Employability and performance: a comparison of baby boomers and veterans in The Netherlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 927-945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Hennekam

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the baby boomer generation and the veteran generation in the Netherlands perceive their own employability and how this is related to their self-reported job performance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 973 workers in employment aged 45 and over filled out a survey measuring self-perceived employability and self-reported job performance. Data were analyzed by the use of t-tests and multiple regression. Findings Based on the human capital theory, it was found that self-perceived employability was positively related to self-reported job performance. However, in contradiction with our expectations, the veterans perceived their internal and external employability as more positive than the baby boomers. Originality/value This study distinguishes between two generations that are part of the group “older workers”. Moreover, we show that a positive relationship exists between one’s perception of one’s own employability and their self-reported performance.

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 931-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Hennekam

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine self-perceived employability, the factors that influence this, the chances to find a job and retirement preferences of two generations older workers with a low occupational status in the creative industries in the Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data including qualitative elements were obtained from 1,112 older workers registered in a job agency specialized in older workers. Correlations, t-tests and multiple regressions were performed to test the hypotheses, while the open questions were analyzed in a qualitative manner. Findings – The Veteran Generation reported a higher self-rated employability than the Baby Boomer Generation, found a job quicker and also preferred to retire later than the Baby Boomer Generation. In addition, they focussed on aspects that fostered their employability. The Baby Boomers, on the other hand, stressed the importance of some barriers that hindered their employability. The Baby Boomer Generation explained how external factors like negative stereotypes and being too expensive hinder their employability and chances at the labor market. Research limitations/implications – A limitation in the study is the use of a cross-sectional design that fails to capture the influence of the aging process. Practical implications – In the light of the aging population, knowledge about which factors influence the employability and labor participation of older workers is necessary. More insights about the differences and similarities among the various generations in the workforce can help organizations to take important decisions about human resource policies and practices. Originality/value – This study compared the Baby Boomer Generation to the Veteran Generation in a sector that is known for its unstable employment and hazardous working environments.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Hennekam

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on two studies on thriving, the joint experience of vitality and learning, among workers aged 50 or above in the Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach The first study draws on the analysis of 920 surveys and links thriving to personality and employability. The second study is qualitative in nature and is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 interviewees who were all interviewed three times at different points in time as they transitioned from unemployment to employment. Findings The study found that neuroticism, extraversion and consciousness were related to thriving, while openness and agreeableness were not. Second, the study tested the link between thriving and self-perceived employability and found that thriving is positively related to employability. The study looked at how thriving changes when unemployed individuals become employed. The findings suggest that thriving does indeed changes when the environment changes. Originality/value This study contributes to the dispositional perspective on thriving by examining in what way individuals differ from one another in their predisposition to thrive by the use of the five personality traits. In addition, it adds to the literature by looking at thriving during transition periods. It extends previous research and highlights the importance of contextual features.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 592-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amro Alzghoul ◽  
Hamzah Elrehail ◽  
Okechukwu Lawrence Emeagwali ◽  
Mohammad K. AlShboul

Purpose This study aims at providing empirical evidence pertaining to the interaction among authentic leadership, workplace harmony, worker's creativity and performance in the context of telecommunication sector. These research streams remain important issues and of interest as the world continues to migrate toward a knowledge-based economy. Design/methodology/approach Applying structural equation modeling, this study diagnosed the impact of Authentic leadership (AL) on employees (n = 345) in two Jordanian telecommunication firms, specifically, how it shapes workplace climate, creativity and job performance. The study also tests the moderating role of knowledge sharing in the model, as well as the mediating role of workplace climate on the relationship between AL and positive organizational outcomes. Findings The empirical result suggests that AL positively influences workplace climate, creativity and job performance; workplace climate positively influences creativity and job performance; workplace climate mediates the relationship between AL and creativity, and job performance; and knowledge sharing behavior moderates the relationship between AL and workplace climate. Originality/value This study highlights the magnificent power of AL and knowledge sharing, not only in shaping the workplace atmosphere but also in delineating how these variables stimulate creativity and performance among employees. The implications for research and practice are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 986-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Jia ◽  
Dianne Hall ◽  
Zhijun Yan ◽  
Junjiang Liu ◽  
Terry Byrd

Purpose Firms invest much money in information technology (IT) since IT support has been recognized as a critical enabler of employee outcomes. However, the value obtained by organizations and their employees is not always as much as they anticipated because of, at least partly, a poor relationship between IT staff and users. The purpose of this paper is to apply the social capital theory to examine relationship management between IT and business and explores mechanisms through which social capital between IT staff and users affect users’ employee outcomes, including job satisfaction and job performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on social capital theory and past literature, the researchers propose a research model and explore the effect of social capital on knowledge sharing, IT users’ perceived service quality, job satisfaction and ultimately job performance. Based on a survey of 289 respondents, this study applies the partial least square technique to test the research model. Findings Mediation test was performed to explore the effect mechanisms of social capital on employee outcomes, and the results indicate that three dimensions of social capital affect IT users’ job satisfaction and job performance in different approaches. Originality/value This study uses social capital theory to direct how to improve the poor relationship between IT staff and users and provides a useful insight into the mechanisms through which three dimensions of social capital improve users’ job satisfaction and job performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Furnham ◽  
Luke Treglown ◽  
Daria Topic

Purpose The study aims to look at whether trait emotional intelligence (EI) was related to the job performance level of a manager, their immediate team and their peers. Design/methodology/approach This study looked at the relationship between trait EI and performance appraisals, as evaluated by the person themselves, their peers, manager and team. Trait EI facets of 903 employees were compared to evaluated performance appraisals of the different groups four months later. Findings All 15 of the correlations (20 < r < 0.42) between the emotional intelligence facets and self-ratings were significantly positive whilst for managers 10, peers 6 and team only 4 were significant, though all were positive. In line with affective primacy theory, structural equation modelling revealed performance was rated higher by non-manager colleagues when employees exhibited traits associated with positive interpersonal interactions. Originality/value There are very few studies using multi-source ratings to explore the consequences of EI on a manager’s team and peers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-922
Author(s):  
Yung-Shen Yen ◽  
Mei-Chun Chen ◽  
Chun-Hsiung Su

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of social capital on job performance when workers interact with coworkers through social media in organizations.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was conducted, and a sample of 230 workers in Taiwan was investigated.FindingsThis study found that bonding social capital has a greater impact on job performance than bridging social capital for interactions among coworkers through social media in organizations. Moreover, bridging social capital affects job performance more strongly for male workers than for female workers, but bonding social capital affects job performance more strongly for female workers than for male workers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extended social capital theory by adding the mediating effects of job satisfaction and relational satisfaction and the moderating effect of gender into the model.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that company managers need to train workers how to use social media to appropriate their affordances and consider the work team relationship to position adequate strategies for male and female workers.Originality/valueThis study advances the previous knowledge of social capital theory for workers interacting with coworkers through social media in organizations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungjun Kim ◽  
Hacksoo Kim ◽  
Jinkyu Lee

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the antecedents of employees’ perceived employability based on both self-concept and human capital theory. The study tested the relationship between employees’ self-concepts and perceived employability by using organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) and role-breadth self-efficacy. This study also examined the interactive relationship between self-concepts and voluntary leaning behavior, which can be viewed as a means of enhancing human capital. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 301 employees of an organization in Korea. Findings – The results demonstrated that OBSE and its interaction with voluntary learning behavior were positively correlated with perceived employability. Research limitations/implications – The data were cross-sectional. Causal inferences should be made with caution. Originality/value – Unlike previous literature that has relied primarily on human capital theory, this study draws on self-concept theory to show that employee self-concept can be an antecedent of perceived employability. Furthermore, this study argues that employees’ perceived employability may be more fully understood through the lenses of both self-concept and human capital theories.


2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 542-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelaziz Swalhi ◽  
Saloua Zgoulli ◽  
Mahrane Hofaidhllaoui

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose two models: the first examines the impact of different dimension of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) on job performance taking into consideration the mediating role of affective commitment and the second model utilizes the notion of overall justice to predict job performance considering the mediating role of affective commitment. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted with a sample group of 343 employees working within French small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Findings The results support the mediating role of affective commitment between organizational justice and job performance and demonstrate that overall justice has a greater effect on affective commitment than specific dimensions of justice. Originality/value The current study is the first to explore the relationship between JP and OJ, with the latter being measured in more than one focus, in the French SMEs. Therefore, this study contributes to bridge the gap in the understanding of the relationship between OJ and JP in the SMEs. In the French context of SMEs, the authors have stressed the relevance of the perception of organizational justice as a factor affecting the behavior and performance of employees which is then reflected in the success of these firms. In this paper the authors propose two models, with significant implications for researchers, managers, and HR departments. The first examines the impact of different dimension of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) on job performance taking into consideration the mediating role of affective commitment. The second model utilizes the notion of overall justice to predict job performance considering the mediating role of affective commitment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nele De Cuyper ◽  
Coralia Sulea ◽  
Kristien Philippaers ◽  
Gabriel Fischmann ◽  
Dragos Iliescu ◽  
...  

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship perceived employability (the employee's perception about available job opportunities in the external labour market) and performance, accounting for felt job insecurity. Performance is conceptualized broadly in terms of optimal functioning (i.e. in-role performance and helping behaviour) and malfunctioning (i.e. organizational and interpersonal counterproductive work behaviour). Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected among 433 Romanian workers. Findings – The authors hypothesize and demonstrate that perceived employability relates positively to optimal functioning, but less so when workers feel insecure: highly employable workers may be high achievers, but withdraw from the organization when they feel insecure. Furthermore, the authors hypothesize that perceived employability relates positively to malfunctioning, the more so when workers feel insecure. Highly employable workers may care less about organizational norms, particularly when they see reasons to violate these norms: felt job insecurity may be such a reason. However, the interaction between perceived employability and felt job insecurity was not significantly related to malfunctioning. Instead, the authors established a main effect of perceived employability on both organizational and interpersonal counterproductive work behaviour. Originality/value – The paper concludes that perceived employability contributes to optimal functioning when workers feel secure, but it may also bring along some costs in the form of malfunctioning.


2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 866-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique Veld ◽  
Judith Semeijn ◽  
Tinka van Vuuren

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of employees’ willingness to invest in training and development and willingness for mobility on the relationship between human resource (HR) management practices and employability. As such, the study takes an interactionist perspective, building on human capital theory and social exchange theory. Investigating possible interaction effects is highly relevant as little is known yet on how organizational efforts (i.e. policies and activities) and individual effort of employees might strengthen each other in their aim of enhancing employability. Design/methodology/approach – Analyses were based on a sample of 1,346 respondents from 91 primary school locations in the Netherlands. Hypotheses were tested using regression analyses controlling for nesting of the data. Findings – The results indicate that HR activities and employees’ willingness are positively related to employability. Furthermore, only employees’ willingness for mobility strengthens this relationship, not their willingness for training and development. These results indicate that both organizations and employees are responsible for enhancing employability. Practical implications – Both HR activities and employee willingness appear to play a significant and interactive role for enhancing employability. Therefore, explicit cooperation between employee and organization in light of optimizing employability seems warranted. Originality/value – This study extends current research on enhancing employability, by theorizing and testing the combined efforts of organizations and employees from an interactionist perspective.


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