In a new, open access paper, Rhys Davies and Professor Alan Felstead share insights from quiz data collected before and after Covid-19 to examine what short-term effects the pandemic has had on job quality in the UK. The results show that non-pay-related job quality has improved, differences between occupations have shrunk and the growth of remote working is a factor behind these trends.
Data has been collected from almost 100,000 individuals who completed the howgoodismyjob.co.uk quiz. Questions focused on nine aspects of non-pay-related job quality. These include job demands, such as the degree to which respondents are required to ‘keep learning new things’ and are expected to help colleagues to do likewise, and the frequency with which they are required to work at ‘very high speed’ and to ‘tight deadlines’.
Quiz takers were also asked about the features of their work that mitigate these pressures. These include the degree of control they have over starting and finishing times; the ability to take time off at short notice to deal with personal matters; the level of social support given by line management; the discretion levels they are able to exercise over what tasks are to be done and how; the extent of influence they have over proposed changes to the way the job is done; and their promotion prospects.