Non-financial employment commitment: some correlates and a cross-national comparison

an article by Raphael Snir, (School of Management and Economics, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Tel-Aviv, Israel) published in Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal Volume 21 Issue 1 (2014)

Abstract

Purpose
To further explore the nature of non-monetary motivation for working, this study aims to present correlates of non-financial employment commitment (NFEC) and a cross-national comparison.

Design/methodology/approach
Data gathered from representative national samples of the adult population (i.e. employed and unemployed individuals) in 31 countries (n=43,440), among them Nordic (e.g. Sweden and Norway), Western-European (e.g. Spain and France), Anglo-Saxon (e.g. the USA and Britain), former Communist (e.g. Russia and Hungary), Asian (e.g. Japan and South Korea), Latin-American (Mexico and the Dominican Republic), and African (South Africa). The source of the data is the 2005 International Social Survey Programme module on work orientation.

Findings
NFEC proves positively correlated with intrinsic job characteristics, education level, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Administrators, managers, and professionals have higher NFEC than blue-collar workers, clerks, service workers, and sales workers. Respondents currently working for pay have higher NFEC than those currently not working for pay. Respondents trying to improve job skills during the previous 12 months have higher NFEC than those not trying to do so. NFEC is higher in member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development than in non-member countries. NFEC is also higher in countries where self-expression values are important than in countries where survival values are important.

Practical implications
By assessing NFEC decision makers may be assisted in their selection and advancement decisions.

Originality/value
This study conducts the most comprehensive cross-national comparison of NFEC to date, and its findings have high external validity. It is unlikely that the findings are biased by social desirability.

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Long-distance moves and labour market outcomes of dual-earner couples in the UK and Germany

a research paper by Philipp M. Lersch published in the SOEP papers series

Abstract

Chances are high that partners in dual-earner couples do not receive equal occupational returns from long-distance moves, because job opportunities are distributed heterogeneously in space.

Which partners are more likely to receive relatively higher returns after moves?

Recent research shows the stratification of returns by gender and highlights the importance of gender roles in mobility decisions.

I extend past literature in two ways.
First, while past research mostly examined partners separately, I directly test for gender differences in matched pairs of women and men in dual-earner couples and account for the non-independence of both careers.
Second, I compare evidence from the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany to shed light on the effects of institutional and normative contexts.

For my analysis, I draw longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1991-2008).

My results show that women in dual-earner couples are temporarily adversely affected in their careers by long-distance moves in the UK and West Germany after controlling for various characteristics of both partners.

Women in East Germany are not affected by long-distance moves.

Moves do not change wage rates significantly for women and men that stay in employment in both countries.

Full text (PDF 45pp)

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