The diffusion of working time innovations in manufacturing and construction industry

Demands for shorter weekly working time have been on the national agenda for at least 150 years. Both contemporary and historical debate concerned with working time reductions have generally centred around a few key issues including competitiveness, productivity and unemployment. Whilst previous researchers on working time and particularly shorter working time, have provided detailed discussions and analysis of working time reductions, they have only been concerned with the effects and implementation of these reductions. Explanations for the diffusion of shorter working time from industry to industry have not been forthcoming. The present research study provides such an explanation focusing on five industry groups (Engineering, Construction, Chemicals, Food, Drink and Tobacco and Textiles, Clothing and Footwear). The major level of analysis is at macro level where, for example, statistics for capital investment, productivity, shiftwork and output aggregated by industry are analysed with reference to shorter working time. Other statistics analysed are workforce characteristics, such as the proportion of skilled workers to unskilled, men to women, part-time to full-time workers and labour turnover. Trade union characteristics including union membership density, recognition and the centrality of collective bargaining arrangements are also analysed. Further, the timing of almost 300 agreements to reduce working time during 1980 to 1984 are analysed. In addition to macro level analysis, data collected in the form of company case studies were analysed to further test the macro level data analysis findings. It was discovered that there was an industrial pattern for the diffusion of shorter working time. The Engineering, Construction and Chemical industries were found to be early adopters of shorter working time, whilst the Food, Drink and Tobacco and Textiles, Clothing and Footwear industries were late adopters. It was concluded that this pattern was the consequence of the relative advantage, complexity and compatibility of shorter working time, together with the degree of bargaining power, within each industry.