The World of Work

1
The World of Work

• Chapter 7 section 2
• Pgs. 157-161

2
Work

• Work is an important aspect of adult life.
• If you begin working at age 18 and retire at 65,
  you will have spent 47 years in the labor force.
• An examination of the labor force, types of jobs
  workers held, and the degree of satisfaction
  among workers are the topics of this section.

3
The Labor Force

• The Labor Force consists of all individuals age
  16 and older who are employed in paid positions
  or who are seeking paid employment.

• People who are not paid for their services such
  as homemakers, are not considered to be part of
  the labor force.
• In 2000 67 of the U.S. population were in the
  workforce.

4
Composition

• The composition of the American labor force is
  changing.
• One of the biggest changes involves the of
  working women and the types of jobs they hold.
• Projections indicate between 2000-2010 women will
  make up 58 of the workforce.
• Women now hold about ½ of the professional jobs
  in the United States.

5
Composition

• A profession is a high status occupation that
  requires specialized skills obtained through
  formal education.
• Professional level work includes jobs such as
  engineer, lawyer, teacher, dentist, or writer.

• Another changing aspect of the labor force
  composition is the rise of minority workers as a
  percentage of the total workforce.
• Hispanics make up the fastest growing population
  among American workers.
• Currently 11 by 2010 it will increase to 13.

6
Composition

• American workers now have a higher level of
  education.
• In 1940, most workers barely had more than an 8th
  grade education.
• Today, 90 of the labor force aged 25-64 have
  graduated from high school.
• Almost 1/3 of the labor force has a college
  degree.

7
Unemployment

• One way to gain an understanding of the
  employment patterns in society is to look at
  unemployment.
• Unemployment is the situation that occurs when a
  person does not have a job but is actively
  seeking employment.

• The Unemployment rate is the percentage of the
  civilian labor force that is unemployed but
  actively seeking employment.
• The unemployment rate varies according to such
  factors such as age, gender, race and culture
  background.

8
Unemployment

• There are always people who are in the process of
  seeking employment.
• Other people cannot or do not want to work.
• Consequently, society sets a level of
  unemployment that is generally considered
  acceptable.
• In the U.S. that level hovers around 5 percent.
• Thus the U.S. economy is considered to have
  achieved full employment when about 95 of the
  labor force is employed.

9
Occupation

• What type of jobs do American workers hold?
• Executive, administrative, and managerial
  business executives, office managers, sales
  managers, credit managers, personnel managers,
  public relations supervisors, and store managers.

10
Occupation

• Professional specialty doctors, lawyers,
  dentists, pharmacists, librarians, nurses,
  engineers, artists, veterinarians, psychiatrists,
  social workers, teachers and accountants.

• Technical occupations laboratory technicians,
  dental hygienists, medical assistants, licensed
  practical nurses, and X-ray technicians.

11
Occupations

• Sales workers retail salespeople, insurance
  salespeople, real estate agents, manufacturers
  representative

• Administrative support occupation business
  machine operators, bookkeepers, office clerks,
  secretaries, receptionists, cashiers, telephone
  operators, postal workers, bank workers

12
Occupations

• Service occupations private household workers
  maids, cooks, butlers, and nursemaids protective
  service workers waitpersons, cooks, dental and
  nursing assistants, janitors, hairdressers,
  airline attendants, and child care workers.

• Precision production, craft and repair workers
  mechanics, television repairers, shoemakers,
  dressmakers, tailors, printers, carpenters,
  plumbers, electricians, concrete workers, skilled
  precision production workers

13
Occupations

• Operators, fabricators, and laborers packagers,
  assemblers, welders, heavy equipment operators,
  freight handlers, warehouse workers, and laborers.

• Farming, forestry, and fishing farm owners and
  operators, farm laborers, lumberjacks, fishers,
  hunters and trappers
• Transportation and material moving truck and bus
  drivers

14
The Changing Nature of Work

• Changes in the nature of work in the U.S.
• In 1900 about 35 of the labor force worked in
  farming.
• 45 were employed in manufacturing and other jobs
  that required physical labor, such as
  construction.
• 20 of the labor force worked in jobs that
  focused on mental effort and interaction with
  people. such as the professions, management,
  office work, and sales.
• By mid-century manufacturing jobs dominated the
  labor force.

15
The Changing Nature of Work

• Farming and manufacturing together now account
  for 27 of the jobs in the U.S.
• Considerable growth has taken place in the of
  people with professional jobs.
• People holding these jobs now make up 73 of the
  labor force.

• Technological developments have also contributed
  to the growth of service providing sections.
• See Table on pg. 161
• 5 of the top 10 are directly related to computers.

16
Job Satisfaction

• Research indicated that the vast majority of
  workers are satisfied with their jobs.
• In 1999, 54 of the people surveyed were very
  satisfied with their jobs and 37 were somewhat
  satisfied.
• The lack of satisfaction varied according to
  factors such as income and age.

17
Income and Age and other factors

• Workers with higher incomes reported greater
  satisfaction with their work than people with
  lower incomes.
• Older workers are more satisfied with their job
  than younger workers.

• Another poll indicated that in 2000 the most
  satisfied workers were those who had a lot of
  control over their work, those who go to use
  their skills and talents and those who received a
  lot of recognition and appreciation.

18
Job Satisfaction

• Workers expressed the greatest satisfaction with
  such job characteristics as workplace safety
  conditions, relations with co-workers,
  flexibility of hours, the opportunity to do what
  they do best, and job security.

• In the Gallop poll workers expressed
  dissatisfaction with the amount of on-the-job
  stress, their income, and their chances of
  promotion.
• They also displayed unhappiness with the benefits
  they received, such as health insurance, and
  retirement plans.

19
Jobs, jobs, jobs

• 1/3 of those surveyed in the 1999 Harris poll
  said they it was very likely that they would
  change jobs in the next five years.
• American workers hold about 9 jobs between the
  ages of 18-34.
• Employee tenure the median number of years that
  workers have been with their current employer
  is 3.5 years.
• Changing careers means that workers go into a new
  field for which their previous experience does
  not directly qualify them.
• Statistics indicate the average worker will
  change careers from 5-6 times in a lifetime.