How to measure quality of work and why it’s important, according to the experts
How should we define good jobs? How can we advance high-quality work for more people? These were the topics of the Future Skills Centre’s recent webinar, Defining and measuring Quality of Work.
The panelists explored examples and advancements in understanding and assessing quality of work from Canada, the United States, and Europe, and the potential implications for business leaders, career practitioners and policymakers. Panelists included:
- Agnès Parent-Thirion, Senior Program Manager, Working Conditions – Eurofound
- Teresa Acuña, Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Department of Labour
- Vincent Hardy, Analyst, Statistics Canada
So how do we measure job quality? Vincent Hardy started off the discussion by sharing how the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) defines quality of work as the entirety of aspects of employment that may affect the wellbeing of workers. They include a list of indicators for measuring quality of employment, which include:
- Safety and ethics of employment
- Income and benefits from employment
- Working time and work-life balance
- Security of employment
- Skills and development training
Click here to learn more about the UNECE’s Handbook on Measuring Quality of Employment.
Teresa Acuña built on the discussion of measuring quality of employment, pointing to the Good Jobs Principles, developed by the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Labor. The Good Jobs Principles identify what comprises a good job. These eight principles create a framework for workers, businesses, labor unions, advocates, researchers, state and local governments, and federal agencies for a shared vision of job quality.
These eight high-level principles identify key elements of a good job:
- Recruitment and hiring
- Benefits
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
- Empowerment and Representation
- Job Security and Working Conditions
- Organizational Culture
- Pay
- Skills and Career Advancement
Click here to learn more about the Good Jobs Principles.
Agnès Parent-Thirion discussed how job quality is a multidimensional construct, sharing information from Eurofound, a European agency made up of employers, governments and trade unions. According to Eurofound, there are many important factors that contribute to job quality, including:
- Physical environment
- Social environment
- Work intensity
- Skills and discretion
- Working time quality
- Prospects
- Earnings
When workers have positive associations of job quality they tend to have better health and wellbeing; engagement, trust and cooperation at work; an easier time making ends meet, and better work-life balance.
Understanding quality of work is important for the future of work in Canada, as work quality reflects various dimensions of the health of the labour market, combining not only income and benefits, but also employment security, work environment, professional growth potential and overall social environment.
Click here to learn more in the FSC’s Exploring the multiple dimensions of quality of work series.
