This document discusses measuring and assessing job quality. It examines refining existing job quality indices from having 4 dimensions to 3 dimensions. Specifically, it looks at consolidating earnings quality and labor market security into a single dimension called earnings prospects. The document also discusses potential extensions to the job quality assessment, such as considering wider notions of job insecurity. Additionally, it analyzes further refining models to account for non-linear relationships between job characteristics like incorporating how high job demands interact with low job resources to negatively impact worker well-being. The document raises questions about some modeling assumptions and exclusions of certain job characteristics.

1. HOW GOOD IS YOUR JOB? Measuring and assessing job quality. Discussion Francis Green LLAKES, Institute of Education
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2. Basics
•Job quality as objective concept
•Not a single index
–Compared with EF: 4-item into 3-item index
•Refinements:
–non-linearities ("interactions")
–extensions
–exclusions
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3. 4 into 3
Earnings
Prospects
Intrinsic Job Quality
Working time quality
Earnings Quality
Labour Market Security
Quality of the Working Environment
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4. Extensions
•wider concept of job insecurity, good because:
–insecurity and employability interact to lower well-being
–unemployment flows and duration data widely available across OECD
•but goes beyond the quality of individual jobs
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5. Refinements: embedding non-linearity
•Evidence says:
–V. high work loads; insufficient "resources" each impair well-being and health
–Additionally, they may interact: the detrimental impact of a v. high work load is greater with low autonomy
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6. 6
Panel A. Proportion of workers
reporting that work puts their health or safety at risk
Panel B. Mental health index
Scale 0-5 (from poor to good health status)
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
High job
demands
and low job
resources
High job
demands
and high job
resources
Low job
demands
and low job
resources
Low job
demands
and high job
resources
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
High job
demands
and low job
resources
High job
demands
and high job
resources
Low job
demands
and low job
resources
Low job
demands
and high job
resources
•High demands and low job resources each affect health.
•Additionally, they interact.

7. Refinements: embedding non-linearity
•Evidence says:
–Higher work loads; lower "resources" each impair well-being and health
–Additionally, they may interact: the detrimental impact of a v. high work load is greater with low autonomy
•An alternative non-linearity is embedded in the OECD index: a) solely the difference, and b) threshold effect imposed.
•Why is it assumed OK to exclude separate, non- threshold, effects?
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8. Switches & Exclusions
•Switches
–What's a job demand? [e.g. time flexibility: is this a resource, or does lack of it represent a demand?]
•Exclusions:
–exposure to fumes; tobacco smoke; angry clients; other
–shift working (known to be negatively related to health) and other aspects of working time quality lost in the collapse to 3 indices
•Why these and other exclusions when the data is there?
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9. Future?
•Incorporating lifecycle and other dynamics
•Ongoing refinements in EWCS
•Extensions to other countries
•Any responses to today's comments
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