Kick-off Meeting of the Advisory Group for the OECD Guidelines for Measuring the Quality of Working Environment, OECD HQ, Paris, 8-9 December 2015

1. First meeting of the informal
Advisory Group on Measuring the QWE
Paris, 8-9 December, 2015

2. • OECD initiative on Job Quality
• Enhancing Statistical tools
• Rationale and scope of the Guidelines
• Timeframes and questions
2
Outline

3. 3
From how many jobs to how good jobs are...
The importance of Job Quality in
the policy debate
Policy Main International Statistical
Frameworks
• OECD Ministerial Meeting 2015
• 2015 G20 Ankara declaration from
Ministers of Labour and Employment “it is
critical for policy action to focus not only on
how many jobs an economy generates, but
also on how good those jobs are”
• EU 2020
• SDG agenda
• ILO Manual on Concepts and Definitions of
Decent Work Indicators (ILO 2012)
• UNECE Framework for Measuring Quality of
Employment (UNECE 2014)
• EUROFOUND’s EWCS’s and the Job
Quality framework

4. 4
• Respond to policy demand to assess labour market performance in terms of more and better jobs
….by focusing on worker well-being (part of the broader Well-being agenda )
• Why does job quality matter?
– A key element of individual well-being (i.e. an end in its own right)
– Determines participation, worker commitment and productivity (i.e. as a means to greater
economic performance)
• Despite growing attention in the international policy debate, still a complex concept to define and
measure
– Multi-dimensional nature of job quality
– Comparability of job quality indicators over time and across countries/ groups
• New OECD framework to measure and assess job quality
– Builds on other existing international initiatives
– Favours measures relevant for policy action over comprehensiveness
– Flexible/open (i.e. can be improved and extended)
Framework endorsed by G20
OECD initiative on job quality, labour
market performance and well-being

5. The OECD Job Quality Framework

6. Income
Jobs
Housing
Personal activities
incl. work
Insecurity, economic and
physical
Social connections and
relationships
Subjective well-
being
Political voice and governance
HealthHealth
EducationEducation
Work-life balance
Civic engagement
Social
relationships
Working
environment
Labour market
security
Personal security
Earnings
Material living
conditions
Well-being
OECD
Job quality
OECD
Well-being
Stiglitz, Sen & Fitoussi

7. 7
Job quality, job quantity
and well-being
Labour market
security
Quality of the
work environment
Well-being
Labour market performance
Earnings
quality
Employment /
unemployment
Job quantity Job quality
Under-employment

8. 8
 Focus on outcomes experienced by workers (e.g.
employment security, rather than employment protection
legislation)
• Consistent with well-being perspective
• Allows evaluating the role of policies and institutions
 Evaluate situation of individual workers
• To take account of the distribution of job quality outcomes
• For assessing complementarity/substitution across different
dimensions of job quality (compensating differentials)
 Favour objective features of job quality
• Ensures better comparability of outcomes across countries and time
Principles for the
measurement of job quality

9. 9
• At the individual level
– Gross versus net: use gross earnings because of data constraints,
net earnings more relevant for well-being
– Frequency: hourly wage not affected by working time (job
quantity )
• At the aggregate level
– Use Generalised Means framework (Atkinson, 1970)
– Allows giving more weight to the bottom of the distribution
Measuring Earnings quality:
Average earnings and its distribution

10. 10
Measuring labour market security:
Unemployment risk and insurance
• Existing frameworks typically focus on job security using indirect
proxies such as incidence of temporary or short-tenured workers
Unemployment risk
- probability of becoming unemployed
- probability of staying unemployed
-> measured using data on unemployment
inflows and outflows
Effective unemployment insurance
- accessibility of benefits
- their generosity and maximum duration
- the progressivity of the tax system
->use OECD benefit-recipiency database
and OECD tax-benefit models
Expected cost of unemployment
Sources: OECD Unemployment Duration database, OECD Benefit Recipients
database and OECD Taxes and Benefits database

11. Theoretical models
• Demand-Control Model (Karasek): strained jobs are those
characterised by high job demands and low job control
• Effort-Rewards Imbalance Model (Siegrist): strained jobs are
characterised by imbalance between efforts and rewards
• Job Resources-Demands Model (Bakker): strained jobs are
characterised by high job demands and low job resources
11
Quality of the working environment
and well-being

12. 12
Measuring Quality of the Working Environment
Job Demands-Resources model
Job demands
- Time pressure
- Physical health risks
- (workplace intimidation)
Job resources
- Work autonomy & learning
- Good relationships with colleagues
- (good management practices)
Index of job strain
combination of excessive job demands & insufficient resources
that increases risk of health impairment
Sources: 4th EWCS, 3rd Work orientations module of ISSP

13. 13
UNECE QoE and OECD JQ
frameworks: Complementary approaches

14. Enhancing Statistical Tools

15. 15
• New OECD database on job quality
– to become available via OECD.Stat in January 2016
– Contains all existing data and metadata for the 3 dimensions and
sub-dimensions
– with information at country (OECD countries) and group levels;
for most countries data will be available from 2005 to 2013
– gradually extend country coverage to non-OECD members
The OECD Job Quality database

16. 16
The OECD Job Quality database
Forthcoming at OECD.Stat
Dimensions
Components
Average
earnings
(USD
PPP,2010)
Earnings
inequality
Incidence of
high job
demands
(%)
Incidence of
low job
resources
(%)
Sub-
components
(if any)
Mont hly
unemployment
inf low
probabilit y (%)
Mont hly
out f low
probabilit y
f rom
unemployment
Coverage rat e -
Unemp.
Insurance
(%)
Replacement
rat e - Unemp,
insurance
(%)
Coverage rat e -
Unemp.
Assist ance
(%)
Replacement
rat e - Unemp
Assist ance
(%)
Coverage rat e -
Social
assist ance
(%)
Replacement
rat e - Social
assist ance
(%)
A U S 18.9 0.1 16.6 1.4 25.1 5.5 0.0 0.0 100.0 40.7 0.0 40.7 40.7 3.3 16.2 19.9 24.1
A U T 18.0 0.1 16.0 0.6 12.2 4.6 88.8 61.8 11.2 46.9 0.0 46.9 60.2 1.8 32.1 33.6 39.0
B EL 22.6 0.1 21.2 0.6 7.2 8.7 69.3 55.4 0.0 0.0 23.2 53.3 50.7 4.3 19.1 26.9 27.8
C A N 19.8 0.1 17.0 2.7 35.7 7.6 46.9 68.8 0.0 0.0 53.1 37.3 52.1 3.7 15.5 20.5 27.7
C HL 5.0 0.4 2.9 .. .. 8.1 24.0 31.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.9 7.6 7.5 .. .. ..
C ZE 9.1 0.2 7.7 0.4 7.2 6.1 46.6 64.3 0.0 0.0 37.6 38.3 44.4 3.4 21.1 47.2 43.4
D N K 26.0 0.1 24.2 1.2 15.5 7.6 44.3 78.3 0.0 0.0 30.5 65.4 54.6 3.4 17.8 18.9 23.7
EST 8.9 0.2 7.1 1.2 7.3 16.1 27.5 49.3 0.0 0.0 21.0 27.1 19.3 13.0 26.5 32.1 34.8
FIN 19.9 0.1 18.6 1.4 18.3 7.7 78.0 68.2 22.0 51.0 0.0 50.1 64.4 2.7 19.1 19.9 22.1
FR A 18.5 0.1 16.7 1.1 14.5 7.8 85.9 66.7 12.4 38.7 1.7 38.7 62.7 2.9 24.2 54.1 44.0
D EU 22.0 0.1 19.5 0.6 9.7 6.2 34.7 65.3 65.3 46.4 0.0 43.0 53.0 2.9 24.9 41.1 42.4
GR C 15.5 0.1 13.9 1.0 6.3 16.5 32.0 38.1 15.0 17.2 0.0 6.7 14.8 14.1 43.9 51.6 58.0
HU N 8.7 0.2 7.1 0.6 4.7 12.9 26.5 53.7 49.9 39.8 23.6 28.4 40.8 7.7 36.7 35.6 47.1
IR L 26.1 0.2 21.0 0.9 5.5 16.4 42.0 67.7 58.0 59.3 0.0 58.6 62.8 6.1 15.7 19.0 21.7
ISL 16.1 0.1 14.8 1.2 23.4 5.1 100.0 64.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 49.4 64.4 1.8 .. .. ..
ISR 11.3 0.3 7.8 2.4 40.5 5.8 32.2 75.4 0.0 0.0 9.6 28.9 27.1 4.3 21.3 20.8 28.4
ITA 18.7 0.1 16.4 0.6 7.9 7.4 38.3 64.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.8 24.7 5.6 20.6 51.7 42.6
JPN 14.5 0.1 13.0 1.6 32.0 4.9 19.9 69.6 0.0 0.0 37.6 55.6 34.7 3.2 19.8 44.6 42.5
KOR 12.6 0.2 10.0 2.3 67.2 3.4 44.4 48.7 0.0 0.0 55.6 24.3 35.1 2.2 32.0 34.8 44.9
LU X 22.3 0.1 19.7 0.4 12.8 3.1 42.9 87.3 0.0 0.0 57.1 50.1 66.1 1.0 23.6 35.4 36.5
M EX 3.2 0.3 2.2 2.1 43.4 4.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.8 26.1 22.1 33.4
N LD 22.0 0.1 19.9 0.5 11.1 4.3 68.5 73.4 0.0 0.0 31.5 49.7 65.9 1.5 13.8 37.4 26.1
N ZL 15.5 0.1 14.0 1.4 30.6 4.6 0.0 0.0 42.3 44.3 44.7 44.3 38.6 2.9 16.9 16.2 19.5
N OR 25.7 0.1 23.9 0.6 20.1 3.1 73.4 72.3 0.0 0.0 26.6 44.2 64.8 1.1 14.5 17.8 18.2
POL 10.8 0.2 9.0 0.8 7.6 11.1 27.0 54.1 0.0 0.0 32.9 33.5 25.6 8.3 34.1 49.1 53.2
PR T 11.6 0.2 9.8 0.7 10.1 6.7 37.2 75.0 17.1 33.9 25.0 29.9 41.2 3.9 29.9 36.1 45.4
SV K 9.0 0.1 7.7 0.5 3.3 14.3 11.1 62.3 0.0 0.0 49.9 26.2 20.0 11.5 27.1 48.5 44.9
SV N 13.3 0.1 11.5 0.5 5.9 8.5 40.0 75.1 0.0 0.0 60.0 48.6 59.2 3.5 38.0 37.5 49.7
ESP 15.4 0.1 13.6 2.1 8.2 25.3 31.5 65.3 28.5 23.5 4.2 23.5 28.2 18.2 25.5 51.3 50.2
SW E 19.2 0.1 18.0 1.7 21.3 8.1 34.0 61.9 22.0 61.9 44.0 42.9 53.5 3.7 17.8 11.6 14.7
C HE 25.1 0.1 23.1 0.4 9.6 4.6 74.8 78.2 0.0 0.0 25.2 46.9 70.3 1.4 16.5 22.5 22.4
TU R 7.6 0.2 5.8 1.4 11.8 11.6 13.0 46.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0 10.9 50.4 55.0 67.5
GB R 21.5 0.2 17.6 1.0 10.4 9.2 12.0 45.6 49.0 45.3 39.0 46.6 45.8 5.0 18.7 18.8 24.2
U SA 20.6 0.2 16.6 2.0 19.0 10.3 63.6 53.4 0.0 0.0 36.4 16.5 40.0 6.2 26.9 15.9 28.1
Earnings qualit y Labour market insecurit y
Qualit y of t he working
environment ( Incidence of job
st rain)
Unemployment risk Unemployment insurance

17. 17
• Motivation: To take stock of available international
surveys to map data sources, their coverage and
periodicity, meanwhile identify the data gaps.
• 7 international surveys were identified that :
Have a focus on work
Collect information specifically on individuals’ own
job
In total cover 25 years and 160+ countries
EWCS, ESS, ISSP, EULFS AHMs, Gallup World
Poll, EQLS, Eurobarometer
The OECD Inventory of International Surveys
on QWE

18. Job Quality and Job Quantity in
OECD countries
Normalised score between 0 and 1
Source: Employment Outlook 2014 and 2015

19. 19
Which workers hold quality jobs?
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
Sex Age Education
A. Earnings quality
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Sex Age Education
B. Labour market insecurity
0
5
10
15
20
25
Sex Age Education
C. Job strain
Cross-country averages, 2010

20. OECD Guidelines on Measuring the
Quality of the Working Environment

21. Rationale and Scope of the Guidelines
• Lack of internationally comparable data on QWE and need to
systematize the available information.
• OECD guidelines will provide international recommendations
and best practices in existing surveys to NSOs & other data
producers on how QWE could be best measured and used
• Objectives
– Improve international comparability of measures on the
QWE by providing common standards
– Summarise what is known about the reliability and validity
of measures of QWE, and increase availability of less
conventional aspects of QWE
– Enhance broader work by NSOs and academics
– In the medium run, increase the number of countries for
which official measures of QWE are produced
21

22. • The Guidelines on Measuring QWE
will be modelled on the OECD
Guidelines on Measuring Subjective
Well-being
• The Guidelines on Measuring
Subjective Well-being cover:
– Concept and validity
– Methodological issues
– Best practice in measuring subjective
well-being
– The output and analysis of subjective
well-being measures
– Prototype question modules on
subjective well-being
Scope of the Guidelines
22

23. • Chapter 1: Introduction.
• Chapter 2: Conceptual framework.
• Chapter 3: Components of QWE.
• Chapter 4: Methodological issues.
• Chapter 5: Analytical issues.
• Chapter 6: Recommendations
• Appendix: Question modules.
Scope of the Guidelines
23

24. • An extended survey module, covering many of the sub-dimensions
of the QWE identified in the inventory, with up to 3 questions on each.
This module could be used as a dashboard & inform about the overall
QWE as well as problematic areas.
• A condensed survey module will restrict the questions to a sub-set
of key sub-dimensions (from the extended survey module) of the QWE
(e.g. work intensity, physical health risk factors, physical demands,
work autonomy, learning opportunities and social support at
workplace). This could be used to construct a synthetic index of Job
Strain and to identify the most vulnerable groups.
• A core survey module will contain only few key questions when
questionnaire space does not allow inserting the extended or the
condensed survey modules.
Question modules for measuring QWE

25. Stakeholders and Governance
25
Guidelines Team
Sandrine Cazes (STD/ELS)
Hande Inanc (STD)
STD
Martine Durand (Director)
Marco Mira D’Ercole
Committee on Statistics
and Statistical Policy
(CSSP) Advisory
Group
National Statistical Agencies
OECD Member State
Governments

26. Role of the Advisory Group
• Sounding board for the direction of the
Guidelines
• Comments on chapters and practical issues
• Provide a seal of approval for the final
product
26

27. Timeframes
8-9 December 2015: First meeting of AG
April 2016: Presentation of progress on
the Guidelines to CSSP
October 2016: Full draft of Guidelines to AG
December 2016: Second Meeting of AG
Spring 2017: Presentation of final report
to CSSP
Spring 2017: Full draft of the Guidelines
to NSOs
September 2017: Guidelines released
27

28. Questions
• Scope of the project?
• Role of the advisory group?
• Timeframe?
• Anything else?
28