Underemployment - when people are employed in some way that is insufficient, such as being overqualified or working part-time when one desires full-time employment - is a challenge faced by all industrialized nations and their organizations and individuals. Just like unemployment, some level of underemployment exists even in the best of times, but it becomes more pervasive when the job market is weak. Given the current economic climate in North America and abroad, researchers and scholars in various disciplines (psychology, business, sociology, economics) are becoming more interested in investigating the effects of underemployment and identifying possible practical solutions. Underemployment synthesizes the current understanding of the phenomenon by bringing together scholars with diverse perspectives and expertise with the aim of informing and guiding the next generation of underemployment research.
Underemployment:
Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges
Douglas C. Maynard and Daniel C. Feldman, Editors
While joblessness is a signature problem during times of economic stress, underemployment the lack of adequate, meaningful work affects large numbers of workers even during relative prosperity. Historically overshadowed by unemployment, the pervasive and serious social problem of underemployment warrants
greater attention from scholars in a variety of disciplines.
Recognizing underemployment as a series of related phenomena (e.g., fewer hours of work, poor pay, jobs for which workers are overqualified), Underemployment: Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges is the first book to provide an in-depth examination of the causes, dynamics, and consequences of underemployment and how the problem might be addressed. Experts from management, economics, psychology, and sociology present their unique approaches to understanding underemployment in terms oftheory development, empirical findings, and implications for policy and practice. Some of the major topics covered include:
Effects of underemployment on short-run and long-run earningsUnderemployment among youth, women, older workers, immigrants, and minoritiesEffects of underemployment on mental health and physical healthImpact of underemployment on family members, friends, and communitiesMeasurement and tracking of underemployment over timeEffects of underemployment on work attitudes and job performanceDirections for future theoretical and empirical research on underemployment
A comprehensive look at a most timely issue, Underemployment: Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges will inform the work of researchers, scholars, managers, and policy makers dealing with underemployment issues for years to come.
Underemployment:
Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges
Douglas C. Maynard and Daniel C. Feldman, Editors
While joblessness is a signature problem during times of economic stress, underemployment the lack of adequate, meaningful work affects large numbers of workers even during relative prosperity. Historically overshadowed by unemployment, the pervasive and serious social problem of underemployment warrants
greater attention from scholars in a variety of disciplines.
Recognizing underemployment as a series of related phenomena (e.g., fewer hours of work, poor pay, jobs for which workers are overqualified), Underemployment: Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges is the first book to provide an in-depth examination of the causes, dynamics, and consequences of underemployment and how the problem might be addressed. Experts from management, economics, psychology, and sociology present their unique approaches to understanding underemployment in terms oftheory development, empirical findings, and implications for policy and practice. Some of the major topics covered include:
Effects of underemployment on short-run and long-run earningsUnderemployment among youth, women, older workers, immigrants, and minoritiesEffects of underemployment on mental health and physical healthImpact of underemployment on family members, friends, and communitiesMeasurement and tracking of underemployment over timeEffects of underemployment on work attitudes and job performanceDirections for future theoretical and empirical research on underemployment
A comprehensive look at a most timely issue, Underemployment: Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges will inform the work of researchers, scholars, managers, and policy makers dealing with underemployment issues for years to come.
From the reviews:
"As this volume reveals, underutilized skills, too little pay, and too few work hours take their toll on financial, social, and emotional well-being. Editors Maynard (SUNY, New Paltz) and Feldman (Univ. of Georgia) have compiled a set of multidisciplinary articles on the topic of underemployment, authored by international scholars. ... This volume is the most comprehensive work on this important subject. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Business managers, business and social science professors, and upper-division undergraduate and graduate students." (G. E. Kaupins, Choice, Vol. 49 (4), December, 2011)
Underemployment was chosen as one of Choice Magazine's Outstanding Academic Titles of 2011, along with six other Springer titles. "Every year, Choice subject editors single out for recognition the most significant print and electronic works reviewed in Choice during the previous calendar year. Appearing annually in Choice's January issue, this prestigious list of publications reflects the best in scholarly titles and attracts extraordinary attention from the academic library community. The 2011 feature includes 629 titles in 54 disciplines and subsections." (Outstanding Academic Titles, 2011. Choice, v.49, no. 05, January 2012.)
"As this volume reveals, underutilized skills, too little pay, and too few work hours take their toll on financial, social, and emotional well-being. Editors Maynard (SUNY, New Paltz) and Feldman (Univ. of Georgia) have compiled a set of multidisciplinary articles on the topic of underemployment, authored by international scholars. ... This volume is the most comprehensive work on this important subject. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Business managers, business and social science professors, and upper-division undergraduate and graduate students." (G. E. Kaupins, Choice, Vol. 49 (4), December, 2011)
Underemployment was chosen as one of Choice Magazine's Outstanding Academic Titles of 2011, along with six other Springer titles. "Every year, Choice subject editors single out for recognition the most significant print and electronic works reviewed in Choice during the previous calendar year. Appearing annually in Choice's January issue, this prestigious list of publications reflects the best in scholarly titles and attracts extraordinary attention from the academic library community. The 2011 feature includes 629 titles in 54 disciplines and subsections." (Outstanding Academic Titles, 2011. Choice, v.49, no. 05, January 2012.)