, seemingly contradictory findings on the relationship between time pressure and creativity. Moreover, our results offer practical implications for modern workplaces that require employees' creative contributions under conditions of time scarcity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The concept of flexicurity is gaining popularity in Europe, combining elements of employment flexibility with social security. As western countries experience show, some elements of flexicurity, such as flexible forms of employment, make it possible to improve a company's human resources management, having a positive impact on a company's development and competitiveness, especially in times of economic stagnation. When implementing flexicurity solutions, both at national and company level, it is necessary to adapt these solutions to the needs of employers and employees. The paper is related to the impact of flexicurity on the labour market. The main objective of the manuscript is to summarise the general assumptions and elements of flexicurity and its strengths and weaknesses. The paper also presents selected flexible forms of work organisation, on the example of legal regulations based on the Polish Labour Law. Among the research methods, desk research and the analysis of documents such as EU directives and the Labour Law were mainly used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses how a group of people in the San Francisco Bay Area turns social encounters into opportunities to make money. This group participated in sales schemes known as multi‐level marketing (MLM). MLM companies use a sales model in which participants earn money by selling products on behalf of companies while also recruiting people to join the companies as fellow salespeople. MLM participants earn financial commissions through selling products and recruiting others to join their network, leading them to hunt for new customers in public spaces or among existing social connections. The subjects of the study perceived social life as a commercial opportunity that could lead to financial gain, deliberately turning Saturday morning at the farmers' market or Sunday night dinner at a restaurant into an opportunity to recruit new customers. I interpret these activities as a form of social speculation: MLM participants invested their time in relationships that may 1 day be profitable, but they never knew whether their efforts would succeed. The potential to make money from social encounters was a constant motivator. Social speculation is an expression of a development in the United States in which people perceive social relationships in terms of economic potential because of precarious market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]