Little is known about workers’ and students’ perceptions and views of decent work in the African context.
The purpose of this study was to understand the perceived characteristics of decent work and the needs that work is expected to satisfy in Togo, a country in which a significant number of workers experience job insecurity.
Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were carried out with workers in the formal and informal sectors, and college and university students. A thematic consensual qualitative analysis was applied to the interview transcriptions.
The representation of decent work covered four key components: to be considered decent, work should entail some basic conditions, enable one to develop professionalism, and make one feel productive and be a source of pleasure. Moreover, participants mentioned five types of needs that work should meet: vital, psychological, social, busyness and statutory needs. These results indicate the existence of both universal and culture-specific features of decent work.
The study results suggest that career counsellors should take into account counselees’ specific representation of work and the needs work is expected to satisfy. Vocational and career practices should then place greater emphasis on the adequacy between the occupations to which people are oriented and the social and personal representations of decent work.
Accessing decent work is a major issue around the world. In 2002, the International Labour Organization (ILO) advocated for everyone to have the opportunity to work in conditions of freedom, equity, safety and human dignity. Moreover, the challenge of accessing decent work concerns not only employees in the formal economy but also workers in the informal sector, the self-employed and those working at home (Ghai,
The concept of decent work covers many facets, such as employment, social protection, workers’ rights and social dialogue (ILO,
Decent work helps all workers attain a sense of self-respect and dignity, experience freedom and security in the workplace, and (as far as possible) is afforded the opportunity to choose and execute productive, meaningful and fulfilling work that will enable [workers] to construct themselves adequately and without restrictions and make social contributions. (p. 9)
This definition completes the decent work criteria suggested by the ILO with additional and more subjective indicators, such as the opportunity to carry out meaningful, satisfying and socially useful work.
The psychology of working theory (PWT) (Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin,
Based on these assumptions, the PWT postulates that access to decent work is determined by contextual variables, such as marginalisation and socio-economic constraints. In addition, psychosocial variables, such as work volition and career adaptability, are involved in this process. According to the PWT, doing decent work satisfies three basic human needs: survival, social contribution and self-determination (Autin et al.,
Research based on PWT has proliferated over the past five years (e.g. Duffy et al.,
This study addresses the lack of research regarding applying the PWT in the African context and qualitatively investigating the needs that decent work is expected to meet. Our general objective, then, is to understand the perceived characteristics of decent work in Togo, a country in which a large number of workers experience job insecurity. This general objective is divided into two specific objectives: (1) to explore the representations of decent work in Togo and (2) to understand the needs that work is expected to meet in order to be considered decent within the Togolese context. These specific objectives target two key components of the PWT: decent work and its characteristics, and the needs that people can fulfil through decent work.
Togo has a population of 8 million inhabitants, with an annual growth of 2.6%, with 60% of the population being under the age of 25 years (United Nations,
As this research was exploratory in nature, we adopted a qualitative approach through semi-structured individual interviews. This approach is indeed appropriate for obtaining in-depth information to understand real-world problems as experienced by the people directly affected by these problems (Moser & Korstjens,
In total, 29 people participated in the study. The sample comprised 11 women (38%) and 18 men (62%) living in Lomé, the capital of Togo, with a mean age of 34.9 years (standard deviation [SD] = 11.2 years). Twenty-four participants spoke French, two spoke Ewe, two spoke Kotokoli and one spoke Kabye. The sample covered four categories of profiles: (1) six students, including three high school pupils and three university students (
Data collection was carried out by means of purposive sampling, a sampling strategy used in qualitative research to target people who are ‘best placed’ to talk about the study topic (Elo et al.,
The interview guide for workers was divided into five sections: (1) career path up to the current work situation, (2) perception of the current situation, (3) representations of decent work, (4) meaning of work and (5) sociodemographic information. The interview guide for students did not include the first two sections. For the present research, we focussed on the third and fourth sections and more specifically on the answers to the following questions: (1) What characterises decent work for you?, (2) To what extent do you consider that your work is decent?, (3) What functions do work plays in your life? and (4) Basically, why are you working? Through these questions, we were able to collect information on two key components of the PWT: the characteristics of decent work (third interview section, questions 1 and 2) and the needs decent work is expected to satisfy (fourth interview section, questions 3 and 4).
A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke,
The criteria suggested by Morrow (
This study was conducted in conformity with the Swiss 810.30 Federal Act on Research Involving Human Beings (
In line with our objectives, the findings of the consensual thematic analyses are divided into two parts, covering the representation of the components of decent work and the needs that work is expected to satisfy. The general themes, specific themes and categories are presented in
Overview of themes and categories.
General theme | Specific theme | Category |
---|---|---|
A. Representation of decent work | Satisfying basic requirements ( |
Fair compensation Health and safety Adequate work environment Availability of working instruments Respect of legal norms Respect of traditions Appropriate schedule |
Having fun ( |
- | |
Developing professionalism ( |
Learning Developing skills |
|
Feeling productive ( |
- | |
B. Needs that work is expected to satisfy | Vital needs ( |
Daily needs Residence |
Psychological needs ( |
Independence Self-esteem Meaning |
|
Social needs ( |
Social usefulness Contribution to society |
|
Busyness needs ( |
- | |
Statutory needs ( |
- |
Our analyses revealed that the representation of decent work includes four key components, corresponding to four specific themes. To be considered decent, a job must indeed satisfy some basic requirements, allow having fun, allow developing professionalism and inculcate a feeling of being productive.
For 20 interviewees, a job is decent when it meets some basic working requirements and standards. These requirements cover seven categories: a fair compensation, activities not threatening workers’ security and health, an adequate work environment, the availability of working instruments (i.e. equipment and tools), the respect of legal norms, activities respecting traditions and customs, and an appropriate working schedule. In this respect, Participant 1 believed:
‘Decent work is essentially characterised by good working conditions, material conditions, availability of offices that meet standards, acceptable salary conditions to enable the person to be happy, to flourish and to dream; this is the only way a person can work and be efficient.’ (P1, male, jurist, 35 years old)
Participant 7 had similar feelings:
‘… decent work is any work that is carried out respecting the norms and the social laws.’ (P7, female, management controller and accountant, 35 years old)
Regarding working schedule, Participant 6 stated:
‘… our working conditions are good, but we would like to organise our shop better and to have the possibility to avoid returning home late.’ (P6, female, retailer, 39 years old)
In general, students seemed to mainly focus on legal norms and physical security, as emphasised in the following quote:
‘… it is work that does not threaten the physical integrity of the individual.’ (P21, male, student, 20 years)
Employees in the formal and informal sectors tended to focus more on fair compensation.
The second component of the interviewees’ representation of decent work refers to the pleasure that workers should be able to experience when performing their tasks. Five interviewees mentioned this specific theme, including:
‘… decent work is a job we love.’ (P14, male, special education teacher, 35 years old)
‘… decent work is a job that gives us pleasure, satisfies us on all levels, and makes us want to go there.’ (P17, male, school supervisor, 32 years old)
Four participants said that a decent job must enable workers to build their professionalism. The specific theme covers the possibility of learning and training and the opportunity to develop skills. Participant 8 evoked the first category as follows:
‘… decent work is a learned and mastered job.’ (P8, male, welder-sheet metal worker, 34 years old)
The exercise of an activity must then always be preceded not only by a training phase but also by professional actions, as illustrated:
‘… it’s a job that requires serious and determined efforts.’ (P9, male, student, 11 years old)
According to three participants, decent work must enable workers to feel productive. To do so, the efforts invested in work must result in tangible, positive and valued outcomes. This was explained by Participant 7:
‘… decent work can be summed up in productive work … and is characterised by good performance.’ (P7, female, management controller and accountant, 35 years old)
The general theme of needs that the work is supposed to meet was addressed through five specific themes, consisting of five different needs: vital, psychological, social, busyness and statutory needs.
All interviewees stated that work should satisfy vital needs. These needs are divided into two categories: daily necessities (to eat, dress, drink, heal: in short, to take care of oneself) and residential needs (housing). Participant 14 stated, for example:
‘… my work allows me to eat, to take care of myself, to get dressed.’ (P14, male, cleaner, 29 years old)
This element was particularly important for two interviewees whose work did not meet the needs of survival, such as:
‘… work enables me to eat but does not allow me to be housed, to look after me, to get dressed, to take care of myself.’ (P20, woman, executive secretary, 28 years old)
According to 20 interviewees, work must satisfy three categories of psychological needs: independence, self-esteem and meaning. For example, Participant 5 stressed her need for independence:
‘…work brings freedom; through work, you can do what you want, be self-governing and independent.’ (P5, female, designer, 35 years old)
Participant 12 gave an example of how work should increase self-esteem:
‘… work is essential because it is the job that makes the man.’ (P12, male, teacher and translator, 48 years old)
Finally, work is expected to give meaning to life:
‘… work is unavoidable, and I cannot imagine my future without work.’ (P21, male, student, 20 years old)
Social needs are the third type of needs that work is expected to satisfy. These needs were mentioned by 17 participants and divided into two categories. Firstly, work must make it possible to feel useful to others, concretely and in everyday life:
‘… decent work makes it possible to help others.’ (P5, female, designer, 35 years old)
Secondly, decent work should make it possible to feel useful in a broader way, allowing people to feel that they contribute to society. This was stated, for example:
‘… work is important because it enables me […] to participate in the development of my country.’ (P1, male, jurist, 35 years old)
The fourth specific theme refers to the need to be and feel busy, which was mentioned by seven participants. Beyond its contents, work thus serves to provide people with an occupation and prevent idleness, whatever work consists of. In this respect:
‘… work enables me not to be idle.’ (P15, female, human resource [
‘… work enables me to keep myself busy, to make myself useful.’ (P16, male, director of studies, 39 years old)
Finally, six participants mentioned that decent work should also make it possible to assume a valued status in society, to benefit from a certain social recognition or prestige. Participant 3 mentioned, for example:
‘… work enables me to be someone.’ (P3, male, forwarder/cook, 41 years old)
Whereas Participant 5 stressed:
‘… through work, you are respected and considered.’ (P5, female, designer, 35 years old)
The study analyses also indicated that most participants mentioned several representations of decent work and associated several needs with work. For example, Participant 1 expected work to satisfy vital, social and psychological needs:
‘… decent work is a job that enables us to take care of ourselves and our family; it is a work that enables a man to realise his potentials.’ (P1, male, jurist, 35 years old)
Our analyses showed that, in participants’ minds, to be qualified as decent, work should entail some basic conditions, enable one to develop professionalism, make one feel productive and be a source of pleasure. In addition, work should ideally meet five types of needs: vital, psychological, social, busyness and statutory needs.
The study results tend to confirm the statements of the ILO (
Moreover, our findings show that decent work is not limited to certain basic ‘objective’ requirements. Participants added to these requirements other specific themes, such as the opportunity to develop professionalism, feel productive and have fun. This result tends to corroborate the pertinence of completing the definition of decent work with additional psychosocial components (Blustein et al.,
Regarding our second general theme, our results confirm the relevance of the PWT (Duffy et al.,
Busyness is the second need suggested by our participants, which is not addressed in the PWT. Interestingly, the need to be busy and to avoid idleness was evoked in recent research on the meaning of work and more specifically on work purposes (e.g. Fournier et al.,
The results of this study have implications for career counselling and vocational guidance in Togo, which may contribue to the promotion of decent work for all social and occupational strata. According to our findings, these practices should focus on the fit between the occupations suggested to people and the social and personal representations of what defines decent work. This would not only mean taking into account jobs that are valued within the Togolese society but also fostering the enhancement and revalorisation of occupations that are considered indecent or do not meet the needs highlighted in our results. More explicitly, it appears that career counsellors within the Togolese context might play a double role. Firstly, they can relay to decision-makers the information on the perceived and expected characteristics of decent work, which would allow them to set up qualifying and inclusive vocational education and training programmes. Secondly, counsellors should foster adolescents’ and young adults’ career maturity through career education interventions that take into account the characteristics of decent work as a criterion for sound career choices.
Given the importance of work conditions and characteristics providing vital needs, career counsellors should also promote a more attractive, guaranteed minimum inter-professional wage. Moreover, they can be active in the implementation of a universal system of health and safety at work. Furthermore, the strengthening of vocational education and training – as well as its social and economic recognition – can contribute to the promotion of jobs that could meet all the characteristics of decent work beyond basic conditions and the satisfaction of survival needs. Effective and recognised vocational education and training would indeed facilitate access to jobs in which workers could develop their professionalism, feel productive and have fun.
The main limitation of this study concerns the specificities of the context and the population interviewed. Indeed, this research was limited to the city of Lomé, and interviewees did not cover all of the occupational categories of the Togolese society. In that respect, the study results cannot be generalised to the Togolese situation as a whole. For example, the representations of work in rural areas of the country may be different from those shown in our study. Further research is needed to complement this study and provide a more comprehensive portrait of the representations of decent work – and the needs that the work is expected to address – in the Togolese society, with all its complexity and nuances. Further studies could also quantitatively assess decent work, for example, by validating a Togolese version of the Decent Work Scale (Duffy et al.,
This study is amongst the first ones based on the PWT that help researchers understand decent work in the African context and the first to do this in Togo specifically. Although further research is needed to complete this portrait, this study seems to confirm the existence of universal criteria defining what decent work entails and the needs it should meet. It also corroborates the relevance of a psychosocial understanding of decent work, which is not limited to guaranteeing material conditions that make it possible to survive but is also a source of personal and social achievement. Other criteria, however, seem specific to the Togolese context and thus stress that representations of work are culturally situated. The needs of social status and feeling busy are examples of needs that appear to be specifically salient in the Togolese context and that are not necessarily mentioned in other contexts.
The authors are grateful to Kokou A. Atitsogbe, Abdoulaye Ouedraogo and Jérôme Rossier for their contribution to the conception of the interview guide.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
All authors contributed equally to this work.
This research was conducted within the Research for Development (r4d) Programme, financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (grant number IZO8ZO_177295).
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as this could potentially compromise participant privacy.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.