Duncan Gallie, Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2024, Cardiff: Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data, Cardiff University.
Mae'r cynnwys hwn ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig.
Participation at work is an important determinant of personal well-being and is associated with significantly higher levels of employee motivation that are likely to be conducive to higher productivity in technologically advanced economies. The report examines trends in different types of participation among British workers, their distribution by gender and class, and the implications of participation for worker well-being and motivation.
- Task discretion – the ability of employees to take decisions about their immediate job tasks – had declined between 2012 and 2017 and fell further in the period 2017-2024. Whereas in 2012 44% of employees had significant task discretion, by 2024 this was the case for only 34%. The decline was particularly sharp for those in associate professional, caring and sales occupations and for female employees.
- In contrast to the period 2006 to 2017, there was also a decline in semi-autonomous teamwork (teams with significant shared responsibility for their work tasks). By 2024 their frequency had returned to the level of two decades earlier in 2001. The proportion of employees involved was relatively small (less than 25%) and semi-autonomous teamwork was related to higher levels of well-being and work motivation more weakly than other forms of participation.
- There was a renewal of the trend that existed prior to 2012 of an increase in the prevalence of consultative committees. But the proportion of employees reporting significant influence over organisational decisions that affected their work decreased between 2017 and 2024, moving to a level lower even than that of 1992. Yet effective organisational participation was associated with considerable benefits for well-being (in particular, for enthusiasm at work, higher job satisfaction and a greater sense of harmony with organisational values). It was also one of the strongest factors affecting work motivation – in particular, the willingness to work harder for the organisation and the frequency of initiating suggestions for improvements in work processes.