Jo Thijssen

HRD tasks of first‐level managers

First‐level managers are increasingly held accountable for the training and development of their team members. In order to explore how this HRD responsibility is executed, HRD officers of 23 innovative companies were interviewed. Delegation of HRD responsibility to first‐level managers turns out to be a feasible option, providing certain conditions are met. Three distinct HRD roles of first‐level managers can be observed: an analytic role, a supportive role and a trainer role.

Organisational Context of Structured On-the-Job Training.

Seven cases, all Dutch organisations, are analysed on the relation between organisation characteristics and types of training on the job on the basis of contingency theory. Effectiveness and efficiency, dictated by a competitive environment, influence decisions regarding internal structure, including the form of the HRD function. Contingency theory predicts that the internal structure, resulting from differentiation of components, mediates between such pressures of the environment and the pressure of the operating core, which tries to perform productively according to norms of rationality. The actions of differentiated components of the internal structure must be coordinated. The tendency to differentiate a separate training function off the job can be at odds with the tendency to bind training activities on the job strictly to the priorities of productive work. However, in this article we propose that this opposition can be overcome when the chosen type of on-the-job training ‘matches’ the type of organisation and that matching types as a rule are more effective.

Predictors of self‐directed learning for low‐qualified employees: a multi‐level analysis

Purpose – This study aims to examine which variables at the level of the individual employee and at the company level are predictors of self-directed learning in low-qualified employees. Methodology – Results were obtained from a sample of 408 low-qualified employees from 35 different companies. The companies were selected from the energy sector, the chemical industry and the food industry. Multilevel analysis was applied to examine which variables are significant predictors of perceived self-directed learning. Findings – At the company level, the economic sector in which the employee is employed in particular played a striking role in the prediction of self-directedness, as did presence of a participatory staff policy. At the level of the individual employee, a proactive personality (a disposition to take personal initiative in a broad range of activities and situations), striving for knowledge work, past learning initiative, task variety and the growth potential of the job were significant predictors of self-directed learning. Originality/value – Research on the predictors of self-directed learning has primarily focused on correlational studies examining the relation between individual variables and level of self-directedness. There is little research available that systematically traces the extent to which individual as well as company factors play a role in level of self-directed learning. Nor is it clear which category of variables should be considered as the most critical. In addition, earlier research on this subject has mainly focused on a higher-qualified group of workers (employees with at least a diploma of secondary education). Factors that are predictors of self-directed learning and their relative weight might differ for certain groups of employees. This issue has hardly been addressed up to now.

Planned Training on the Job: A Typology:

The problem and the solution. What are the different types of planned training on the job? And how do they match with types of intended learning processes? This chapter proposes four models of planned training on the job. Each model is connected to one type of learning process and one corresponding set of roles for trainee and trainer. Types of training objectives and training procedures are discussed per model. Finally, the chapter discusses the implications of the typology for human resource development (HRD) research and practice.

Self-Directedness in Work-Related Learning Processes. Theoretical Perspectives and Development of a Measurement Instrument

This book chapter investigates the concept of self-directedness in work-related learning processes and its relationship to other related constructs such as self-regulated learning, personal agency, proactive personality and personal initiative. It also describes the development of an instrument to measure self-directedness in work-related learning processes (SDL scale) for use with employees having different qualification levels. The SDL instrument is a 14-item scale which measures an individual’s characteristic adaption to steer and take responsibility in diagnosing learning needs and setting goals, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies and evaluating and adjusting the learning process. An exploratory study involving 940 low-qualified and high-qualified employees revealed a unidimensional structure. A second and third study was conducted in a sample of 408 low-qualified employees and in a sample of 787 low-qualified adult learners joining courses in adult education institutions and confirmed the one-factor structure. Discriminant, convergent and cross-cultural validity was also examined. In a fourth study, model fit was compared of the low-qualified and higher-qualified group separately and was found invariant across both samples. In each of the samples, both scales showed satisfactory internal consistency.

The Role of Line Managers in Motivation of Older Workers

This chapter sets out to answer the question as to what extent and how line managers support older workers at work and to what extent their support influences the motivation and productivity of older workers. The role of line managers in the implementation of Human Resource (HR) policies has grown over the years. This role is particularly important in the case of older workers as their situations differ greatly and line managers can tailor HR policies to their individual preferences. The support which line managers provide to older workers has a positive effect on their motivation to continue in work and on their productivity. An important issue is whether line managers are able and willing to support older workers. An overview of relevant factors which impact on line manager’s activities shows that negative stereotypes about older workers have become less salient in recent years. Meanwhile, research shows that the opportunities and support for line managers are important determinants of how they provide actual support for older workers. The implications of these findings are discussed in the concluding section of this chapter.

Betaalde arbeid als verdringer van vrijwilligerswerk? Overbelasting als mogelijke verklaring

Do paid work activities displace volunteering? A potential explanation from role overload theory Recent changes in Dutch society might lead to a shortage of volunteers. On the one hand, the demand for volunteers is increasing: in the social welfare domain because of governmental austerity policies and in other domains such as sports because of the higher supervision intensity of activities. On the other hand, the supply of volunteers is likely to decrease as more and more women and older workers are active in the labor market, which reduces the time that is available for volunteering. Role overload theory would suggest that the increasing labor participation rate of certain categories of workers goes along with a decline of participation in voluntary work. The secondary data analysis shows that various role loads (work, care for children living at home) are associated with differences in participation in voluntary work. However, while a higher number of contractual work hours and hours spent on work-related training are negatively associated with volunteer work, care for children living at home is positively associated with volunteering. These results provide only limited support for role overload theory. Betaalde arbeid als verdringer van vrijwilligerswerk? Overbelasting als mogelijke verklaring De afgelopen jaren hebben zich enkele maatschappelijke veranderingen voorgedaan, die wellicht tot schaarste op de Nederlandse vrijwilligersmarkt zouden kunnen leiden. Enerzijds neemt de vraag naar vrijwilligers toe doordat subsidieregelingen versoberen (bijvoorbeeld in zorg en welzijn) en de begeleidingsintensiteit in bepaalde organisaties stijgt (bijvoorbeeld in sport). Anderzijds neemt het aanbod van vrijwilligers af doordat vrouwen en ouderen meer en langer op de arbeidsmarkt actief zijn, waardoor minder tijd beschikbaar is voor vrijwilligerswerk. In dit artikel wordt aan de hand van de role overload theorie nagegaan of het al dan niet deelnemen aan vrijwilligerswerk van diverse categorieen werknemers samenhangt met de belasting door betaalde arbeid. Uit de secundaire data-analyse blijkt dat verschillen in belasting samenhangen met verschillen in deelname aan vrijwilligerswerk. Terwijl hogere arbeidsbelasting negatief samenhangt met het verrichten van vrijwilligerswerk, hangt zorg voor kinderen thuis positief samen met vrijwilligerswerk. Hierdoor is de steun voor de role overload theorie beperkt.