ESADE Business School and Randstad will analyse the relationship between work quality and economic growth

Randstad and ESADE Business School have reached an agreement to investigate the concept of work quality, measure its evolution and analyse the ways in which it is reflected in the social, economic and industrial fabric of Spain. The objective of this research is to determine whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between work quality and wealth creation. This hypothesis, not yet tested by any studies, is vitally important to decision-making in the face of the structural changes brought about by the economic crisis in Spain.

As a company that aspires to shape the labour market, Randstad is committed to cultivating knowledge about variables that interfere with the work environment. The Randstad Research Institute was created to analyse the various social and economic factors that influence the market and the management of people within organisations. The results of this research will be presented in various talks and reports throughout 2014.

The first ESADE-Randstad study will be coordinated by Carlos Obeso, Director of the Institute for Labour Studies, and Carlos Cobos, Director of the Randstad Research Institute. It will consist of three phases over the course of five months. In the first phase, variables that contribute to the concept of work quality will be analysed and a study framework will be established for fieldwork in the second phase. In the second quarter of 2014, the results and conclusions of the study will be presented in a report entitled "Evolution of Work Quality in Spain: A Comparative Analysis".

This first study will constitute a major leap forward in research on the quality of work. This line of research essentially began in 2003 with the publication of a Randstad report entitled Calidad del trabajo en la Europa de los Quince ["Quality of work in the 15-member European Union"], which identified the strengths and weaknesses of work quality in Spain as compared to the other EU countries. Changes in the global economy and the Spanish labour market over the past 10 years have prompted ESADE and Randstad to resume this highly relevant line of research.