1. Conceptual Framework for Measuring Quality of Employment
Geoff Bowlby
Director, Labour Statistics
Statistics Canada
October 14, 2009
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2. Objectives and Outputs of Task Force
Key objectives:
To refine and create indicators of quality of employment
Test those indicators against a set of criteria developed by the Task Force
Process for achieving objectives
Steering Committees: Canada, Eurostat, UNECE, ILO, WEIGO
Framework document drafted winter 2008
Meetings of the Task Force:
June 2008 – members reviewed proposed dimensions and suggested indicators
May 2009 – start of user acceptance process
Commissioning of reports:
Validation study (Italy)
Country reports (Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Moldova, Ukraine, Canada, Finland, France)
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3. Objectives and Outputs of Task Force
Key outputs:
Reports to Conference of European Statisticians (2008, 2009)
Papers commissioned for two Task Force meetings
ISTAT “Validation report”
“Country reports”
Final report to Conference of European Statisticians (Feb. 2010)
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4. What is Quality of Employment?
Three perspectives:
Societal
Corporate
Individual
The Framework takes mostly perspective 3 (individual), but also has elements of perspective 1 (societal).
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5. Main principles used in developing the Framework
The measurement of quality of employment should be comprehensive.
Not all aspects of quality need to be relevant for measurement in all countries.
The framework should have a transparent, logical structure.
The framework should be practical.
Wherever possible, use existing international definitions.
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6. What does the Framework look like?
Seven “dimensions”:
Safety and ethics of employment
Income and benefits from employment
Working hours and balancing work and non-working life
Security of employment and social protection
Social dialogue
Skills development and life-long learning
Workplace relationships and intrinsic nature of work
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7. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Safety and Ethics
Indicators which show:
Workplace safety
“Worst” forms of employment
Fair treatment in employment
Special focus for “fair treatment” sub-dimension:
Produce as many indicators as possible in other dimensions and compare population group to general population
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8. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Income and Benefits
Obvious component of employment quality:
Canadian survey showed that this is where the largest “job quality deficits” were
Important to show both income compensation and non-wage benefits
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9. Working hours and balancing work and family life
Three groups of indicators:
Working hours
Working time arrangements
Balancing work and non-working life
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10. Security of employment and social protection
Ranked with good pay as an important element of quality of employment
Dimensions designed to show:
Degree of performance
Tenure of work
Status in employment
Informalization of work
Flexicurity concept
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11. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
Social dialogue
An aspect of employment quality is the degree to which workers have the right to organize and collectively bargain
Skills development and life-long learning:
Training
Under/over qualification
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12. Workplace relationships and intrinsic nature of work
To some, how well we get along (workplace relations) is as important as pay or benefits
Intrinsic nature of work provides information on characteristics of employment which are inherently satisfying, e.g.
Teaching
Military service (for some)
Religion
Intrinsic nature of work is least developed aspect of framework, but important
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13. Statistics Canada • Statistique Canada
The Indicators
In Annex I of the paper
Work in progress, hope to finalize this week:
Input from seminar
Country reports
Validation study
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