Job Quality: The Perceptions and Strategies of New Zealand Workers

Building on international definitions and theories of job quality, this thesis examined how workers in New Zealand perceive their job quality and the strategies that more vulnerable workers used, and are using, to transition out of jobs of inferior quality. The thesis employed a sequential mixed-method approach, using both secondary and primary data sources. Employees’ perceptions of their job quality were examined quantitatively using data-sets from the 1997, 2005 and 2015 ISSP. These surveys have not yet been interrogated for what they reveal about the dimensions of job quality and employee satisfaction in New Zealand, including the association of a range of personal variables with job quality. The thesis did this, enabling job conditions in New Zealand to be compared internationally. Semi-structured interviews with part-timers, a more vulnerable group of workers, focused on their strategies for improving the quality of their jobs. The results reveal modest changes regarding shifts in job values. Except for job security, employees place a higher priority on intrinsic job values. Only a few differences related to the altruistic drive of women, the desire for flexibility and job security are observed between men and women’s job values. A discernible pattern of differences exists between full-timers and part-timers. Graduates tend to have greater expectations, valuing greater rewards from both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The overall pattern in job quality is that the average worker has experienced improvements in several aspects of their jobs except for having stressful work. Career prospects tend to be poorer and constitute a key contextual factor. In the New Zealand context, having an interesting job, good management relations and having a less stressful job were strong predictors of job satisfaction for all three surveys. This thesis emphasizes that not all part-time jobs have poor features on all dimensions and so cannot be categorized as always of inferior quality thereby challenging the dual labour market theory’s assumption. Overall, the highly educated had better experiences of the extrinsic features but their jobs were more stressful. The less educated had better experiences with good management relations but were required to exert harder physical effort. The results revealed that the dominant strategies which were successfully implemented by part-timers in transitioning into full-time jobs are speaking up to management and also demonstrating a positive work ethic.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Management

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Amankwah, Majoreen

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Boxall, P
• Delaney, H

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/46861

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/46861