Working Lives Research Institute
Dr Howard Potter and Dr Sian Moore
January to September 2008
TUC
The Working Lives Research Institute was commissioned by the TUC to explore the quality of work from the perspective of workers, recognising that it is shaped by their expectations and aspirations, but emphasizing how organisations limit or develop these. The research focuses upon two very different groups of workers, one commonly perceived as lower skilled and the other as higher. It distinguishes between job quality, economic reward and satisfying work, but also illustrates the way these aspects define each other and reflect the wider social and organisational context of work. All contribute to the quality of working life. Job quality reflects the way work utilises and develops workers’ abilities, generally defined in terms of skill, and the values attached to such skills by wider society. Yet it is also defined by the organisation of work and the degree of control, autonomy and discretion that workers have, as well as variation in the tasks they undertake, all of which are influenced by management. Job quality is thus an important element of job satisfaction, but it is not the whole story; satisfying work also involves social relations with managers and customers, but particularly with co-workers. It includes some control over working time. The intensification of work can firstly undermine social relations at work and secondly make it harder to achieve a work-life balance - in this sense quality and satisfaction are closely linked and influence the likelihood of discretionary effort in the workplace. The research suggests how the quality of working life might be improved and how organisations, trade unions and government can support this.