The Shadow Workforce: Perspectives on Contingent Work in the United States, Japan, and Europe The Shadow Workforce: Perspectives on Contingent Work in the United States, Japan, and Europe
Sandra E. Gleason, Editor
First Chapter | Table of Contents

350 pp. 2006
$54.00 cloth 978-0-88099-289-3
$22.00 paper 978-0-88099-288-6

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the state of nonstandard employment and its impact on employees, businesses, unions, and public policy. It not only reveals how nonstandard employment operates in the United States, Japan, and Europe, it also highlights the important similarities and differences in the labor market issues faced in those areas.

Key recurring concepts in the book, such as how the nonstandard workforce is measured and the meaning of labor force flexibility, are explained in the introduction. Ensuing discussions summarize and synthesize the current body of scholarly literature on the facts and challenges of nonstandard employment, and an array of tables and graphs presents a complete picture of the demographic, occupational, and industry characteristics of the nonstandard labor force.

This makes the book a one-stop, easy-to-use resource for anyone interested in learning about the characteristics of the contingent labor forces in the United States, Japan, and Europe, and the legal frameworks that guide the use of nonstandard workers in those labor markets. It also offers the reader insights into how employees, employers, unions, and policymakers perceive nonstandard employment.

"This volume provides a useful and thoughtful overview of many of the salient research and policy issues related to the rise and persistent presence of 'contingent' work in the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan. The breadth of topics is particularly useful to scholars and students interested in obtaining an overview of definitional research, and polciy issues. It will be useful to reserachers interested in the role of institutions in shaping employment arrangements and as reading in economics, sociology, and human resource management as well as U.S. and comparative industrial relations." –Growth and Change