Work and Career Expectations of Insurance Company Employees and the Impact on Unionisation

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study of insurance company employees in 1979. The sample differentiated between `professionals' whose work was not significantly affected by computerisation and rationalisation, and `non-professionals' whose work had generally changed fundamentally through these processes. The data obtained covered the areas of respondents' jobs and their views of both their employer and trade union. A widespread lack of fulfilment of traditional expectations was identified, especially concerning promotion prospects. It was also found that these employees were interested in union involvement in topics such as the career structure and work content which have been regarded as areas of managerial prerogative. The study concludes that experience of decline in traditional white-collar work expectations, hastened by computerisation, leads such employees to view their union as a possible means of gaining influence over their work and careers.