The new workplace: change at work in Ireland

This paper examines new forms of work organization in Ireland, their incidence, shape and origins. Using data from a recently conducted national workplace survey it is timely on two counts: it provides for the first time reliable data on key dimensions of work reorganization. Previous research findings, which have relied on company listings for their sampling frames, have been of questionable statistical provenance. Second, from this more reliable statistical base, the paper seeks to question the popularly held contention that the radical shift in fortunes enjoyed by the Irish economy in recent years is, in no small measure, due to workplace innovation. In addition, the paper examines the factors associated with new work practices. Three variables stand out as exercising particularly robust effects: establishments in 'high-tech' sectors of the economy, financial services and competitive strategies that give emphasis to product and service customization. Finally, the paper attempts to locate patterns of workplace change in Ireland within the wider international literature.