An increase in labour market insecurity, the diminution of collectivist institutions such as award structures, and the introduction of more individualised employment regulation (such as Australian Workplace Agreements) under the Workplace Relations Act has resulted in some employers seeking to utilise individualised employee relations that promise increased fl exibility and productivity by rest...

Purpose – To examine the introduction of role-redesign in the NHS and highlight implications for employment relations. Design/methodology/approach – A 12-month independent evaluation (2003-2004) of a role redesign initiative in the NHS is reported. The study followed a developmental, case-study design and included secondary data analysis, semi-structured interviews and observations at five case...

This article examines worker-client relationships in hairstyling. Data is drawn from interviews with 15 hourly-paid and 32 selfemployed hairstylists and a self-administered survey. Relations of employment are found to be central to the deployment of emotional labour. Self-employed owner-operators are highly dependent on clients, rely on deep-acting, enact favours, and are prone to emotional bre...