European Working Lives

Continuities and Change in Management and Industrial Relations in France, Scandinavia and the UK

Edited by Steve Jefferys, formerly Professor of European Employment Studies and Director, Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University, UK, Frederik Mispelblom Beyer, Professor of Sociology, University of Paris–Évry, France and Christer Thörnqvist, ISV - Department of Social and Welfare Studies, Linköping University Sweden

The contributors examine global trends such as the decentralisation of industrial relations and the revival of neo-liberalism, and discuss them from a theoretical and empirical perspective. They go on to argue that these global trends can really only exist in nationally specific contexts and focus on the changing roles of trade union and labour movements in representing workers’ interests. They trace the emergence of new European institutional and political dimensions of working, and attempt to answer the question of how converged, diverged or revised European working practices have become.

‘While some books on global trends take a rather abstract approach, this volume stands out for its focus on a wide variety of familiar aspects of working life, such as flexibility, new managerial methods and training. The richness of the cases and analyses from manufacturing and service industries is a welcome addition to the literature and a source of inspiration for further research.’
– Peter Leisink, Utrecht University, The Netherlands