Publications

In this study we use a large-scale European worker survey to test the validity of several competing hypotheses of why people work long hours. Our results show that there is a labour/quality of leisure trade-off for women, but not for men. Other key determinants of long working hours are industry sector, occupational status, gender and job security proxied by employment contracts.

This report documents over a twelve year period (1991-2003) the continued fortunes of 600 independent New Technology-based Firms (NTBFs) which were founded in Germany or the UK between 1987 and 1996. The findings on these firms, often known as 'high-tech start-ups', had significant implications for policy makers in the complementary areas of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The British Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) commissioned this research to investigate safe and effective trauma management practices within organisations. It includes evidence on the effectiveness of specific mechanisms for the provision of support for organisations whose employees experience serious incidents at work.

The number of people working in call centres within the UK has been increasing dramatically in recent years. At the same time, there has been a growing awareness that the work can be stressful and repetitive with little individual discretion. This report seeks to understand why, and in what ways, call centre employment can reduce employees' well-being. It also details practices and research findings that suggest ways to positively influence the well-being of workers.

The term 'organisational justice' refers to the extent to which employees perceive workplace procedures, interactions and outcomes to be fair in nature. These perceptions can influence attitudes and behaviour for good or ill, in turn having a positive or negative impact on employee performance and the organisation's success.

Virtually all organisations have absence management policies in place but absence continues to cost the UK economy many millions of pounds each year. There is some debate about whether the approach to tackling absence should be punitive or well-being focused. This paper investigates the causes of absence and demonstrates how to achieve a successful absence management policy.

This report presents findings from the third Work-Life Balance Employee Survey, conducted in early 2006 amongst employees of working age living in Great Britain working in organisations with five or more employees at the time of the survey. The research was undertaken by IES in partnership with ICM Research. Using computer-assisted telephone interviewing, 2,081 telephone interviews were conducted in February and March 2006.

This report, which presents an evaluation of the impact of the HSE's Five Steps to Risk Assessment leaflet as well as the Five Steps approach more generally, is based on survey and case study research on risk assessment behaviour in establishments across Great Britain.

In 2005 IES was commissioned by the LSC to determine the extent to which its safe learner model was successful in raising learner awareness and knowledge about health and safety. This document reports the design, conduct and outcomes of that evaluation of the impact of the pilot on learner knowledge.

This research indicates that the types of factors identified within models of safety culture are present in good practice organisations, although not all aspects were present in each organisation. Perhaps of more importance is the fact that the research revealed that safety culture theory largely ignores issues to do with the development of health and safety awareness and responsibilities in learners in the workplace and training locations. Given that these are among the most vulnerable individuals this omission needs to be addressed.