Érudit's RSS Feed

Expérimentation d’un espace de négociation sociale entre hôpitaux publics et privés : Chronique d’une union forcée

Indira Kuburas, Evelyne Léonard and François Pichault
This article examines the institutional experimentation of a public-private social dialogue space, bringing together trade union representatives and management from public and non-profit private hospitals, through the creation of a Public-Private Committee (CPP) in a Belgian hospital network. The 2019 reform mandated the establishment of hospital networks but remained silent on the modalities of social dialogue, thereby opening a space for institutional experimentation. Drawing on interviews, observations and internal documents, the study shows how institutional constraints, power relations and legitimacy claims shaped the emergence and subsequent reconfiguration of the CPP. The analysis identifies four mechanisms: initial indeterminacy, multi-level articulation, multiple legitimacy registers and avoidance logics. These mechanisms highlight how actors contributed to maintaining the CPP in an unstable compromise. By opening the black box of the process, the article demonstrates that instability, rather than being an obstacle, can become a strategic modality of regulation in public-private social dialogue.

Beyond Collective Bargaining: The Transformation of Germany’s Employers' Associations in the Metalworking Industry

Felix Syrovatka
This article examines the transformation of Germany’s employers’ associations in the metalworking industry within the context of macrostructural changes since the 1990s. Using a power resources approach, it is argued that globalization and the weakening of unions have undermined the regulatory function of sectoral collective agreements, thus prompting employers to reassess employers’ associations as sources of associational power. This development has resulted in far-reaching transformations of such associations and a reorientation toward sectoral agreements. By examining three regional metalworking employers’ associations—BaymeVBM, SüdwestMetall and Metall.NRW—and by analyzing non-bargaining membership categories (OT membership) and the new collective bargaining guiding principle of modular sectoral agreements, it is show how Germany’s metalworking employers’ associations, despite relatively robust social partnership institutions, have left the established sectoral bargaining system in order to prioritize the interests of individual members and to strengthen their role as associational power resources for employers.

Acceptation de la transformation numérique en PME informatique : une lecture contextualisée des facteurs individuels et organisationnels

Asma Baccouche, Rafla Hefaiedh and Hazem Ben Aissa
Digital transformation (DT), a major strategic lever for the competitiveness and sustainability of organizations, is not limited to the implementation of technological tools and raises the central issue of their acceptance by employees. Although this issue has been widely studied in the literature, it deserves to be revisited in specific organizational contexts such as the IT sector, which is characterized by rapid change and strong innovation requirements. Drawing on the analysis of twenty-eight semi-structured individual interviews and participant observation, this article proposes a reinterpretation of traditional technology acceptance models. It highlights the individual and organizational factors that influence the acceptance of DT within a Tunisian IT SME. The findings contribute to enriching existing theoretical frameworks and provide practical recommendations to foster sustainable and effective acceptance of digital technologies.

Geopolitical Shockwaves in the Office: Explaining the Rise of Workplace Antisemitism in North America after October 7, 2023

Dikla Yogev, Mateus R. Santos and Rafael Gomez
We sought to examine the impact of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing conflict on antagonism and hate toward Jewish and Israeli individuals in the U.S. and Canada. To that end, we used the Industrial Relations (IR) System Framework approach to contextualize workplace dynamics within broader sociopolitical shifts. Drawing on two waves of survey data and on a randomized survey experimental design, we found high levels of antagonistic rhetoric, harassment, victimization and social marginalization. While campus settings had pre-existing hostility toward Jewish and Israeli individuals, non-academic workplaces experienced a more abrupt and intense rise in antagonistic behaviours and were not as readily able to address worker and student safety concerns. We argue that the normalization of exclusionary workplace practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with ideological biases in institutional policies, may have exacerbated post-October 7 antisemitism. We conclude by discussing a failure to uphold workplace equity for Jewish employees and a consequent need for policy responses.

Appuis sociaux et incidences de l’intensité du travail à distance : une étude longitudinale

Ali Béjaoui, Ph. D. and Sylvie St-Onge, Ph. D.
This study examines the moderating roles of three sources of support—organizational, immediate supervisor, and coworker —in the relationship between remote work intensity and work attitudes. The analysis draws on a three-wave longitudinal survey conducted among employees in 11 organizations; 2,105 respondents participated in the final wave (response rate: 58%).Compared to employees who do not work remotely, and after controlling for organizational, individual, and job-related factors, those who work remotely one day per week report lower work–life balance. Working remotely three or four days per week is associated with lower perceived performance in terms of continuous improvement and development, whereas working remotely one day or five days per week is associated with lower intention to leave.All three sources of support are associated with higher work engagement and job satisfaction, and with lower intention to leave. Higher perceived organizational support is associated with greater efficiency in achieving results, but not with a higher perception of hourly productivity when working remotely compared to on-site. Support from immediate supervisors and coworkers is also associated with greater adoption of continuous improvement and development behaviors.Moderation analyses show that coworker support helps sustain job satisfaction among employees who work remotely one, two, or three to four days per week. Organizational support is associated with sustained levels of perceived performance (efficiency and achievement results) at one and five days of remote work. In full-time remote work, coworker support emerges as particularly critical for achieving results and efficiency.Overall, the findings suggest that the quality of relational and organizational resources matters more than the intensity of remote work in shaping work attitudes.

How Employable Are They? Representations of Employability among Employment Support Advisors in France

Audrey Gohin, PhD in Work Psychology, Sandrine Croity-Belz and Marie-Pierre Cazals
Since the 2000s, European directives have promoted a policy of active oversight for job seekers: less passive compensation and more control and active employment integration measures. While this policy works for individuals who are ready for the labour market, it hurts those who are not, particularly those in France who receive RSA benefits (Revenu de Solidarité Active - Active Solidarity Income). Such individuals may be supported by RSA advisors whose role is to assess and develop their employability. In this article, we examine the links between RSA advisor representations of employability and their support practices. Using a mixed-methods approach in two studies, we found differentiated representations of employability and varied support practices among these professionals. We also found two contradictions between their conceptions of employability and their practices. First, although most of them believe that several actors (the beneficiary, the labour market and the education system) share responsibility for employability, their support practices remain oriented primarily toward putting the onus for employability and job seeking solely on their recipients. Second, while RSA advisors superficially believe in the institutional discourse that "everyone is employable," they do not perceive all their beneficiaries as immediately employable. Thus, in their everyday practices, they may exclude some from employment access programs.

Managing Hybrid Work at a University: The Challenges of Balancing Individual and Group Work with Private Life

Hélène Batisse, Ombeline Fayard, Anaïs Moulin, Valentin Verdier, Nelly Odin and Émilie Vayre
The relatively recent and unprecedented deployment of telework and hybrid work has led to emerging questions about how managerial practices have evolved to cope with this new form of work. In this study, which applies LMX theory (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995), we aim to examine hybrid management practices and work organization from the perspective of managers/employees and teleworkers/non-teleworkers at a French university. A total of 52 semi-structured interviews were conducted (telework employees = 22; telework managers = 11; non-telework employees = 12; non-telework managers = 7) across 12 central administrative departments or units. Thematic analysis reveals that, in contrast to findings from other public-sector studies, the managers enjoy considerable discretion to adapt their management style both to work-team characteristics and to departmental needs. Telework is differently implemented and regulated across departments. There are also differences in the challenges that managers experience when encouraging employees to return to on-site work in units where no mandatory in-office days are imposed. High-quality LMX relationships are associated with greater autonomy and higher levels of satisfaction with telework. However, tensions between work and private life may arise, leading some managers and employees to opt out of telework arrangements. By adopting a qualitative approach that integrates multiple organizational perspectives, we contribute to a deeper empirical understanding of the effects of hybrid work on LMX relationships and managerial practices in public administration, thereby offering insights for researchers and practitioners alike.

Reciprocity in the Age of Algorithms: How AI Transparency and Fairness Drive Engagement and Autonomy

Rayane Elidrissi and Kevin Sevag Kertechian
Emma trusted her HR department until an AI-based decision-support tool in HRM decided, without explanation, not to promote her. Was it fair? As AI-driven HR tools increasingly shape careers, their transparency and fairness are becoming crucial. We explore their impact on workplace behaviour. Using social exchange theory mediated by AI (SET-AI), we investigate the extent to which AI functions as an exchange partner that affects employee engagement and autonomy. We surveyed 300 employees who were subject to AI-based HR decisions, specifically how they perceived transparency and fairness in AI-driven HR tools, and how these perceptions shaped their autonomy and engagement. Our findings show that transparency and fairness in AI governance play a critical role in fostering employee autonomy and engagement. We thus recommend that organizations implement mechanisms to ensure explainability and fairness in the use of AI-driven tools. Future researchers should explore the long-term effects of AI transparency and fairness on employee behaviour across various industries to deepen understanding of AI’s evolving role in organizations.

Catherine E. Connelly (2023), Enduring Work: Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Jessica Garneau