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Worker Satisfaction Following Employment Restructuring: Effects of Nonstandard Workers and Downsizing on Job Satisfaction in Taiwan

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Abstract

Since the 1980s, many employment relationships in Taiwan have evolved from regular and long-term to contingent and short-term, with widespread downsizing adding a considerable amount of instability. Since these changes are part of a global trend, there is a growing literature concerning their influences on worker attitudes and work life quality. Here we analyze the impacts of changing employment practices on the quality of work life among Taiwanese workers, specifically analyzing the effects of nonstandard work arrangements and downsizing on job satisfaction. Data are from the 2005 Taiwan Social Change Survey, First Wave of the Fifth Phase: Work and Life Module. Our two main findings are (a) degree of use of nonstandard workers exerts a range of negative impacts on job satisfaction among regular workers, and (b) degree of downsizing exerts similar negative effects. We also discuss the moderating impacts of using nonstandard workers as part of a downsizing strategy.

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Notes

  1. Dispatched workers are a type of nonstandard work arrangements in East Asian countries and are very similar to the temporary help agency workers.

  2. Based on the definitions of various nonstandard work arrangements in both surveys, we can conclude that short-term hires and on-call workers in Houseman (2001) are similar to fixed-term workers in Ko (2003b), temporary help agency workers to dispatched workers, and contract workers to subcontractors.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported by the grant from the National Science Committee (NSC 96-2412-H-002-005-MY2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, National Taiwan University, 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Jyh-Jer Roger Ko

  2. Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, 43, Sec. 4, Keelung Road, Taipei, 108, Taiwan

    Ying-Jung Yvonne Yeh

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Correspondence to Jyh-Jer Roger Ko.

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Ko, JJ.R., Yeh, YJ.Y. Worker Satisfaction Following Employment Restructuring: Effects of Nonstandard Workers and Downsizing on Job Satisfaction in Taiwan. Soc Indic Res 110, 453–467 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9937-z

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