Table 2.
Construction of proxy indicators for employment quality in ESS 2010
| Dimension | Proxy indicator | Source indicator(s) | Scoring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment conditions | |||
| Contract security | Type of employment contract | Type of employment contract | 1) Permanent |
| Reflects the degree of certainty of continuing work. | 2) Non-permanent | ||
| Income and rights | Income | Combination of: | 1) Sufficient household income |
| Amount of pay and social rights (e.g. sickness insurance) or fringe benefits derived from employment. | (no proxy for social rights and benefits available) | a- Living comfortably on present household income? | 2) Contributory earner with insufficient household income |
| b - Around how large a proportion of the household income do you provide yourself? | 3) Main earner with insufficient household income | ||
| Working hours | Employment status | Combination of: | 1) Full-time (>35 hours) |
| Features of the working times are working long hours, working non-fixed day shifts, weekend work, having variable daily working hours, working evenings and nights. | a- Total hours normally worked per week in main job overtime included? | 2) Part-time | |
| b- How many hours would choose to work weekly? | 3) Involuntary part-time | ||
| Irregular and/or unsocial working hours | Combination of: | An indicator for unsocial working hours was created, combining ‘working weekends’ with ‘working evenings/nights’. The indicator for unsocial working hours was added to indicators for ‘working overtime at short notice’ and ‘intensive working hours’, resulting in an overall indicator for irregular and/or unsocial working hours. The variables were normalised to range from 0 to 10, with 10 being the least-favourable situation (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.60). | |
| a- Work involves working weekends | |||
| b- Work involves working nights/evenings | |||
| c- Have to work overtime at short notice | |||
| d- Intensive working hours | |||
| Employability | Training | Having been on a course for work during the last 12 months? | 1) No |
| Reflects the capability of maintaining employment in the future. | 2) Yes | ||
| Employment relations | |||
| Representation | Representation | Regular meetings between representatives of the employees and employers, in which working conditions and practices can be discussed? | 1) No |
| Having a collective voice (e.g. the presence of a trade union). | 2) Yes | ||
| Empowerment | Participation | Possibility for employees to influence policy decisions? | The variable ranges from 0 to 10, with 10 being the least-favourable situation. |
| Practices regarding employee participation in problem solving and decision making. | |||