Decent work among rural-urban migrant workers in China: evidence and challenges

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to examine how Chinese rural-urban migrant workers' socio-economic status was associated with their decent work.Design/methodology/approachGrounded in the psychology of working theory (PWT), this study tested the path from rural-urban migrant workers' socio-economic status to decent work via work volition, with this path moderated by environmental uncertainty and trade union support. 470 rural-urban migrant workers from four manufacturing enterprises were investigated.FindingsResults indicated that rural-urban migrant workers' socio-economic status was positively associated with rural-urban migrant workers' decent work through work volition. In addition, environmental uncertainty weakened the impact of socio-economic status on work volition while trade union support strengthened the relationship between socio-economic status and work volition.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the growing research on the PWT by testing its utility among rural-urban migrant workers in the Chinese context. The study also identifies the crucial effects of environmental uncertainty and trade union support, which are distinctive characters of contemporary China, in the formation process of rural-urban migrant workers' decent work. A detailed explanation of the results and implications is discussed in the end.

Recommendations for Conceptualizing and Measuring Constructs Within Psychology of Working Theory

“…Finally, Han et al (2022) assessed trade union support to investigate how the perceived social support buffers the effect of socio-economic status on work volition with Chinese rural-urban migrant workers. Results were again inconsistent, with Wang et al (2019) and Kenny et al (2022) finding social support to be a significant moderator, but in the opposite direction as hypothesized and Han et al (2022) finding union support to moderate in the expected direction. With very few studies and a diversity of measures, it is difficult to make any conclusions about this construct and it seems important that a more PWT tailored measured of social support needs to be developed.…”

“…On the other hand, Kenny et al (2022) measured teacher support to investigate how social support moderates the effects of external barriers on vocational outcomes, using the 6-item Learning Climate Subscale (LCS) of the Learning Climate Questionnaire (i.e., I feel my teacher provides me with choices and options; Black & Deci, 2000). Finally, Han et al (2022) assessed trade union support to investigate how the perceived social support buffers the effect of socio-economic status on work volition with Chinese rural-urban migrant workers. Results were again inconsistent, with Wang et al (2019) and Kenny et al (2022) finding social support to be a significant moderator, but in the opposite direction as hypothesized and Han et al (2022) finding union support to moderate in the expected direction.…”

“…Duffy et al (2022) developed a 5-item economic conditions questionnaire to assess individuals’ perceptions of the strength of the economy (Duffy et al, 2016). Examples include “The economy is strong” and “The economy is in good condition.” Another study used a 3-item scale to measure participants level of uncertainty within their specific work environment (Han et al, 2022). Both studies reported a significant moderation effect of perceived economic conditions buffering the negative effect of marginalization or economic constraints on work volition.…”

Employee Perspectives on Decent Work and Job Burnout: Evidence from Nepalese Manufacturing Industries

“…Decent work is a key initiative launched by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 1999 (Han et al, 2022) to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity (Adhikari, 2012;Adhikari et al, 2012). The United Nations also incorporated decent work into its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recently (U.N., 2019).…”

“…Of course, providing a decent work environment is a concern for organizational management. However, encouraging decent work among individuals from various cultural, economic, and social contexts is crucial for advancing overall social well-being (Blustein et al, 2019;Han et. al., 2022).…”