Diverse opinions are held by workers, union officials, and labor researchers about the importance of the quality of working life to workers. Major issues in this debate focus on the following questions: (1) Is there a workers' movement to improve the quality of working life? (2) Do workers seek meaning and self-fulfillment in their jobs? (3) Can…

This publication summarizes the proceedings of the Conference of Union Officials on Issues Related to Labor-Management Cooperation in Quality of Worklife (QWL) Improvement Efforts (March 1979) and subsequently treats issues that emerged in more detail. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to QWL. A summary of the Washington, D.C. conference…

After describing Sweden's economic and political background, the author discusses its industrial democracy--workers' participation in management--and labor legislation, particularly the Act on Employee Participation in Decision-Making effective January 1, 1977. Contrasts beliefs in the unions' possible stranglehold of industry in co-determination…

The National Workplace Literacy Program was very effective for a number of reasons: (1) grants are awarded for 3 years, enabling companies to plan, implement, and evaluate their efforts; (2) the program demanded a partnership of businesses, government, an educational provider, and students/employees; and (3) an educational consortium was…

Work and adjustment to work are vital components of a smoothly functioning society. Currently, a growing imbalance between the collective level of educational attainment of American workers and the skill/knowledge requirements of existing jobs has created the potential for widespread social and economic problems in this country. Overeducation…

Describes a national study of employers and workers concerning needed job skills. Advocates a work organization giving workers more authority and responsibility. Assesses skills shortages in the U.S. Compares American educational system and work organization with systems used abroad. Recommends changes to the approach to education and work. (PAA)

Issues and findings are synthesized from six invitational regional dialogues attended by 730 representatives of the 80% of women in the work force who are concentrated in low-paying, low-status jobs. The discussion of the needs and concerns of this population makes reference to (1) answers to questionnaires (appended, together with compiled data…

This report covers a study of barriers for older workers in obtaining and benefitting from training and innovative policies to remove them. After an introduction, Chapter 2 reviews literature on incidence and determinants of older workers' participation in training; barriers to training; and employer and government initiatives to enhance older…

In an effort to examine the role of international and local nonreferral unions in advancing the job status of minorities and women, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) conducted a national survey of unions and employers and completed a legal analysis of the duty of unions to represent their members fairly. Among the key findings of…

Flexible retirement policies have worked very well for four major United States corporations, accordinq to testimony of their executives during the second part of a U.S. Senate hearing on work after age 65, conducted in Washington, D.C., in May, 1980. Executives of Xerox, Polaroid, Bankers Life and Casualty, and Atlantic Richfield told the special…

Some new work is good work. Quality is ultimately defined by the individual. However, these perceptions are inevitably colored by the circumstances in which people find themselves, by the time, place, and wide range of motivations for having to do a particular job in the first place. One person's quality may be another's purgatory and vice versa.…

Education and training in the workplace are quickly becoming survival tools for most organizations because their operating environments change constantly. Traditionally, many employers have looked externally to employ individuals with specific skills who can adapt to changing products and processes. Upgrading the skills of present employees was…

The traditional systems used to produce goods and services in this country are being challenged by evolving alternatives. The focus of these new alternatives is on the human element in the work force. Studies in adult work attitudes indicate that a more humanistic system is needed to promote productivity. Inherent in the human condition is the…

Adult Americans have been participating in formal education and training programs in record numbers in recent years. Yet studies of participation by working Americans in tuition assistance programs have consistently revealed that few take advantage of them. This report describes and analyzes the Kimberly-Clark Corporation's tuition-assistance…

Four essays are designed to provide perspective and dimension to the Stout Data Analysis and to the Business and Education Survey. The essayists who interpret the Stout and survey data represent the viewpoints of (1) business (David Horn), (2) a researcher in vocational education (Orville Nelson), (3) a vocational educator (Albert Pitts), and (4)…