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Agency working and the degradation of public service employment : the case of nurses and social workers
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de Ruyter, Alex, Kirkpatrick, I., Hoque, Kim, Lonsdale, Chris and Malan, Judi (2008) Agency working and the degradation of public service employment : the case of nurses and social workers. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 19 (Number 3). pp. 432-445. doi:10.1080/09585190801895510 ISSN 0958-5192.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585190801895510
Abstract
In the UK and elsewhere government efforts to reform or ‘modernize’ public services are currently having marked consequences for job quality, due to rising levels of work intensification, stress and declining morale. Such change has been linked to absenteeism, recruitment and retention problems. It is also suggested that deteriorating job quality has much to do with the current trend towards agency working among core public service professionals. In this article our aim is to explore this matter focusing on the experiences of National Health Service (NHS) nurses and local authority social workers. Our analysis suggests that benefits such as higher pay and improved flexibility have generated a strong ‘pull’ into agency contracts. However, the analysis also points to the deterioration of job quality as a key factor influencing decisions to opt out of permanent employment. The article concludes by suggesting that, in the longer term, public sector managers will only be able to stem the tide of nurses and social workers opting to work through agencies if they are also able to address wider problems associated with declining job quality.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Industrial Relations & Organisational Behaviour Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School |
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Journal or Publication Title: | The International Journal of Human Resource Management | ||||
Publisher: | Routledge | ||||
ISSN: | 0958-5192 | ||||
Official Date: | 2008 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Volume 19 | ||||
Number: | Number 3 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 432-445 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1080/09585190801895510 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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