REMOTE WORKING AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE – THE REGULATIONS OF POLISH LABOUR CODE

Work-life balance is one of the key aspects of rempote working which deserves our attentions. The current regulations of the Labour Code does not make any explicit reference to work-life balance idea. However, in the legislative changes during the last two decades there is a trend away to take better account of the values that underpin this idea, such as privacy, family and equality in employment and on the albour market. As if follows from the above considerations, in the regulations of Labour Code more emphasis should be put on the protection of employee working remotely against the clash between the professional and private spheres of employee’s life. This is the case for the rules for the use of remote work oand certain flexible forms of work organisation, which should be more „equal” in nature. Secondly, this i salso true for regulations on working time. The current regulations, that indirectly implement the right to disconnect, do not reflect specific risks for work-life balance, relating to the common use of information and communication technologies in employment relations.

Social Justice as an Incentive and a Brake on Economic Development: The Contradictions of the USSR as Challenges for the Future

The article examines the experience of the USSR in the field of solving the problem of correlation between social justice and economic efficiency. The characteristics of those aspects of Soviet experience in the sphere of implementation of social justice principles in the sphere of labor and distribution, which have potential for application in the conditions of modern capitalism to respond to the current challenges, are outlined. Firstly, it is noted that social justice is not reduced to inequality of income and distribution of wealth but is considered in connection with the human factor of economic development. In an expanded understanding, social justice includes a measure of access to basic resources such as labour, housing, education, health and other areas of human development. The experience of the USSR is characterised by the fact that, on the one hand, the universal availability and security of these basic resources (public goods) created the grounds for stimulating human development. On the other hand, the violation of these declared principles in practice (due to the development of bureaucratic privileges and benefits, the shadow economy, etc.) caused serious negative incentives, which became one of the elements in the system of reasons for the departure of “real socialism” from the historical scene. Secondly, the article points out that the Soviet system of income generation based on the principles of labour distribution was a combination of planned-normative and market-capitalist principles designed to create economic “egoistic” incentives. To the extent that this system was implemented, it succeeded in stimulating productivity and labour (but not market) initiative. But the manifestation, and in later stages of the USSR's development – in some cases the predominance, of bureaucratic-voluntarist foundations in the system created rather negative incentives. Relations of alienation in the sphere of appropriation and disposal of public property undermined socialist incentives to work and social innovation. The author concludes that some of the achievements of the Soviet system in the realisation of social justice are possible and effective in meeting the challenge of sustainable development in the 21st century. In particular, practices that were developed in the Soviet system, such as the provision of basic goods that are publicly available and free to users, the use of forms of work organisation based on a combination of competition, solidarity and self-government, etc., remain important.

Job and Organisational Level Aspects of Work in Slovenia

Marginalised groups of workers in Slovenia are traditionally most affected by labour market uncertainty, but increasingly middle-class and upper-class workers are experiencing the same. Furthermore, new work forms have given rise to ethical, psychological and legal dilemmas. In this paper, we examine the concept of decent work and focus on job-related and organisational aspects of work in Slovenia. In the empirical part of the paper we therefore focus on working time, work organisation and co-operation within teams, work-life balance, health and stress, and overall satisfaction with working conditions. Our results evidence that new work forms increase insecurity and consequently diminish worker well-being; and this is most experienced by younger, agency and self-employed workers in Slovenia. This suggests that the development of multilevel and multifaceted measures which take into account socio-psychological and legislative factors to address labour market segmentation is necessary, especially when addressing the needs of those forced to work atypically.

Electromagnetic Exposure of Personnel Involved in Cardiac MRI Examinations in 1.5T, 3T and 7T Scanners

(1) Background: It has been hypothesised that a significant increase in the use of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), for example, when examining COVID-19 convalescents using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), has an influence the exposure profiles of medical personnel to static magnetic fields (STmf). (2) Methods: Static exposure to STmf (SEmf) was recorded during activities that modelled performing CMR by radiographers. The motion-induced time variability of that exposure (TVEmf) was calculated from SEmf samples. The results were compared with: (i) labour law requirements; (ii) the distribution of vertigo perception probability near MRI magnets; and (iii) the exposure profile when actually performing a head MRI. (3) Results: The exposure profiles of personnel managing 42 CMR scans (modelled using medium (1.5T), high (3T) and ultrahigh (7T) field scanners) were significantly different than when managing a head MRI. The majority of SEmf and TVEmf samples (up to the 95th percentile) were at low vertigo perception probability (SEmf < 500 mT, TVEmf < 600 mT/s), but a small fraction were at medium/high levels; (4) Conclusion: Even under the “normal working conditions” defined for SEmf (STmf < 2T) by labour legislation (Directive 2013/35/EC), increased CMR usage increases vertigo-related hazards experienced by MRI personnel (a re-evaluation of electromagnetic safety hazards is suggested in the case of these or similar changes in work organisation).

Exploring the paradoxes of addressing sustainability in commercial research: A study of scientist views

<p>Research scientists increasingly engage in commercial research as well as face the need to address sustainability by taking into account the social, environmental and economic consequences of development activities. This role often entails addressing contradictory imperatives. Though paradox has pervasive effects on science work and managing for sustainability, it remains underexplored in these contexts. This research is positioned at the novel intersection of three bodies of work: sustainability in the context of science work, commercial research, and paradox in management and organisation. It engages a sensemaking perspective to examine the experiences of research scientists with managing sustainability in commercial research and explicates the tensions they perceive, as well as the ways in which they respond to them. The study is primarily based on a set of 44 semi-structured interviews conducted with research scientists across four Crown Research Institutes in New Zealand. It offers two sets of findings. First, it identifies three main paradoxes research scientists perceive and elucidates their dynamics. These include the paradoxes of service ethos, role identity, and professional integrity. Second, it explicates perceived responses to these paradoxes, both constraining and productive. The former comprise the practices of opposing, isolating, over-committing, and suppressing. The latter, productive responses, consist of a range of management tactics premised on differentiation or integration. Differentiation tactics include diversification in scope of services, variation in work organisation and responsibilities, and incrementalism. Integration tactics used with external parties comprise identifying financial synergies between public and commercial projects, (re)framing problems and solutions for clients, (re)positioning across roles and identities, as well as harnessing economies of scope by co-authoring with clients. This research contributes to the literature on research management by casting the emphasis on perceived paradoxes to be navigated when addressing sustainability in commercial research. It also offers a secondary contribution to the literature on paradox in management by contextualising organisational paradoxes and their management in science work. Specifically, it provides new insight into the ways by which scientists’ engagement with sustainability cuts across ethos and shapes their views on professional integrity. It also contributes to a nuanced understanding of role identity by focusing on the tensions research scientists at Crown Research Institutes experience in the dual role of advocates of change towards sustainability and allies of business. Altogether, this work extends existing organisational research by offering insights into scientists’ experience of paradox and its management when engaging with sustainability in commercial research.</p>

Exploring the paradoxes of addressing sustainability in commercial research: A study of scientist views

<p>Research scientists increasingly engage in commercial research as well as face the need to address sustainability by taking into account the social, environmental and economic consequences of development activities. This role often entails addressing contradictory imperatives. Though paradox has pervasive effects on science work and managing for sustainability, it remains underexplored in these contexts. This research is positioned at the novel intersection of three bodies of work: sustainability in the context of science work, commercial research, and paradox in management and organisation. It engages a sensemaking perspective to examine the experiences of research scientists with managing sustainability in commercial research and explicates the tensions they perceive, as well as the ways in which they respond to them. The study is primarily based on a set of 44 semi-structured interviews conducted with research scientists across four Crown Research Institutes in New Zealand. It offers two sets of findings. First, it identifies three main paradoxes research scientists perceive and elucidates their dynamics. These include the paradoxes of service ethos, role identity, and professional integrity. Second, it explicates perceived responses to these paradoxes, both constraining and productive. The former comprise the practices of opposing, isolating, over-committing, and suppressing. The latter, productive responses, consist of a range of management tactics premised on differentiation or integration. Differentiation tactics include diversification in scope of services, variation in work organisation and responsibilities, and incrementalism. Integration tactics used with external parties comprise identifying financial synergies between public and commercial projects, (re)framing problems and solutions for clients, (re)positioning across roles and identities, as well as harnessing economies of scope by co-authoring with clients. This research contributes to the literature on research management by casting the emphasis on perceived paradoxes to be navigated when addressing sustainability in commercial research. It also offers a secondary contribution to the literature on paradox in management by contextualising organisational paradoxes and their management in science work. Specifically, it provides new insight into the ways by which scientists’ engagement with sustainability cuts across ethos and shapes their views on professional integrity. It also contributes to a nuanced understanding of role identity by focusing on the tensions research scientists at Crown Research Institutes experience in the dual role of advocates of change towards sustainability and allies of business. Altogether, this work extends existing organisational research by offering insights into scientists’ experience of paradox and its management when engaging with sustainability in commercial research.</p>

The taxation of artificial intelligence between new taxes and additional incentives

The profound changes that accompany the history of mankind appear to be largely dependent on the unstoppable strength of knowledge and innovation. Robotics and artificial intelligences bring about profound changes in production and service delivery patterns (with automated and interconnected productions), in the rethinking of the man-machine and machine-machine relationship (so-called industry 4.0), in work organisation and even in domestic life and everyday life , according to whom “the fourth industrial revolution can act in two directions: an impact on the manufacturing world because the production of goods and services thanks to robots, artificial intelligence, communication technologies, the cloud can be completely reformed and modified and the transformation of society because the entry of robots 4.0 will take place in our midst. In re – thinking and designing the regulatory models of robotic lex, fiscal discipline, although too often towed with civil and commercial, can and must play a decisive role both in the promotion and dissemination of new models of production and social organization and in the taxation of new forms of wealth, also in the form of savings in expenditure, which the diffusion of new enabling technologies and that of data storage and circulation tools (big data) generate, speeding up transactions and expanding how the information is used. The aim of the article is an attempt to assess the application of robot taxes and web taxation taking into account specific nature of the subject of taxation. The author tries to present the possible development of the fiscal instrument in the light of technological development.

Navigating the tensions of flexible work: An exploration of the individual strategies employed by flexibly working parents

<p>The demand for workplace flexibility is growing in New Zealand. The increasing and fragmented employment participation of women has given rise to growing complexity within family lives and higher demand for flexible work. Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are intended to assist parents in managing care responsibilities, while discouraging unemployment among women in particular. Evidence linking FWA usage with positive work outcomes and reduced work-family conflict has grown in recent years. However, research also suggests a darker side to FWAs. For some, research shows that FWAs may exacerbate work-life balance (WLB) issues and negatively affect career advancement, with indications that attempts to promote WLB can come at the expense of positive work outcomes, and vice versa. As a result, less is known about the factors that shape outcomes for flexibly working parents, or indeed, the individual strategies that parents employ to promote positive outcomes while working flexibly. The complex way in which FWAs can either promote or hinder positive employee outcomes necessitates concurrent examination of the tensions between WLB and career outlooks for users of FWAs. Drawing on the experiences of 21 professional, flexibly working parents across public service organisations, this thesis finds parents navigate the tensions of flexible work using a variety of WLB, work organisation, and career-promoting strategies, with varying effects. Work intensification and efficiency strategies are shown to be commonly used by flexibly working parents for promoting positive work outcomes. However, while work efficiency appears to also promote WLB, work intensification is seen to negatively impact WLB. This research provides valuable insight into flexibly working employee strategies, hitherto largely neglected within the literature, and highlights the need for applying the life course perspective to FWA research.</p>

Navigating the tensions of flexible work: An exploration of the individual strategies employed by flexibly working parents

<p>The demand for workplace flexibility is growing in New Zealand. The increasing and fragmented employment participation of women has given rise to growing complexity within family lives and higher demand for flexible work. Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are intended to assist parents in managing care responsibilities, while discouraging unemployment among women in particular. Evidence linking FWA usage with positive work outcomes and reduced work-family conflict has grown in recent years. However, research also suggests a darker side to FWAs. For some, research shows that FWAs may exacerbate work-life balance (WLB) issues and negatively affect career advancement, with indications that attempts to promote WLB can come at the expense of positive work outcomes, and vice versa. As a result, less is known about the factors that shape outcomes for flexibly working parents, or indeed, the individual strategies that parents employ to promote positive outcomes while working flexibly. The complex way in which FWAs can either promote or hinder positive employee outcomes necessitates concurrent examination of the tensions between WLB and career outlooks for users of FWAs. Drawing on the experiences of 21 professional, flexibly working parents across public service organisations, this thesis finds parents navigate the tensions of flexible work using a variety of WLB, work organisation, and career-promoting strategies, with varying effects. Work intensification and efficiency strategies are shown to be commonly used by flexibly working parents for promoting positive work outcomes. However, while work efficiency appears to also promote WLB, work intensification is seen to negatively impact WLB. This research provides valuable insight into flexibly working employee strategies, hitherto largely neglected within the literature, and highlights the need for applying the life course perspective to FWA research.</p>

Mining and Minerals in South Africa

Although the mining value chain only accounted for around 13% of the GDP and 6% of employment in 2020, it remained a central link between the South African economy and international markets. As a result, it had an outsized impact on the production structure, income distribution, infrastructure and legal frameworks. After the transition to democracy in 1994, the value chain underwent significant changes, notably a shift away from coal into platinum, iron ore, coal and ferroalloys, and significant divestment by international mining companies. Still, deep-seated developmental challenges persisted, including limited mining-based industrialisation, the exercise of monopoly power within value chains, and deeply inequitable and oppressive payscales and work organisation. These structural weaknesses emerged clearly in the 2010s, as the end of the global metals prices boom (2002 to 2011) brought plummeting revenues, revealing a range of economic, workplace, and policy conflicts across the value chain.