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Job gain and loss

The employment implications of eWork relocation are complex. It cannot necessarily be assumed that a job ‘gained’ in one location is necessarily ‘lost’ in another. The EMERGENCE case studies of relocation of office-based forms of eWork from one region to another distinguished two main types of situation in which relocation is considered (Flecker and Kirschenhofer, 2002):

1. organisational change: eg the reorganisation of a group of companies, take-over and amalgamation of companies, establishing or reducing branches, etc.

2. specific, one-off measures: eg creating new or abolishing old activities, serving a new market or withdrawing from an old one, etc.

Mechanism of eWork relocation — two main types each with two possibilities:

1. job expansion: business functions come to be located in more places — precisely where depends upon a mix of regional and company specific factors. This tends to lead to an overall expansion in work, ie job gain in destination regions and job stability, with maybe some job loss, in source regions. Thus, business functions tend to:
   1. decentralise in the case of organisational change

   2. complement existing functions in the case of a specific measure.

2. job reduction: business functions come to be located in fewer, often one place — precisely where depends upon a mix of regional and company specific factors. This tends to lead to an overall reduction of work, ie job loss in source regions, although this may be partially counter-balanced by some job gain in destination regions. Thus, business functions tend to:
   1. concentrate in the case of organisational change

   2. replace existing functions in the case of a specific measure.

Overall job gain and loss arising from eWork relocation

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© 2002, Institute for Employment Studies