Workplace Revolution In California
Only one in three holds a traditional job, study finds
Kenneth Howe, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, September 6, 1999
The nature of work is undergoing a profound and, at times, wrenching,
transformation, according to a major new study of the California workplace
being released today.
The research, conducted by the University of California at San Francisco
and the Field Institute, shows a strong economy and high levels of
employment in California, but it also reveals that many are being left behind.
Traditional employment used to mean holding a single, full-time job
year-round. But only about 33 percent of the state's labor force meets this
definition, according to the 1999 California Work and Health Survey.
Instead, vast numbers of Californians have part-time jobs, telecommute or
are employed as independent contractors.
``California is on the leading edge of change in the workforce,'' said
Laura Trupin, a senior researcher at UC San Francisco.
Trupin and her colleagues defined a traditional job with great specificity:
one in which a person held one, full-time job for the full year; worked the
day shift as a permanent employee; was paid by the firm for which the work
was done; and did not work from home or as an independent contractor.
But two-thirds of the 2,044 California adults surveyed did not fit this
definition. The biggest group that did not were the 23 percent who did not
work a standard daytime shift. Others did not work a full year or were
independent contractors.
Moreover, only 22 percent of those surveyed worked at traditional jobs that
they had held for at least three years.
``This is a very mobile workforce,'' said Trupin, who said that 40 percent
of workers, traditional or not, said they had been at their jobs less than
three years.
Nancy Price is an example of the new worker. Downsized out of a manager's
job in December 1997, Price, 30, began working at home on her hobby,
designing Web pages.
Now it is a career that includes creating Web sites for others and
operating several of her own with a partner in Ohio.
``I never want to go back to work for anyone else again,'' said Price.
``The chance to be with my three kids is something I'd never be able to do
at an office.''
The changing nature of employment has been creeping up on the nation for
some time, said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for the Continuing
Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto.
Back in 1882, when the Knights of Labor first marched down Broadway in New
York City to urge support for a workers holiday, it was mostly men in the
workforce.
But starting in the 1970s, women began entering the workforce in greater
numbers, which changed the patterns of employment.
``With that influx of women, parents did not want to work the same shifts
and began seeking alternatives for family reasons,'' said Levy.
At the same time, he said, many types of businesses started stretching
their hours of operation to accommodate the time constraints of the
two-income family. Malls stayed open longer, Saturday banking was born and
copy shops, grocery stores and restaurants stayed open 24 hours.
And all of these businesses then needed employees who would work the new
hours.
If the traditional job was being phased out three decades ago, its death
knell sounded in the 1990s with the recession, corporate takeovers and
downsizings.
By some statistical measures, these changes have benefited the workforce.
The unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, is the lowest in a decade, while
incomes are rising, though not always matching the rate of inflation.
Despite the strong labor market, the new survey also showed that a
substantial portion of California's workforce lives with job insecurity and
others have been left behind economically.
A fifth of the workers surveyed said they had lost a job in the past three
years, while 1 in 10 has been displaced in just the past 12 months.
Moreover, about 1 in 8 live at or near poverty level. Worse yet, many of
those in need are already working full time.
The study's authors defined living in poverty in high-cost California as
having an income of less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level. For
a family of four that would be a household income of $21,000.
The study disclosed that 13 percent of those surveyed lived at or below
this poverty level and that 44 percent of that group did so despite working
full time.
``Living here is like the American dream and the American nightmare,'' said
Rob Davis. ``It's a beautiful place to live, but you can't make it without
a lot of money.''
The 24-year-old earns $9.50 an hour patrolling Bank of America's branch at
Market and Van Ness in San Francisco.
``If you're a stock broker, you're all right, but otherwise it's ridiculous.''
The new, less-secure job paradigm takes its toll not only on the poor but
on those who become ill.
The study found that of the Californians who were out of work in both 1998
and 1999, some 12 percent reported a worsening of their health. That
compared with only 5 percent of employed people who said their health
deteriorated.
And in a ``circling the drain'' phenomenon, people in poor health were
twice as likely to lose their jobs as employees in good health.
``It's clear that in this fast-paced economy, some are riding a high wave
while others are being dashed on the rocks,'' said Trupin.
NEW FACE OF LABOR
..
-- Only one-third of California workers have a traditional 9-to-5 job
Many are temps
Some work at home
Others work part-time
..
-- While the economy is strong, some people are falling
through the cracks
Unemployment is at 4.2 percent
In California, 13 percent live in poverty
Almost half of the poor are workingfull-time jobs
..
-- Health and employment are closely connected
Those who lose
their jobs get sick more than those who stay employed
People who get sick lose their jobs more than those who
stay healthy
..
1999 California Work and Health Survey
©1999 San Francisco Chronicle Page A1
