Claudia M. Van der Heijde

Employability and the psychological contract in European ICT sector SMEs

This article explores the employability of information and communication technology (ICT) professionals from the perspective of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The first stage of analysis, based on over 100 interviews with managers of ICT supplier companies in seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the UK), showed most SMEs to have a generally ad hoc approach to managing the employability of their ICT professionals. Assessment and development plans were used primarily to keep skills current to business needs; however, the more developed northern European markets showed greater awareness of the ‘high commitment’ benefits of a more sophisticated approach towards career management (e.g. through mentoring or career planning). A second stage of analysis based only on UK interviews builds on this to propose a model of positive employer influence on psychological contracts through career and employability management practices.

Employability and Self-Regulation in Contemporary Careers

As they have become increasingly boundaryless, contemporary careers are often depicted as ones wherein workers are employable, proactive, and self-regulative. Reorganization and technological innovations are only some of the developments that contemporary careers face. An often agreed upon definition of employability is: being able to gain and maintain work, both within and across organizations. The employability concept is characterized for its shifts in meaning throughout time, depending on changing labor market conditions and government policies. In addition, several scientific contributions emphasize different aspects of employability. The concept of self-regulation can bridge the gap between several employability theories, in the sense that different employability approaches (different contexts) are all results-oriented, that a performance orientation and a learning orientation are both relevant and that they assume the deployment of strategies and the removing of obstacles to get to the result. This chapter deals with employability approaches in some frequently occurring work situations: the unemployment context, the organizational context, and the reorganizational context. Furthermore, practical implications for career counseling, and guidance for contemporary careers—wherein employability and career self-management fulfill important roles—are provided.

Supervisor-subordinate age dissimilarity and performance ratings: the buffering effects of supervisory relationship and practice.

Using 394 pairs of employees and their immediate supervisors working in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in three northern European countries, this study examined the effect of workplace moderators on the link between relational demography and supervisor ratings of performance. Directional age differences between superior and subordinate (i.e., status incongruence caused when the supervisor is older or younger than his/her subordinate) and non-directional age differences were used as predictors of supervisor ratings of occupational expertise. The quality of the supervisor-subordinate relationship and the existence of positive age-related supervisory practices were examined as moderators of this relationship. The results provide no support for a relationship between directional age differences and age-related stereotyping by supervisors in ratings of performance, neither for the effects of age-related supervisory practices. However, high quality supervisor-subordinate relationships did moderate the effects of age dissimilarity on supervisory ratings. The implications of these findings for performance appraisal methodologies and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Employability and job performance as links in the relationship between mentoring receipt and career success: a study in SMEs

This study developed and tested a model that posited employability and job performance as intervening variables in the relationship between receipt of mentoring and career success. Participants were 207 information technology (IT) professionals employed in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in three European countries. Mentoring receipt was related to both employability and job performance. Employability mediated the relationship of mentoring receipt with objective and subjective career success, as well as its relationship with job performance. The findings indicate that receipt of mentoring is connected to job performance, a link that has hitherto lacked empirical evidence. In addition, they suggest a pivotal role for employability in the relationship of mentoring receipt with job performance and career success. Overall, this study helps unveil the mechanism through which mentoring affects career outcomes. Moreover, it shows that the benefits of mentoring hold outside the context of large corporations.

Employability and Social Innovation: The Importance of and Interplay between Transformational Leadership and Personality

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to draw attention to employability being an important social innovation that potentially thrives with transformational leadership, partly depending on certain personal characteristics such as managerial role and personality. Methodology/Approach The study was carried out among pairs of employees (314) and immediate supervisors (334) working at a large Dutch company that produces building materials. We made use of Linear Regression and Structural Equation Modeling to test our hypothesis and explore our assumptions with regard to the research model. Findings We have found that transformational leadership is positively related to employee and supervisor ratings of employability. Furthermore, there is some indication that transformational leadership enhances employability in some situations, demonstrating differences between categories of workers with and without a managerial function. Moreover, it appeared that after controlling for personality, only the positive relationship between transformational leadership and supervisor ratings of employability, remained for the workers not having a managerial function. Research Limitations/Implications Our study design comprised a cross-sectional approach and therefore future longitudinal research is necessary to investigate causal relationships between transformational leadership, personality, and employability. Practical Implications In terms of individual career development practices, our outcomes should be translated into increased attention for aligning leadership style to meet the requirements of all types of employees across the life-span. Social Implications By providing more insight into the increased importance of transformational leadership for certain groups of workers, this contribution is intended to come up with opportunities for increasing the employability for different types of workers. Originality/Value This chapter draws attention to the fact that transformational leadership can be a useful tool for stimulating employability of workers. Worker characteristics such as personality, work role (e.g., managerial role) and other life-span factors always have to be taken into account for a customized approach, given the uniqueness of each and every employee.

Self-regulation for the promotion of student health. Traffic lights: the development of a tailored web-based instrument providing immediate personalized feedback

Background and objective: University students report more health complaints and a poorer quality of life than their working peers. The majority of these students do not seek contact with health professionals. Health problems result not only from risk behaviors (e.g. drugs use) but also from various stress-related factors, necessitating the investigation of several factors of students’ lives. The Internet provides a suitable environment for developing an accessible screening and self-regulation instrument for student health promotion. Design and methods: A web questionnaire was created that included reliable measurement scales (e.g. health, health (risk) behavior, quality of life, satisfaction with study), calculation modules with cut-off points and personalized feedback. The instrument included traffic lights, personal scores for comparison with peer scores, advice and referral. The validity, reliability, feasibility and effectiveness of the instrument were demonstrated using three studies (n = 334; n = 267; n = 4009). Results: The hypothesized research model, including the direct and indirect effects of the self-regulation of health via quality of life and health (risk) behaviors was an appropriate fit to the data (Structural Equation Modeling), explaining a substantial amount of variance (67%) and thus demonstrating predictive validity. Students reported intentions to change their behavior, actual behavioral changes and quality of life improvements up to a year after initially participating in a study. Conclusions: This instrument: (1) detects health complaints at an individual level and group level (e.g. study program); (2) encourages students to change their health (risk) behavior via personalized feedback; (3) provides students with a fairly complete and elaborate overview of their health-related quality of life and (4) is the first instrument providing a very high level of tailoring. Self-regulation (both self-assessment and personalized feedback) can fulfill an important role in addressing health problems and risks at an early stage and without the immediate need for professional intervention.

De webagenda: speelruimte om toegankelijkheid van de praktijk te verhogen

SamenvattingSteeds meer huisartsenpraktijken in Nederland (27%) hebben een webagenda als onderdeel van hun e-healthaanbod om een effectievere en efficiëntere zorg te leveren.1,2 Een webagenda kan de toegankelijkheid van de huisartsenpraktijk verbeteren,3 maar wordt nog weinig gebruikt.4-6 Mogelijke voordelen zijn: afname van no-shows, betere telefonische bereikbaarheid van de praktijk en meer keuzevrijheid en tijdsbesparing voor de patiënt. Doktersassistentes kunnen tijd besteden aan andere taken. Er zijn ook nadelen: het triageproces kan er onder lijden, de privacy en veiligheid van de data is een zorg en het kost tijd en geld om een webagenda te ontwikkelen en implementeren.