Wage rates, salaries and hours of labour. Taux de salaire, traitements et heures de travail.

Reports for 1974- issued in numerous sections.

Union wages and hours: motortruck drivers and helpers.

1936-38, 1940- reprinted from the Monthly labor review.

Starting out: Quality of working life of young workers in the retail and hospitality industries in Australia

In the 1990s workers in Australia were increasingly subjected to negative work pressures. Irregular work patterns, work intensification, and the transformation of the notion of career, often in the name of ‘flexibility’, were increasingly common. This period was also characterised by scant regard for the quality of working life of young people in entry-level employment, which is often portrayed as a transition stage prior to their admission into the full-time core workforce. This paper explores the experiences of twenty-two young people at the beginning of their careers, in the hospitality and retail industries, with reference to three quality of working life (QWL) elements: hours flexibility, work-life balance and career potential. Qualitative evidence reveals a variety of experiences but, on balance, suggests a negative quality of working life and limited commitment to their current industry. In conclusion, the paper suggests that these industries must pay more attention to QWL issues in order to attract and retain quality staff.

Steps and sitting in a working population

This study aimed to assess sitting time and number of steps taken each day, and the relationships between these variables, in a sample of working Australian adults. Workers (N = 185), wore a pedometer for 7 days and recorded the number of steps taken and time spent sitting each day. Average time spent sitting on weekdays was 9.4 (SD = 2.40) hr with about half spent sitting at work. Despite this, the average steps taken each day (M = 8,873, SD = 2,757) was higher on weekdays than on weekend days. There was a clear inverse relationship between sitting time at work and number of steps taken on weekdays, r = -.34, p < .001); those in the highest tertile for sitting time reported about 3,000 fewer daily steps. Workers in managerial and professional occupations reported more time sitting at work (M = 6.2 hr per day) and lower weekday step counts (M = 7,883, N = 43) than technical (M = 3.3 hr sitting at work and 10,731 weekday steps, N = 33) and blue collar workers (M = 1.6 hours sitting and 11,784 steps N = 11). The findings suggest those whose daily work involves long hours of sitting should be the focus of efforts to promote physical activity both within and outside the workplace.

Gender, computing and the organisation of working time: public/private comparisons in the Australian context

Professional computing employment in Australia, as in most advanced economies, is highly sex segregated, reflecting well-rehearsed ideas about the masculinity of technology and computing culture. In this paper we are concerned with the processes of work organisation that sustain and reproduce this gendered occupational distribution, focusing in particular on differences and similarities in working-time arrangements between public and private sectors in the Australian context. While information technology companies are often highly competitive workplaces with individualised working arrangements, computing professionals work in a wide range of organisations with different regulatory histories and practices. Our goal is to investigate the implications of these variations for gender equity outcomes, using the public/private divide as indicative of different regulatory frameworks. We draw on Australian census data and a series of organisational case studies to compare working-time arrangements in professional computing employment across sectors, and to examine the various ways employees adapt and respond. Our analysis identifies a stronger ‘long hours culture’ in the private sector, but also underlines the rarity of part-time work in both sectors, and suggests that men and women tend to respond in different ways to these constraints. Although the findings highlight the importance of regulatory frameworks, the organisation of working time across sectors appears to be sustaining rather than challenging gender inequalities in computing employment.

Are community pharmacists prepared to work extended opening hours?

Focal points: A 5 per cent cross-sectional sample of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's membership was targeted with a self-completion questionnaire Community pharmacy respondents were asked questions on their views on current pharmacy opening hours and their willingness to work extended opening hours Around one fifth of the community pharmacists sampled believed that patients should have access to at least one community pharmacy 24 hours a day Only 3.4 per cent of community pharmacists sampled were prepared to work at any time over a 24-hour period With the introduction of more 24-hour health care services (eg, NHS Direct), there may need to be a change in the attitudes of community pharmacists towards working extended opening hours

Resigning: a classic grounded theory of working within constraints when caring for stroke patients in the acute general care setting

This research aims to explore the challenges nurses face, when caring for stroke patients on a general medical/surgical ward, in the acute care setting and identify how nurses resolve or process this challenge. Healthcare environments continue to face the pressures of constraints such as reduced staffing levels, budgets, resources and less time, which influence care provision. Patient safety is central in care provision where nurses face the challenge of delivering best quality care when working within constraints. The incidence of stroke is increasing worldwide and internationally stroke units are the recognised minimum standard of care. In Ireland with few designated stroke units in operation many stroke patients are cared for in the acute general care setting. A classic grounded theory methodology was utilised for this study. Data was collected and analysed simultaneously through coding, constant comparison, theoretical sampling and memoing. Individual unstructured interviews with thirty two nurses were carried out. Twenty hours of non-participant observations in the acute general care setting were undertaken. The main concern that emerged was working within constraints. This concern is processed by nurses through resigning which consists of three phases; idealistic striving, resourcing and care accommodation. Through the process of resigning nurses engage in an energy maintenance process enabling them to continue working within constraints. The generation of the theory of resigning explains how nurses’ resolve or process working within constraints. This theory adds to the body of knowledge on stroke care provision. This theory has the potential to enhance nursing care, minimise burnout and make better use of resources while advocating for best care of stroke patients.

Using Social Worlds Theory to Explore Influences on Community Nurses’ Experiences of Providing Out of Hours Paediatric Palliative Care

Abstract Background: Paediatric oncology palliative care in the community is rare and nationally there is a lack of standardisation of out of hours nursing service provision. Objectives: This paper seeks to explore influences on the experiences of paediatric nurses providing out of hours palliative care within the family home to children with cancer. The study used social worlds theory to aid identification and demonstration of the findings. Methods: Twelve community-based palliative cases were purposively selected from children with cancer treated at one regional centre. Tape-recorded interviews were undertaken with 54 health professionals (general practitioners, community nurses and allied health professionals) involved in providing their palliative care and five facilitated case discussions completed. Data analysis followed a grounded theory approach; chronological comparative data analysis identifying generated themes. Social worlds theory was used as a framework to examine the data. Results: Nurses’ experiences are shaped by their social world and those of the nursing team,child and family and the inter-professional team providing the care. The lack of a formalised service, sub-optimal inter-professional working and impact of social worlds influence the experience of the nurse. Conclusions: Social worlds theory provided a new perspective in understanding these experiences based within a paediatric palliative care setting, knowledge that can be used to inform service provision.