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Socially Useless Jobs

Author

Listed:
  • Dur, Robert

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • van Lent, Max

    (Leiden University)

Abstract

It has been claimed that many workers in modern economies think that their job is socially useless, i.e. that it makes no or a negative contribution to society. However, the evidence so far is mainly anecdotal. We use a representative dataset comprising 100,000 workers from 47 countries at four points in time. We find that approximately 8% of workers perceive their job as socially useless, while another 17% are doubtful about the usefulness of their job. There are sizeable differences between countries, sectors, occupations, and age groups, but no trend over time. A vast majority of workers cares about holding a socially useful job and we find that they suffer when they consider their job useless. We also explore possible causes of socially useless jobs, including bad management, strict job protection legislation, harmful economic activities, labor hoarding, and division of labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Dur, Robert & van Lent, Max, 2018. "Socially Useless Jobs," IZA Discussion Papers 11927, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11927
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    Cited by:

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    2. Maria Cotofan & Lea Cassar & Robert Dur & Stephan Meier, 2023. "Macroeconomic Conditions When Young Shape Job Preferences for Life," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(2), pages 467-473, March.
    3. Kesternich, Iris & Schumacher, Heiner & Siflinger, Bettina & Schwarz, Stefan, 2021. "Money or meaning? Labor supply responses to work meaning of employed and unemployed individuals," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Prendergast, Canice, 2023. "Organizational design for making a difference," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    5. Newlands, Gemma & Lutz, Christoph, 2024. "Mapping the prestige and social value of occupations in the digital economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    6. Vogel, Dominik & Willems, Jurgen, 2020. "The Effects of Making Public Service Employees Aware of Their Prosocial and Societal Impact: A Microintervention study," SocArXiv xatcn, Center for Open Science.
    7. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke, 2020. "What makes work meaningful and why economists should care about it," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Tobias Wolf & Maria Metzing & Richard E. Lucas, 2022. "Experienced Well-Being and Labor Market Status: The Role of Pleasure and Meaning," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 691-721, September.
    9. Burbano, Vanessa & Padilla, Nicolas & Meier, Stephan, 2020. "Gender Differences in Preferences for Meaning at Work," IZA Discussion Papers 13053, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Reggiani, Tommaso G. & Rilke, Rainer Michael, 2020. "When Too Good Is Too Much: Social Incentives and Job Selection," IZA Discussion Papers 12905, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Bohnenberger, Katharina, 2022. "Is it a green or brown job? A Taxonomy of Sustainable Employment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    12. Gerold, Stefanie & Hoffmann, Maja & Aigner, Ernest, 2023. "Towards a critical understanding of work in ecological economics: A postwork perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    13. Wolfe, Marcus T. & Patel, Pankaj C., 2019. "Exploring the differences in perceptions of work importance and job usefulness to society between self-employed and employed individuals," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 12(C).
    14. Diane Pelly, 2022. "Worker well-being and quit intentions: is measuring job satisfaction enough?," Working Papers 202204, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    15. Md. Anwar Hossain & Crispin H. V. Cooper, 2021. "Spatial network analysis as a tool for measuring change in accessibility over time: Limits of transport investment as a driver for UK regional development," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 2124-2148, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sin industries; job protection legislation; management quality; job search; job satisfaction; work motivation; labor hoarding; division of labor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets
    • J8 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics

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