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Innovative Work Practices, Information Technologies, and Working Conditions: Evidence for France
Author(s) -
ASKENAZY PHILIPPE,
CAROLI EVE
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-232x.2010.00616.x
Subject(s) - flexibility (engineering) , work (physics) , information and communications technology , face (sociological concept) , quality (philosophy) , occupational safety and health , psychology , public relations , applied psychology , computer science , sociology , political science , management , engineering , economics , mechanical engineering , social science , philosophy , epistemology , world wide web , law
We investigate the impact of new work practices and information and communication technologies (ICT) on working conditions in France. We use a unique French dataset providing information on individual workers for the year 1998. New work practices include the use of quality norms, job rotation, collective discussions on work organization, and work time flexibility. Working conditions are captured by occupational injuries as well as indicators of mental strain. We find that individuals working under the new practices face greater mental strain than individuals who do not. They also face a higher probability of work injuries, at least for benign ones. In contrast, our results suggest that ICT contribute to make the workplace more cooperative and to reduce occupational risks and injuries.