Volume 24, Issue 3-4

In addition to processes of subjectivation and dissolution, stressful situations and psychological complaints are constantly increasing; up to now companies are not doing enough to fight these symptoms on an organisational and cultural level. Against this backdrop we analyse 60 qualitative interviews regarding the question of how political skills as a subjective coping strategy can have an impact on health. The results reveal that political skills are indeed a useful resource to reduce stress and should be analysed further as to their health promoting potential.

In this paper we examine the determinants of the attitude towards a women’s quota in higher management positions among the German population. Hypotheses are derived referring to Bourdieu’s Habitus-theory and preliminary tested using data of a cross-sectional survey (N = 886). Gender, age, a progressive political orientation and an interaction between higher education and gender foster the aggreement with a women’s quota, but not gender role models.

The share of academics in dependent employment has increased by seven percentage points since the mid 1990s to more than 25 percent in 2014. However, an academic degree does not always guarantee good employment conditions. About one in ten of the 8.4 million academics in dependent employment was paid below the low-wage threshold of 9.81 Euro in 2014. The following article analyses risk factors for low pay of academics on the basis of the German Socioeconomic panel. The main question is if low-wage work of academics can be explained by a job-education mismatch (overschooling). A surprising result is that nearly one third of all academics with low wages is working in a position suited for academics. A position below the academic level has a lower importance for explaining low wages of academics than expected.

Previous studies on labour leasing have focused primarily on working conditions of temporary workers and on the strategic decision of employing them. This paper tries to gain first insights into the performance of temporary workers. The labour market for professional football players is especially suited for this kind of research due to the observability of the players’ performance. This exemplary market has certain analogies to conventional labour markets. Uncertainty caused by the labour leasing creates incentives for temporary players to increase their performance levels in the periods of their leasing. Empirically, temporary players exhibit higher levels of effort when they are leased, which they cannot reproduce in a following long-term employment. In addition to the performance development, factors influencing the leasing behaviour of the Bundesliga clubs are analysed. It can be shown that specific modifications of the institutional framework influence the leasing decisions.

This article analyses the role of the state in shaping working and employment conditions with a focus on the wage setting process. The comparison of three countries with relatively inclusive pay systems - Sweden, France and Germany - illustrates that even today in an environment characterised by globalised markets, nation states have at their disposal instruments in order to effectively ensure high job quality and that they can use various combinations of participative and protective labour standards in that regard. State action and strategic decisions of major actors are strongly influenced by specific development paths but may also strike out in new directions and seek to build up future proofed institutions.