an article by Mara S. Aruguete (Lincoln University of Missouri, Jefferson City, USA), Ho Huynh (Texas A&M University-San Antonio, USA), Lynn E. McCutcheon (North American Journal of Psychology, Winter Garden, USA), Blaine L. Browne (Valdosta State University, USA), Bethany Jurs (Transylvania University, Lexington, USA) and Emilia Flint (Black Hills State University, Spearfish, USA) pubvlished in Mind & Society Volume 18 Issue 1 (June 2019)
Abstract
A pattern of research findings indicates that excessive devotion to a favorite celebrity is linked to attitudes and behaviors that are psychologically unhealthy and may predict low life satisfaction.
This study examines whether four common measures of life satisfaction (i.e., curiosity, meaning in life, gratitude, and flexibility) predict admiration for celebrities in two university samples and one community sample of young adults.
Our results showed significant correlations between celebrity admiration and two measures of life satisfaction (curiosity and gratitude). We also found that the predictors of life satisfaction correlate with each other in ways that are consistent with previous research in positive psychology.
Our research suggests an inverse relationship between celebrity admiration and life satisfaction. In addition, the results contribute to establishing the validity of four contemporary life satisfaction measures.
Showing posts with label flexibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flexibility. Show all posts
Thursday, 18 July 2019
Friday, 31 May 2019
How Stockholm became the city of work-life balance
an article by Richard Orange published in the Guardian
More family time: the city is actively promoting itself as a destination for starting a family while maintaining a high-level career. Photograph: brittak/Getty Images/iStockphoto
It is 3.30pm, and the first workers begin to trickle out of the curved glass headquarters of the Stockholm IT giant Ericsson.
John Langared, a 30-year-old programmer, is hurrying to pick up his daughter from school. He has her at home every other week, so tends to alternate short hours one week with long hours the next.
Sai Kumar, originally from India, is leaving to pick up his daughter because his wife has a Swedish class. Ylva (who doesn’t want to give her surname) is “off to the gym to stay sane”, as is Sumeia Assenai, 30, who came in at 7am, so is allowed to leave early under her company’s “flex bank” system.
Continue reading
Hazel’s comment:
All very well for people with project-type work but what about shop workers, street sweepers and those that we rely on to "do" for us?
Nurses can’t simply up and leave work when the work is done – it never is anyway.
Yes, for those who can then it is good and I certainly enjoyed having a reasonable amount of flexibility in working hours when the children were young.
More family time: the city is actively promoting itself as a destination for starting a family while maintaining a high-level career. Photograph: brittak/Getty Images/iStockphoto
It is 3.30pm, and the first workers begin to trickle out of the curved glass headquarters of the Stockholm IT giant Ericsson.
John Langared, a 30-year-old programmer, is hurrying to pick up his daughter from school. He has her at home every other week, so tends to alternate short hours one week with long hours the next.
Sai Kumar, originally from India, is leaving to pick up his daughter because his wife has a Swedish class. Ylva (who doesn’t want to give her surname) is “off to the gym to stay sane”, as is Sumeia Assenai, 30, who came in at 7am, so is allowed to leave early under her company’s “flex bank” system.
Continue reading
Hazel’s comment:
All very well for people with project-type work but what about shop workers, street sweepers and those that we rely on to "do" for us?
Nurses can’t simply up and leave work when the work is done – it never is anyway.
Yes, for those who can then it is good and I certainly enjoyed having a reasonable amount of flexibility in working hours when the children were young.
Monday, 16 April 2018
Temporary use of space: Urban processes between flexibility, opportunity and precarity
an article by Ali Madanipour (Newcastle University, UK) published in Urban Studies Volume 55 Issue 5 (April 2018)
Abstract
The temporary use of privately-owned, empty space has been advocated by some as economically sensible and socially progressive, making use of unproductive and empty spaces by providing access to space for those who are otherwise unable to obtain it.
The article critically examines this concept, arguing that the temporary use of space should be analysed as part of the urban development process with its temporal and spatial fluctuations and its multivalent outcomes. It investigates the production of empty space and the temporary use of space as a space of opportunity and a flexible method of production.
By drawing on the case of Chesterfield House in London, in the context of the British response to the global financial crisis, the temporary use of space is shown to be a moment in a complex process, offering some opportunities, but also revealing the brevity of this moment and the precarity of its users.
Beyond the realm of necessity, it may be transformed into a cultural choice, a lubricant of urban development and a medium of social change, signifying a space of opportunity for some and vulnerability for others.
Abstract
The temporary use of privately-owned, empty space has been advocated by some as economically sensible and socially progressive, making use of unproductive and empty spaces by providing access to space for those who are otherwise unable to obtain it.
The article critically examines this concept, arguing that the temporary use of space should be analysed as part of the urban development process with its temporal and spatial fluctuations and its multivalent outcomes. It investigates the production of empty space and the temporary use of space as a space of opportunity and a flexible method of production.
By drawing on the case of Chesterfield House in London, in the context of the British response to the global financial crisis, the temporary use of space is shown to be a moment in a complex process, offering some opportunities, but also revealing the brevity of this moment and the precarity of its users.
Beyond the realm of necessity, it may be transformed into a cultural choice, a lubricant of urban development and a medium of social change, signifying a space of opportunity for some and vulnerability for others.
Saturday, 30 December 2017
What happened to the border? The role of mobile information technology devices on employees’ work-life balance
an article by Toyin Ajibade Adisa (Brunel University, London, UK), Gbolahan Gbadamosi (Bournemouth University, UK) and Ellis L.C. Osabutey (Middlesex University, London, UK) published in Personnel Review Volume 46 Issue 8 (2017)
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile information technology devices (MITDs) are of special interest for researchers who seek to understand the role of these devices on employees’ work-life balance (WLB). The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of MITDs on employees’ WLB.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses semi-structured interviews to investigate the role of MITDs on employees’ WLB.
Findings
The findings underscore the important role of MITDs in terms of the attainment of flexibility (how, where, and when work is done), which is significant for achieving WLB. However, the use of MITDs has blurred the division between work and non-work domains. This has inadvertently lengthened employees’ working hours, has affected their family relationships, and affected their general health and well-being. The evidence suggests that MITDs have the potential to improve WLB but could also lead to work-life conflict if not properly managed.
Originality/value
The study calls for a re-examination of WLB policies and practices, specifically border theory, in order to ensure that MITDs can enhance productivity without inadvertently resulting in poor WLB.
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile information technology devices (MITDs) are of special interest for researchers who seek to understand the role of these devices on employees’ work-life balance (WLB). The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of MITDs on employees’ WLB.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses semi-structured interviews to investigate the role of MITDs on employees’ WLB.
Findings
The findings underscore the important role of MITDs in terms of the attainment of flexibility (how, where, and when work is done), which is significant for achieving WLB. However, the use of MITDs has blurred the division between work and non-work domains. This has inadvertently lengthened employees’ working hours, has affected their family relationships, and affected their general health and well-being. The evidence suggests that MITDs have the potential to improve WLB but could also lead to work-life conflict if not properly managed.
Originality/value
The study calls for a re-examination of WLB policies and practices, specifically border theory, in order to ensure that MITDs can enhance productivity without inadvertently resulting in poor WLB.
Friday, 27 October 2017
The flexible university: higher education and the global production of migrant labor
an article by Yasmin Y. Ortiga (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) published in British Journal of Sociology of Education
Volume 38 Issue 4 (2017)
Abstract
This article demonstrates how neoliberal higher education has come to play a distinct role in the global market for migrant labor, where a growing number of developing nations educate its citizens for overseas work in order to maximize future monetary remittances.
Located in the Philippines, this study shows how local colleges and universities attempt to impose an ideal notion of flexibility, quickly shifting academic manpower and resources to programs that would produce the ‘right’ types of workers to address foreign labor demands.
Based on qualitative interviews with Filipino college educators and students, the article then discusses how such ‘flexible’ strategies undermine the job security of college faculty and lead to the constant restructuring of physical space within university campuses. Such changes negatively affect both students and teachers.
Abstract
This article demonstrates how neoliberal higher education has come to play a distinct role in the global market for migrant labor, where a growing number of developing nations educate its citizens for overseas work in order to maximize future monetary remittances.
Located in the Philippines, this study shows how local colleges and universities attempt to impose an ideal notion of flexibility, quickly shifting academic manpower and resources to programs that would produce the ‘right’ types of workers to address foreign labor demands.
Based on qualitative interviews with Filipino college educators and students, the article then discusses how such ‘flexible’ strategies undermine the job security of college faculty and lead to the constant restructuring of physical space within university campuses. Such changes negatively affect both students and teachers.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
‘Good when they want to be’: migrant workers in the supermarket supply chain
an article by Paul Thompson, Kirsty Newsome and Joanna Commander (Department of Human Resource Management, University of Strathclyde, UK) published in Human Resource Management Journal Volume 23 Issue 2 (April 2013)
Abstract
Despite the increased attention paid to the role and effects of migrant labour in the contemporary economy, there has been insufficient attention to the role of employers and the employment relationship.
Recent studies have highlighted distinctive labour power characteristics of new labour migrants from Central and Eastern Europe that make them ‘good workers’ in the eyes of employers.
Drawing on multiple case studies across the supermarket supply chain, this article explores what kind of human resource migrant labour is perceived to be, particularly by employers, and what happens in practice as the dynamic tensions of the employment relationship unfolds in particular sector contexts.
It argues that utilisation is conditioned more by the requirements of temporal flexibility – framed by the dynamics of employment within the supply chain – than any essential features of migrant labour power.
Abstract
Despite the increased attention paid to the role and effects of migrant labour in the contemporary economy, there has been insufficient attention to the role of employers and the employment relationship.
Recent studies have highlighted distinctive labour power characteristics of new labour migrants from Central and Eastern Europe that make them ‘good workers’ in the eyes of employers.
Drawing on multiple case studies across the supermarket supply chain, this article explores what kind of human resource migrant labour is perceived to be, particularly by employers, and what happens in practice as the dynamic tensions of the employment relationship unfolds in particular sector contexts.
It argues that utilisation is conditioned more by the requirements of temporal flexibility – framed by the dynamics of employment within the supply chain – than any essential features of migrant labour power.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Job loss and its aftermath among managers and professionals: wounded, fragmented and flexible
an article by Yiannis Gabriel (University of Bath, UK) and David E Gray and Harshita Goregaokar (University of Surrey, UK) published in Work Employment Society Volume 27 Number 1 (February 2013)
Abstract
Based on longitudinal fieldwork with unemployed managers and professionals in their 50s, the article examines the meaning of job loss to these people and charts their subsequent efforts to restore their lives.
The article identifies core similarities in their experiences and discerns different narrative strategies through which they have tried to make sense of their dismissal and sustain their selfhood.
For all, job loss was a considerable trauma leading to a fragmentation of identity; this was compounded by subsequent rejection and perceived discrimination. Few were able to resume their earlier careers; the majority had to adjust their expectations downwards and opt for either virtual deskilling in less well paid and less demanding jobs or for an assortment of part-time, casual and voluntary work.
Best ‘adapted’ (and least fragmented) were those who were prepared to forsake hopes of a return to high-powered jobs and display flexibility, resourcefulness and opportunism in adapting to their reduced circumstances.
Abstract
Based on longitudinal fieldwork with unemployed managers and professionals in their 50s, the article examines the meaning of job loss to these people and charts their subsequent efforts to restore their lives.
The article identifies core similarities in their experiences and discerns different narrative strategies through which they have tried to make sense of their dismissal and sustain their selfhood.
For all, job loss was a considerable trauma leading to a fragmentation of identity; this was compounded by subsequent rejection and perceived discrimination. Few were able to resume their earlier careers; the majority had to adjust their expectations downwards and opt for either virtual deskilling in less well paid and less demanding jobs or for an assortment of part-time, casual and voluntary work.
Best ‘adapted’ (and least fragmented) were those who were prepared to forsake hopes of a return to high-powered jobs and display flexibility, resourcefulness and opportunism in adapting to their reduced circumstances.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Do You Have a Career Plan? That's Nice. Now It's Time to Improvise.
Daniel Honan, writing in Big Think, uses the example of Ann Veneman to show that a direct trajectory to a fixed goal is not always the best way of achieving success.
Ms Veneman has broken so many glass ceilings that she is understandably asked about her career strategy quite often. One would assume that the former Secretary of Agriculture had a very clear career plan right from the start. And yet, Veneman tells Big Think her approach was very unorthodox, as she rose to a cabinet post in the White House and a top leadership position at the UN.
According to Veneman, career success for her was a matter of taking advantage of opportunities, not having a set plan.
The short piece in Big Think contains a video clip [the sound and vision tracks are way out of sync!]
Ms Veneman has broken so many glass ceilings that she is understandably asked about her career strategy quite often. One would assume that the former Secretary of Agriculture had a very clear career plan right from the start. And yet, Veneman tells Big Think her approach was very unorthodox, as she rose to a cabinet post in the White House and a top leadership position at the UN.
According to Veneman, career success for her was a matter of taking advantage of opportunities, not having a set plan.
The short piece in Big Think contains a video clip [the sound and vision tracks are way out of sync!]
Monday, 18 June 2012
Labor Market Flexibility and Unemployment: New Empirical Evidence of Static and Dynamic Effects
an article by
Lorenzo E Bernal-Verdugo (University of Chicago, USA), Davide Furceri (International Monetary Fund and University of Palermo) and Dominique Guillaume (International Monetary Fund) published in
Comparative Economic Studies
Volume 54 Issue 2 (June 2012)
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between labor market flexibility and unemployment outcomes.
Using a panel of 97 countries from 1985 to 2008, the results of the paper suggest that improvements in labor market flexibility have a statistically and significant negative impact on unemployment outcomes (over unemployment, youth unemployment, and long-term unemployment).
Among the different labor market flexibility indicators analyzed, hiring and firing regulations and hiring costs are found to have the strongest effect.
JEL Classifications: D7; E29; E32; J60
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between labor market flexibility and unemployment outcomes.
Using a panel of 97 countries from 1985 to 2008, the results of the paper suggest that improvements in labor market flexibility have a statistically and significant negative impact on unemployment outcomes (over unemployment, youth unemployment, and long-term unemployment).
Among the different labor market flexibility indicators analyzed, hiring and firing regulations and hiring costs are found to have the strongest effect.
JEL Classifications: D7; E29; E32; J60
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