Premium
The Decline of Collectivism? A Comparative Study of White‐Collar Employees in Britain and Australia
Author(s) -
Deery Stephen,
Walsh Janet
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of industrial relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.665
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-8543
pISSN - 0007-1080
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8543.00126
Subject(s) - collectivism , individualism , demise , preparedness , human resource management , industrial relations , trade union , work (physics) , industrial action , political science , sociology , social psychology , business , public relations , psychology , labour economics , economics , law , mechanical engineering , engineering
There is a widely held view that important changes are occurring in the character of employee attitudes. With the growth of individualistic human resource management techniques, it is argued that employees' collectivist work orientations are in decline. Drawing on data from a large‐scale survey of bank employees in Britain and Australia, this paper explores the attitudes of employees to work, trade unions and collective action and identifies the determinants of those attitudes. In both countries, collectivism is found to have a significant effect on the preparedness of individuals to fulfil their union obligations and duties and to take industrial action. There is little evidence to indicate the demise of collectivism.