Strikes and Lockouts Are Bad. And Your Point Is….?

It’s no secret by now that the governing Conservative party  in Canada has, well, a conservative attitude toward unions. It’s been shown through the quick legislative intervention in the Air Canada pilots’ dispute this spring – following similar interventions involving Air Canada’s flight attendants and Canada Post. These were all justified as necessary to offset the potential damage of extended work stoppages to the Canadian economy. But the government’s reasoning was, shall we say, light on the specific details of the extent of this (alleged) damage, and why legislation was needed to prevent it.  So, not surprisingly, these back-to-work laws have been characterized as just a convenient way to disrespect the bargaining rights of the parties in these disputes.

Clamping down on strike and lockout activity is a high-profile indication of the Conservative government’s feelings about unions. But there are other, more subtle, things going on too. (more…)

No, Really, Are You Happy?: How the Media Misreports Workplace Research

A couple of days ago, while driving around, I heard a news item on a couple of local radio stations saying that fewer than half of all workers are satisfied with their jobs, but were unwilling to look for something else. This caught my ear because something I learned really quickly when I started doing job satisfaction research is that it’s very difficult to measure job satisfaction accurately, and it’s even more difficult to make broad generalizations about it. (more…)

284 Days and Counting: How Public Pressure Influences Labour Disputes

The British Columbia teachers’ bargaining dispute with the government is the most high-profile labour dispute in the province right now. And one question that keeps coming up in discussions of the situation is: can public pressure make a difference in how this dispute gets settled? (more…)

Hello world!

Welcome to All About Work!

I started this site to talk in an informative, non-specialist way about current events and ideas in the world of work and organizations.

There are some media organizations (online and elsewhere) that do their best to keep up with workplace issues. But the sad reality is that fewer reporters are covering this sort of news. And it’s also a sad reality that far too many media organizations are lazy when they cover workplace issues. They recycle corporate press releases or stories from other media, they ignore information that doesn’t fit their view of the world, or they reduce debate over important workplace issues to “You suck.” “No, you suck”.

I’m also really tired of prescriptive “Top 10 Ways to Advance Your Career”-type stories that don’t encourage anyone to think about why things are the way they are in the workplace. And, from the professional side of my world, I’m also really tired of innovative research with thought-provoking outcomes getting ignored because the media generally won’t pay attention to anything “academic”.

Disclaimers: I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a certified HR professional. I’m not a journalist (although I have been). But 20 years of writing, researching, and teaching about work and organizations have shaped me into someone who likes to write, and who wants to encourage people to understand and think critically about their work and about the organizations they interact with.

All About Work is a work in progress, as new sites inevitably are. I hope you’ll follow along, and contribute your thoughts as well.