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Technical Papers
To introduce users to some of the more complex or innovative features of the WERS 2004 data, five technical papers have been produced over the course of our two-year grant:
- Analysis of financial data: This paper focuses on the objective (accounts-based) measures of workplace performance provided by the new Financial Performance Questionnaire (FPQ) and the link that has been made between WERS and the ONS Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). The paper outlines the extent and quality of the data available from these new sources. It also compares and contrast the data available in the FPQ and the ABI and briefly discusses the means of accessing these data.
WIAS Technical Paper 1: Objective Data on Workplace Performance
- Subjective and objective measures of workplace performance: In this paper we assess the alternative measures of productivity and profitability that are available in WERS 2004. Previous WERS have been an important source of data in research into workplace performance. However, the subjective nature of the performance measures available in WERS prior to 2004 has attracted criticism. In WERS 2004, data was again collected on the subjective measure but, in addition, objective data on profitability and productivity was also collected. This allows a comparison to be made between the two types of measures. A number of validity tests are undertaken and the main conclusion is that subjective and objective measures of performance are weakly equivalent but that differences are also evident. Our findings suggest that it would be prudent to give most weight to results supported by both types of measure.
WIAS Technical Paper 2: Comparing subjective and objective data on workplace performance
- Linking the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings to the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. A technical discussion with an illustrative analysis of the gender pay gap: The first part of this paper discusses the rationale and methodology for linking data from WERS 2004 to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The ASHE is an annual survey in which employers report on the working hours and earnings of around 160,000 randomly-selected employees. The survey contains detailed information on individuals’ working hours, hourly and annual earnings, overtime payments, pension contributions and collective agreements. The purpose of a merged ASHE-WERS dataset is therefore to expand upon the information contained within the ASHE data set, combining the detailed information about the hours and earnings of individuals with additional information about the characteristics of the workplaces where these employees work. In the second part of this paper, the authors use this merged dataset to carry out an illustrative analysis of the gender pay gap.
WIAS Technical Paper 3: Linking the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings to WERS 2004
- Spotlight on five question areas in WERS 2004: The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief discussion of five areas of questioning in the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey that were either new to the survey or in some way unusual. It aims to document the origins of particular questions, comment on the validity of the measures, and demonstrate how some of the more unusual questions in the survey may be analysed. The paper covers the two major innovations to the structure of the survey, namely the introduction of the Financial Performance Questionnaire and the revisions that surrounded the surveying of worker representatives. It also covers three areas of questioning in the management and employee questionnaires, namely competitive strategies, computer use and wages.
WIAS Technical Paper 4: Spotlight on five question areas in WERS 2004
- The analysis of change using WERS: This paper provides a description of the data resources that are available from the WERS series to facilitate analyses of changes in employment relations over the period 1980-2004. It introduces both the time-series dataset, compiled from the five cross-section surveys in the WERS series, and the four panel surveys. It also presents some illustrative analyses to indicate how each may be used in practice.
WIAS Technical Paper 5: The analysis of change using WERS
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