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Knowledge Workers and Knowledge Work

Survey Report

Published:  March 2009

Authors:  Ian Brinkley, Sotiria Theodoropoulou, Michelle Mahdon

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Abstract

A major new survey of the work-lives of 2011 workers aims to analyse the level of 'cognitive complexity' of different jobs - and so get a view of the scale of knowledge work. It finds the UK has a 30-30-40 shaped workforce: about a third of jobs have a high knowledge content, a third have some and about 40 per cent have less knowledge content. In addition, the report argues employers are poorly equipped to weather the recession because they use workers’ skills and talents poorly, tie them up in rules and procedures, and give them little say over how they do their work.