"The goal of this book is to examine experiences of industrialized economies in dealing with changing work relationships and discuss policy implications of creating such work relationships. The thesis of the book is that non-standard employment forms in restructuring economies affected all workers, but particularly females and the youth. Research shows both positive and negative effects of changing work relationships on workers, though there is no conclusive result whether one or the other affect is stronger.

This book differs from others in its comprehensiveness of the coverage of work relationships, referring to part-time, temporary/casual, telework and self-employment without employees; in its examination of a variety of variables including gender, age, race/ethnicity/immigrant status, ability, education level, and economic class; in the analysis of the topic in relation with the economic restructuring; and in its initiative in collaboration of researchers from a variety of backgrounds and regions of the world that have expertise on changing work relationships."--Jacket.