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Pathways to a Good Job: Perceived Work Quality among the Machinists in North America
Author(s) -
Kalleberg Arne L.,
Vaisey Stephen
Publication year - 2005
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/j.1467-8543.2005.00363.x
Subject(s) - autonomy , quality (philosophy) , work (physics) , causation , job satisfaction , sample (material) , association (psychology) , psychology , job design , marketing , social psychology , business , job performance , political science , engineering , mechanical engineering , philosophy , chemistry , epistemology , chromatography , law , psychotherapist
This paper examines the perceived quality of jobs held by a sample of members of the International Association of Machinists, a large union in North America. It is argued that useful insights can be obtained by examining the relationships between global and specific measures of job quality. We then compare two ways of linking them: the regression or correlational‐causation approach and the configurational approach that regards jobs as ‘bundles’ of various characteristics. Our results suggest that there are various pathways by which workers may consider jobs to be ‘good’ but that job quality among the machinists is related especially to satisfaction with benefits, interesting work and autonomy.