Examination of the extent to which the employment relationship is becoming more individualistic : 9783656590866 : 24 Feb 2014 : Essay from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Personnel and Organisation, grade: 72, University of Hertfordshire, course: Industrial Relations. Theory and Practice, language: English, abstract: Trade union membership has been steadily declining since 1979. According to the Trade Union Membership Statistics (BIS, 2013), a growth of around 59,000 to 6.5 million trade union members in year 2012 was recorded. Nevertheless, in the year 2011, for the first time since the 1940s, trade union membership has decreased below six million. Accompanied by this development, is the rising trend of individualism in the relationship between employers and employees. The workforce these days is characterised by diverse individual interests, higher expectations concerning the extent of determination in the employment relationship and accordingly strives for direct s