Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

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The changing experience of groups in the workforce
4.9 Over the recent past, there is evidence that the world of work has become less satisfying and
more stressful with most people claiming that they are working harder than previously. In the
East of England and elsewhere, older people are a key and growing part of the labour force.
Evidence from the ‘Working in Britain’ survey 36 suggested growing issues for the over-50s at
work – particularly a feeling of being under pressure but also undervalued. 37
4.10 Women are another critical part of the labour force. The same survey found that women had seen
a greater proportionate increase in working hours than men during the 1990s. Women in their 30s
and 40s have seen the largest increases in the amount of time they spend working in paid jobs
although they are at an age when family responsibilities are at their greatest. 38
Low pay and inequalities in pay
4.11 In the East of England, the Regional Economic Strategy asserts that the Region has a ‘strong economy
supported by a weak skills base’: across much of the Region, ‘the economy is trapped in a spiral of low
value-added, low skills and low wages’. In the main, the problem is not unemployment: 39 the Region
has one of the highest employment rates in the UK. Instead, the challenge is low wage levels and poor
quality employment. For example, in rural parts of the East of England, 400,000 people – close to a
sixth of the population in rural areas – live in low income households but half of these people live in
households where someone is working. 40 The problems of low pay are also found in urban areas where
there are often high concentrations of poorly-paid service jobs in both the public and private sectors.
4.12 Within the Region, the ‘low wage – low skills equilibrium’ is especially problematic in some sectors:
agriculture, health and social care, and tourism have all been identified in these terms and all of these
sectors have above average proportions of low skilled workers. 41 In different ways, all three sectors are
important for the regional economy and they are all cited in the Regional Economic Strategy. 42 But in all
three, there are major challenges relating to the health of the workforce. As well as delivering benefits
for the individuals concerned, their families and communities, addressing these challenges could reduce
absenteeism, increase productivity and – hence – improve regional economic performance.
4.13 Across the Region, the problems of low pay are exacerbated by inequalities in pay. Within the East
of England, the extent of inequality is substantial: evidence suggests that the range in average pay
at a local authority level lies between 76% and 150% of the regional average, 43 and at local and
neighbourhood levels, the differences are greater again.
36 Based on a survey undertaken during 2000 as part of ‘The Future of Work’, a £4m research Programme launched by the Economic and Social
Research Council in October 1998 (see www.leeds.ac.uk/esrcfutureofwork/synopsis).
37 ‘Diversity in Britain’s Labour Market’ part of the ESRC ‘Future of Work’ Programme Seminar Series. Further evidence for declining job satisfaction
among older workers was cited in HDA’s evidence review ‘Work, non-work, job satisfaction and psychological health’ published March 2005.
38 ‘Diversity in Britain’s Labour Market’ part of the ESRC ‘Future of Work’ Programme Seminar Series.
39 There are exceptions within the Region, notably in some of the larger cities and coastal towns where levels of deprivation tend to be acute.
40 Poverty and Social Exclusion in Rural East of England Observatories Social Exclusion Partnership Report, 2004.
41 East of England 2004 Labour Market Assessment: Overview Report Prepared for EEDA by Step Ahead Research.
42 A Shared Vision: The Regional Economic Strategy for the East of England EEDA, 2004 page 104.
43 Health and Social Care and Sustainable Development in the East of England Centre for Public Services and the Nuffield Institute for Health,
2004 page 38.