Background to the Research

• There have been dramatic changes in the world of work since the 1970s.
• Then, for example, collective institutions run by trade unions and employers and supported by government were dominant. Legislation in employment relations was still underdeveloped. Since then, however, collectivism has been in governmentally-approved retreat and legal developments have increased the number of statutory rights in employment available to individuals.There is also greater concern with the link between human resource management and business performance.
• This chapter examines these changes and the impact they have had on the world of work in NI. It examines the structure of employment and skills; trade union density; attitudes to jobs and working time; working conditions and work motivation; employment management; industrial disputes; earnings, and employment legislation.
  

Research Approach

• The data used by the author come mainly from the 2000 NILT survey although results are also presented from other surveys and from previous NILT surveys.
• The NILT survey began in 1998 and is carried out annually. Interviews are conducted with a random selection of adults (aged 18 years and over) who live in private households in NI.
• The sample size for the 2000 NILT survey was 1,800 respondents although some modules were asked of only half the sample.
• The sample size for the work orientations module was 900.
  

Main Findings

• The working-age employment rate in summer 2001 was 68.5% in NI, which is lower than the UK average of 74.6%.
• In NI, 35% of employees were in Public Administration, Education and Health in 2000, compared with the UK average of 25%; only 10% of employees in NI were in Banking, Finance and Insurance compared 18% in the UK.
• Part-time employment in NI, which makes up 21% of the total, is less prevalent than in the UK as a whole, where 25% of employees are part time.
• 25% of those in employment in NI have a degree or some form of higher-educational qualification while 29% have no qualifications at all.
• Trade union membership in NI has shown a small increase from 1996 to 2000, up from 235,000 in 1996 to 244,000 in December 2000.
• 63% of NILT respondents disagree with the statement that 'there is no need for strong trade unions to protect employee's working conditions and wages'.
• 43% of respondents agree that 'a job is just a way of earning money - no more' with more males (49%) than females (38%) agreeing.
• 16% of respondents say they would like to spend more time in a paid job and there is no gender diference.
• The ability to decide their times or days of work (flexitime) is important to 49% of respondents with only 14% considering it to be unimportant.
• 31% of the workforce report that they find work stressful always or often while 37% always or often arrive home from work exhausted.
• Despite this, 83% of respondents in employment are satisfied in their job.
• Just over one third (36%) of those in employment say they make a point of doing the best work they can, even if it sometimes does interfere with the rest of their lives while 13% say they only work as hard as they have to.
• Relations in the workplace between management and employees are fairly satisfactory, with 70% of employees saying relations are good while 85% describe relations between workmates and colleagues as good, and only 2% say they are quite bad.