Increasing levels of non-permanent employment have raised concern about quality of
working life in the public sector. This Finnish study examines whether the public
sector can be characterized as a ‘model employer’ with regard to
the working conditions and well-being of fixed-term employees. Compared to the
private sector, the difference in the physical load between non-permanent and
permanent employees is significantly smaller in the public sector. Comparison of
psychosocial strain shows a difference in favour of non-permanent employees,
particularly among women working in the public sector. The association between type
of employment contract and health is similar in both sectors. The equality between
permanent and nonpermanent employees gives reason to benchmark the public sector as
a model, even if the present findings may be due partly to sectorspecific
occupational structures.
Aho, S.
and
H. Lehtonen
(2002) ‘State of the Welfare State Anno 1992
Five Years Later: Finland’, pp.
131–158 in
J. Pacolet
(ed.) The State of Welfare States in Europe Anno 1992 and Beyond.
Toronto: APF Press
.
2.
Alestalo, M.
,
S. Bisvel
and
B. Furåker
(1991) ‘Public Employment and Class
Formation’, pp. 91–118 in
J.E. Kolberg
(ed.) The Welfare State as Employer.
New York: M.E. Sharpe
.
3.
Aronsson, G.
and
S. Göransson
(1999)
‘Permanent Employment But Not in a Preferred Occupation:
Psychological and Medical Aspects, Research Implications’
, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology4(2):
152–163
.
4.
Aronsson, G.
,
K. Gustafsson
and
M. Dallner
(2002)
‘Work Environment and Health in Different Types of Temporary Jobs’
, European Journal of Work and Organizations Psychology11(2):
151–175
.
5.
Bach, S.
and
G.D. Rocca
(2000)
‘The Management Strategies of Public Service Employers in Europe’
, Industrial Relations Journal31(2):
82–96
.
6.
Bailey, J
, and
K. Berger
(2000)
‘Public Sector Labour Relations in Western Australia –
An Overview’
, Australian Journal of Public Administration59(4):
100–108
.
7.
Beard, K.
and
J.R. Edwards
(1995) ‘Employees at Risk: Contingent Work and
Psychological Experience of Contingent Work’, pp.
109–126 in
C.L. Cooper
and
D.M. Rousseau
(eds) Trends in Organizational Behaviour, Vol. 2.
New York: John Wiley
.
8.
Beck, A.
,
C. Ward
,
M. Mendelson
,
J. Mock
and
J. Erbaugh
(1961)
‘An Inventory for Measuring Depression’
, Archives of General Psychiatry4:
561–671
.
9.
Beck, U.
(2000) The Brave New World of Work.
Cambridge: Polity Press
.
10.
Benavides, F.G.
,
J. Benach
,
A.V. Diez-Roux
and
C. Roman
(2000)
‘How Do Types of Employment Relate to Health Indicators? Findings
from the Second European Survey on Working Conditions’
, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health54(7):
494–501
.
11.
Carre, F.
,
M. Febber
and
L. Golden
(2000) ‘Introduction: Nonstandard Work: The
Nature and Challenges of Changing Employment Arrangements’,
pp. 1–20 in
F. Carre
,
M. Febber
,
L. Golden
and
A. Herzberg
(eds) Nonstandard Work: The Nature and Challenges of Changing Employment
Arrangements.
Champing, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association
.
12.
Coyle-Shapiro, J.A.-M.
and
I. Kessler
(2002)
‘Contingent and Non-Contingent Working in Local Government:
Contrasting Psychological Contract’
, Public Administration80(1):
77–101
.
13.
Cross-Cutting Review of the Public Sector Labour Market (2002)
London: HM Treasury
; at:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/mediastore/otherfiles/publicsector_crosscutter.pdf
(accessed 21 October 2004).
14.
Derlien, H.U.
(1999)
‘Unorthodox Employment in the German Public Service’
, International Review of Administrative Sciences65(March):
13–23
.
15.
Ellingson, J.E.
,
M.L. Grys
and
P.R. Sackett
(1998)
‘Factors Related to the Satisfaction and Performance of Temporary Employees’
, Journal of Applied Psychology83(6):
913–921
.
16.
European Commission
(2001) Employment in Europe 2001: Recent Trends and
Prospects.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of
the European Communities
.
17.
Fairbrother, P.
and
J. O'Brien
(2000)
‘Introduction: Changing Public Sector Industrial Relations in the
Australian State’
, Australian Journal of Public Administration59(4):
54–59
.
18.
Feldman, D.C.
(1995) ‘Managing Part-Time and Temporary
Employment Relationships. Individual Needs and Organizational
Demands’, pp. 287–299 in
M. London
(ed.) Employees, Careers and Job Creation.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
.
19.
Francois, M.
(1991)
‘Le Travail temporaire en milieu industriel. Incidences sur les
conditions de travail et la santé des travailleurs’
[Temporary Work in Industrial Organisations: Effects on Working Conditions
and Work Safety]
, Le Travail Humain54(1):
21–41
.
20.
Gouliquer, L.
(2000)
‘Pandora Box: The Paradox of Flexibility in Today's Workplace’
, Current Sociology47:
29–38
.
21.
Guest, D.
(2003) Employment Contracts, the Psychological Contracts
and Employee Outcomes: An Analysis and Review of the Evidence, The
Management Centre Research Papers 19.
London: King's College, University of London
.
Kalleberg, A
,
B. Reskin
and
K. Hudson
(2000)
‘Bad Jobs in America: Standard and Nonstandard Employment
Relations and Job Quality in the United States’
, American Sociological Review65(29):
256–278
.
24.
Kalliola, S.
and
R. Nakari
, eds (2001) Resources for Renewal: A Participatory
Approach to the Modernization of Municipal Organizations in Finland.
Dialogues on Work and Innovation; Vol. 10.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins
.
25.
Kaminski, M.
(2001)
‘Unintended Consequences: Organizational Practices and their
Impact on Workplace Safety and Productivity’
, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology6:
127–138
.
26.
Karasek, R.
(1985) Job Content Questionnaire.
Los Angeles: University of Southern California
.
27.
Karasek, R.
and
T. Theorell
(1990) Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity and the
Reconstruction of Working Life.
New York: Basic Books
.
28.
Kessler, I.
,
J. Purcell
and
J. Coyle Shapiro
(2000)
‘New Forms of Employment Relations in the Public Services: The
Limits of Strategic Choice’
, Industrial Relations Journal31(1):
17–35
29.
Kiander, J.
(2003) The Nordic Welfare State in the 1990s: Consequences of
Disinfiation and Fiscal Consolidation in the Three Nordic EU Countries,
Ezoneplus Working Paper No. 13 D.
Berlin: Jean Monet Centre of Excellence
.
30.
Kiander, J.
,
K. Luoma
and
H. Lonnqvist
(2001) Julkisten menojen rakenne ja kehitys: Suomi
kansainvälisessä vertailussa [Structure and Development of the
Public Expenses: Finland in International Comparison], No. 249.
Helsinki: VATTkeskustelualoitteita
.
31.
Kivimäki, M.
,
J. Vahtera
,
M. Virtanen
,
M. Elovainio
,
J. Pentti
and
J.E. Ferrie
(2003)
‘Temporary Employment and Risk of Overall and Cause-specific Mortality’
, American Journal of Epidemiology158(7):
663–668
.
32.
Klein-Hesselink, D.J.
and
T. van Vuuren
(1999)
‘Job Flexibility and Job Insecurity: The Dutch Case’
, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology8(2):
273–293
.
33.
Korkeila, K.
,
S. Suominen
,
J. Ahvenainen
,
A. Ojanlatva
,
P. Rautava
,
H. Helenius
and
M. Koskenvuo
(2001)
‘Non-Response and Related Factors in a Nation-Wide Health Survey’
, European Journal of Epidemiology17(11):
991–999
.
34.
Korpi, T.
and
H. Levin
(2000)
‘Precarious Footing: Temporary Employment as a Stepping Stone out
of Unemployment in Sweden’
, Work, Employment and Society15(1):
127–148
.
35.
Krausz, M.
,
T. Brandwein
and
S. Fox
(1995)
‘Work Attitudes and Emotional Response of Permanent, Voluntary
and Involuntary Temporary-Help Employees’
, Applied Psychology: An International Review44(3):
217–232
.
36.
Lautsch, B.A.
(2003)
‘The Infiuence of Regular Work Systems on Compensation for
Contingent Workers’
, Industrial Relations42(4):
565–588
.
37.
Lehto, A.M.
and
H. Sutela
(1999) Gender Equality in Working Life.
Helsinki: Statistics Finland
.
38.
Letourneux, V.
(1998) Precarious Employment and Working Conditions in
Europe.
Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions
.
39.
Lewis, G.B
and
S.A. Frank
(2002)
‘Who Wants to Work for the Government?’
, Public Administration Review62(4):
395–404
.
40.
McCartin, M.
and
G. Schellenberg
(1999) ‘The Future of Work: Non-Standard
Employment in the Public Service of Canada’, Public
Service Commission of Canada; at:
www.psc-fp.gc.ca/research/demographics/nonstandard_e.htm (accessed 21
October 2004).
41.
McLean Parks, J.
,
D.L. Kidder
and
D.G. Gallagher
(1998)
‘Fitting Square Pegs into Round Holes: Mapping the Domain of
Contingent Work Arrangements onto the Psychological Contract’
, Journal of Organizational Behavior19(3):
697–730
.
42.
McGovern, P.
,
D. Smeaton
and
S. Hill
(2004)
‘Bad Jobs in Britain’
, Work and Occupations31(2):
225–249
.
43.
Moilanen, L.
(2000)
‘Stress and Life Resources in Contingent and Permanent Work in
the Hotel and Restaurant Sectors’
, People and Work32:
60–66
.
44.
Morgan, P.
and
N. Allington
(2002)
‘Has the Public Sector Retained its ‘‘Model
Employer’’ Status?’
, Public Money and Management22(1):
35–42
.
45.
Morgan, P
and
N. Allington
(2003)
‘Private Sector ‘‘Good’’,
Public Sector ‘‘Bad’’?
Transformation or Transition in the UK Public Sector?’
, Scientific Journal of Administrative Development1(1):
22–53
.
46.
Morris, M.
and
A. Vekker
(2001)
‘An Alternative Look at Temporary Workers, their Choices, and the
Growth in Temporary Employment’
, Journal of Labor ResearchXXII(2):
373–391
.
47.
Nola, A.
,
G. Cattaneo
,
A. Maiochhi
,
C. Gariboldi
,
S. Rocchi
,
S. Cavallaro
,
B. Loreto
,
L. Lanfredini
and
P. Bassino
(2001)
‘Il fenomeno infortunistico nel lavoro interinale’
[Occupational Accidents during Temporary Work]
, La Medicina del Lavoro92(4):
281–285
.
48.
Paoli, P.
and
D. Merllie
(2001) Third European Survey on Working Conditions
2000.
Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions
.
49.
Parker, K.S.
,
M. Grifin
,
C.A. Sprigg
and
T.D. Wall
(2002)
‘Effect of Temporary Contracts on Perceived Work Characteristics
and Job Strain: A Longitudinal Study’
, Personnel Psychology55(3):
689–718
.
50.
Payne, J.
(2004)
‘Re-Evaluating the Finnish Workplace Development Programme:
Evidence from Two Projects in the Municipal Sector’
, Economic and Industrial Democracy25(4):
485–524
.
51.
Piirainen, H.
,
A-L. Elo
,
M. Hirvonen
et al. (2000) Työ ja terveys haastattelututkimus v.
2000. Taulukkoraportti [Work and Health Interview Study in 2000. Table
Report].
Helsinki: Työoterveyslaitos
.
52.
Quinlan, M.
,
C. Mayhew
and
P. Bohle
(2000)
‘The Global Expansion of Precarious Employment, Work
Disorganization, and Consequences for Occupational Health: Placing the
Debate in a Comparative and Historical Context’
, International Journal of Health Services31:
505–536
.
53.
Rodriguez, E.
(2002)
‘Marginal Employment and Health in Britain and Germany: Does
Unstable Employment Predict Health?’
, Social Science and Medicine55(6):
963–979
.
54.
Rothenbacher, F.
(1997)
‘Public Sector Employment in Europe: Where Will the Decline End?’
, Eurodata Newsletter6:
1–11
.
55.
Salminen, S
,
M. Kivimäki
,
M. Elovainio
and
J. Vahtera
(2003)
‘Stress Factors Predicting Injuries of Hospital Personnel’
, American Journal of Industrial Medicine44(1):
32–36
.
56.
Saloniemi, A.
,
P. Virtanen
and
A.M. Koivisto
(2002) ‘Fixed-Term Employment and Psychosocial
Work Environment – Experiences in the Finnish Working
Life’, pp. 181–202 in
I.U. Zeytinoglu
(ed.) Flexible Work Arrangements: Conceptualizations and International
Experiences.
The Hague: Kluwer Law International
.
57.
Saloniemi, A.
,
P. Virtanen
and
J. Vahtera
(2004a)
‘The Work Environment in Fixed-Term Jobs: Are Poor Psycho-Social
Conditions Inevitable?’
, Work, Employment and Society18(1):
193–208
.
58.
Saloniemi, A.
,
P. Virtanen
and
A.M. Koivisto
(2004b)
‘Is Fixed-Term Employment a New Risk for Adverse Physical Working Conditions?’
, International Journal of Safety and Ergonomics10(1):
35–42
.
59.
Siegrist J.
(1996)
‘Adverse Health Effects of High-Effort/Low-Reward Conditions’
, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology1(1):
27–41
.
60.
Silverstein, B.
,
E. Welp
,
N. Nelson
and
J. Kalat
(1998)
‘Claims Incidence of Work-Related Disorders of the Upper
Extremities: Washington State, 1987 through 1995’
, American Journal of Public Health88(12):
1827–1833
.
61.
Silverstein, B.
,
E. Viikari-Juntura
and
J. Kalat
(2002)
‘Use of a Prevention Index to Identify Industries at High Risk of
Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Neck, Back, and Upper
Extremity in Washington State 1990–1998’
, American Journal of Industrial Medicine41(1):
149–169
.
62.
Stuart, M.
and
M. Lucio
(2000)
‘Renewing the Model Employer: Changing Employment Relations and
Partnership in the Health and Private Sectors’
, Journal of Management in Medicine14(5/6):
310–325
.
63.
Sutela, H.
,
J. Vanska
and
V. Notkola
(2001) Pätkätyöt Suomessa
1990-luvulla [Nonpermanent-Employment in Finland in the 1990s].
Helsinki: Tilastokeskus
.
64.
Sverke, M.
,
D. Gallagher
and
J. Hellgren
(2000) ‘Job Stress, Well-Being, and Work
Attitudes among Employees with Different Employment
Contracts’, pp. 145–167 in
K. Isaksson
,
C. Hogstedt
,
C. Eriksson
and
T. Theorell
(eds) Health Effects of the New Labour Market.
New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
.
65.
Tilastokeskus
(2003) ‘Työvoimatilasto 2002.
Työvoimatutkimuksen tuloksia vuosilta 1993–2002’
[Labour Force Statistics 2002. Results of Labour Force Survey from the Years
1993–2002], Työmarkkinat 2003:14.
Helsinki: Tilastokeskus
.
66.
TYöja terveys Suomessa v. 1997 [Work and Health in Finland in
1997] (1997)
Helsinki: Työterveyslaitos
.
67.
Virtanen, M.
,
M. Kivimäki
,
M. Elovainio
,
J. Vahtera
and
C.L. Cooper
(2001)
‘Contingent Employment, Health and Sickness Absence’
, Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health27(6):
365–372
.
68.
Virtanen, M.
,
M. Kivimäki
,
M. Elovainio
,
J. Vahtera
and
J. Ferrie
(2003)
‘From Insecure to Secure Employment: Changes in Work, Health and
Health-Related Behaviours’
, Occupational and Environmental Medicine60(12):
948–953
.
69.
Virtanen, M.
,
M. Kivimäki
,
M. Joensuu
,
P. Virtanen
,
M. Elovainio
and
J. Vahtera
(2005)
‘Temporary Employment and Health: A Review’
, International Journal of Epidemiology34(6):
610–622
.
70.
Virtanen, P.
,
J. Vahtera
,
M. Kivimäki
,
J. Pentti
and
J. Ferrie
(2002)
‘Employment Security and Health’
, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health56(8):
569–574
.
71.
Virtanen, P.
,
V. Liukkonen
,
J. Vahtera
,
M. Kivimäki
and
M. Koskenvuo
(2003)
‘Health Inequalities in the Workforce: The Labour Market
Core–Periphery Structure’
, International Journal of Epidemiology32(6):
1015–1021
.
72.
Zeytinoglu, I.U.
and
J.K. Muteshi
(2000)
‘Gender, Race and Class Dimensions of Nonstandard Work’
, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations55(1):
33–167
.
