What Workers Think

8/8/2019 What Workers Think

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4/84 The future for unions

Workers in larger organisations and union members aremore likely to say that the relationship is only air or poor.It is striking that one in ve respondents rom the nancesector reported excellent relationships with managementcompared with just one in ten in transport/communicationsand one in twenty in public administration and de ence.Respondents earning 500-600 per week were most likely tocharacterise relationships between management and unionsin their workplace as poor.

Voice at work e table below shows that workers eel they have most

direct involvement and in uence over deciding how to dotheir job and organise work and the pace at which they work.

A lot Some A little NoneDeciding how to do your job andorganise work 53% 25% 11% 10%

Setting working hours 22% 21% 16% 41%Deciding how much of a pay rise peoplein your work group or departmentshould get

7% 7% 7% 79%

The pace of work 41% 31% 14% 13%Deciding how to work with newequipment or software 18% 25% 22% 35%

Deciding what kinds of benefits orbonuses are offered 7% 8% 10% 76%

11 Respondents perceptions about their level o in uenceover how to do their job increase progressively with pay 35% o the lowest paid workers think that they have a loto autonomy compared with 75% o those earning over800 per week. One in ve o the lowest paid workersthink that they have no in uence at all compared with just 3% earning over 800 per week.11 When it comes to in luence over pay increases, all workers are clear that they have li le in uence. reequarters o workers in the private and voluntary sectorsand nine out o ten public servants think that they haveno in uence at all.11 Line managers/supervisors, men and workers (55+) areall more likely than the average to think they have a loto in uence over se ing working hours, pay rises anddeciding how to work with new equipment or so ware.However, women are slightly more likely than men tothink that they have a lot o in uence over the pace o work.11 Respondents rom construction and real estate are mostlikely to think that they have a lot o in uence over se inghours o work and how to work with new equipmentor so tware. Respondents rom manu acturing and

transport/communications are most likely to think thatthey have no in uence over hours o work, and those

rom wholesale/retail and transport/communicationsthat they have no in uence over use o new equipmentor so ware.

e chart below compares respondents assessments o the in uence they have over issues that are very importantto them. It is notable that the two issues identi ed as mostimportant by respondents are those over which they arealso most likely to think that they have a lot o in uence.

INFLUENCE AND IMPORTANCE

Decidinghow to do

the job

Settingworking

hours

Deciding onpay rises

Settingthe pace of

work

Decidinghow to work

with newequipment

Decidingon bene ts

and bonuses

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Issue

Lot of in uence

Very important53

61

22

37

7

26

4144

18

25

7

25

P e r c e n

t a g e o

f r e s p o n

d e n

t s

Overall 13% o respondents are very satis ed with thein luence they have over organisational decisions thatafect their job or working li e. Non-members (16%) aremore likely to be very satis ed than union members (6%).Satis action is strongest among respondents working insmall organisations employing up to 23 people (33%),

workers in construction (23%), and those earning above800 per week (26%). Respondents organisationsemploying 200-500 people (7%), workers aged 18-24 (8%),those rom public administration and de ence (2%) andeducation (7%) are least likely to be very satis ed withtheir overall level o in uence.

How good are managementat doing their job?Respondents were asked to rate the per ormance o manage

ment at their workplace. As shown in the chart, overallrespondents rated management highest or their under-standing and knowledge o the business (69% excellentor good) and or promoting equal opportunities (65%


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6/86 The future for unions

Union members are much more likely than non-members to rate union per ormance as good or excellent,though there is relatively li le diference in perception aboutunion per ormance in making work enjoyable.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

39

24

64

37

57

25

50

22

59

41

28

15 16

12

66

38

P e r c e n

t a g e o

f r e s p o n

d e n

t s

EXCELLENT OR GOODUNION PERFORMANCE

F a i r p a y

i n c r e a s

e s / b o n

u s e s

U n d e r s t

a n d i n g /

k n o w l e

d g e o f b u s i n

e s s

O p e n a n

d a c c o u

n t a b l e

t o m e m b

e r s

S h a r i n g

i n f o r m a

t i o n

P r o m o t i n

g e q u a l

o p p o r t u

n i t i e s

W o r k i n

g t o i m p

r o v e

q u a l i t y /

p r o d u c t i

v i t y

M a k i n g

w o r k

e n j o y a b l e

P r o t e c t i

n g a g a i n

s t

u n f a i r t r

e a t m e n t

Issue

Union members

Non-members

11 Six out o ten respondents rom the public and voluntary sectors think their union has an excellent or goodunderstanding o their employers business compared with just under hal in the private sector.11 Respondents rom the private sector (37%) are also lesslikely than others to rate their union as excellent or good

or being open and accountable to members (48% in thepublic sector and 63% in the voluntary sector).11 Respondents rom the public sector are most positiveand respondents rom the private sector least positiveabout union activity to promote equal opportunities.Respondents rom organisations employing over

500 people are more positive than those in smallerorganisations.11 However, never members give a higher rating to unionpromotion o equal opportunities (36% good orexcellent) as do past members (44%) than members inunrecognised workplaces (31%).11 Women are more likely than men to give the union a highrating or openness and accountability to members, but young workers (18-24) are much less likely to do so

16% compared with 44% o workers overall.11 Respondents earning between 300-400 per week aremost impressed by union knowledge and understandingo their employers business.

11 Respondents rom public administration/de ence andeducation are most likely to rate their union as excellent

or its knowledge and understanding o the employer business.11 Respondents working in education are most likely to givea high rating or openness and accountability to members.11 Past members are most critical o union per ormancein making work enjoyable (52% rated unions as poor or

ailing in this regard), though members in unrecognised workplaces were most critical o per ormance inprotecting workers against un air treatment (26% saidtheir union was poor or ailing in this regard).11 Young workers (18-24) are only hal as likely as the averagto think that unions are excellent or good at working withmanagement to improve quality or productivity.

Union/management relationshipsRespondents across all sectors are more likely to agree thatunion and management usually work together than thatthey are at loggerheads, as shown below.

UNIONS AND MANAGEMENTARE USUALLY AT LOGGERHEADS

4%13%

38%

35%

10%

Strongly agree

Strongly disagree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

UNIONS AND MANAGEMENTUSUALLY WORK TOGETHER

5%

41%

38%

13%

3%

Strongly agree

Strongly disagree

AgreeNeither agree nor disagree

Disagree


7/8 The future for unions 7

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In both regards there are only small diferences in the views expressed by union members and non-members with more non-members unable to express a rm view andunion members more inclined to agree on both counts.

Respondents rom transport/communications are instronger agreement that management and unions are usually at loggerheads (11%), as are those in the East Midlands(10%) and those earning between 200-300 per week (10%).

Respondents rom small organisations o 2-23 employees(14%) and education (8%) are in strongest agreement thatmanagement and unions usually work together.

Furthermore, respondents expressed a strong pre erenceor a union approach based on working with management

to improve the workplace and working conditions (77%)rather than one based on de ending workers against un airtreatment by management (23%). is pre erence is shared by union members, though by a smaller proportion (64%).82% o non-members, 80% o workers aged 18-24, 83%in construction, 82% in the South East and 88% o thehighest earners. 30% o lower paid workers (200-300per week) and 29% in public administration and de encepre er an approach based on de ending workers againstun air treatment.

Conclusionese results show that, despite an increasingly di cult

work environment, there remains a strong positive commit-ment to work. Two thirds o respondents said that their job is interesting and enjoyable and six out o ten eel loyalto their organisation. Further, respondents are generally positive about their relationships with management in the workplace.

However, there is no room or complacency. ere is nosingular narrative about the world o work, and the survey also reveals sectoral, demographic and economic difer-ences in experience that are challenging or unions andmanagement alike. For example, young workers are lesslikely than others to report opportunities to develop theirskills and express lower levels o loyalty to the organisationsthey work or, but are more likely to encounter problems o un air wages or un air discipline. Low paid workers are leastlikely to think that they have much in uence over how to

do their job or the pace at which they work, and only 13%o respondents overall are very satis ed with the in uencethey have over organisational decisions that afect their jobor working li e.

Clearly there is still a key role or unions in protecting workers against un air treatment. Yet there are interestingsimilarities in respondents rating o management andunions on other aspects o per ormance. Both are wellregarded or their knowledge and understanding o theemployers business and promotion o equal opportuni-ties and both are poorly or their impact on making workinteresting and enjoyable.

It is also worth emphasising that, contrary to the impres-sion o en conveyed in the media, respondents across allsectors are more likely to agree that management and unionusually work together than are at loggerheads and that thereis a strong pre erence or this type o approach.

However this is a pre erence, and cannot be taken orgranted. Seven out o ten respondents already think thattheir job requires them to work very hard and, under currentGovernment policies, work pressures are likely to intensi y at the same time that many workers will ace a squeeze onpay and growing concerns about job insecurity. At this stage we can only speculate what efect these actors may haveon organisational loyalty or individuals perception o theinterest and enjoyment they derive rom work However,the survey results are clear that this is not an issue on whichunions are currently seen to per orm well.


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What Workers Think