Returning to the workforce after retiring: a job demands,job control,social support perspective on job satisfaction

Despite growing interest in the aging of the workforce, few investigations have explored a key aspect of diversity among older workers: whether or not they consider themselves retired. Using a sample of workers ages 50 and older from the National Study of the Changing Workforce (2008), we apply career development theory and the job demand–control(–support) framework to investigate potential differences between working retirees (i.e. employed older adults 50+ who consider themselves retired) and working non-retirees (i.e. employed older adults 50+ who do not consider themselves retired) in terms of their job characteristics (i.e. demands, control, support) and how these job characteristics are related to job satisfaction. We find that working retirees report lower job demands and higher social support, and that there is limited evidence for the buffering hypothesis. Implications for researchers and employers are discussed.     

Human Resource Approaches to Retirement: Gatekeeping,Improvising, Orchestrating,and Partnering

This qualitative study examines the patterns in human resource (HR) approaches to retirement across 24 organizations to explore innovative practices as well as gain understanding of the differences in how firms are dealing with major changes surrounding retirement and workforce demographics. Using organizational adaptation theory and carrying out a thorough analysis of in‐depth interviews with HR managers, we identify three dimensions that differentiate organizations’ approaches to retirement: (1) actions and interactions of key stakeholders in the retirement process; (2) HR information gathering focus regarding workforce issues; and (3) HR posture around changes needed in retirement policies and practices. Based on organizational profiles on these dimensions, four distinct approaches to retirement emerge and are described in some detail: gatekeeping, improvising, orchestrating, and partnering. These different approaches also provide insight into how organizations differ in their adaptation to change. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Feminisation of the medical profession: a strategic HRM dilemma? The effects of family‐friendly HR practices on female doctors' contracted working hours

Health‐care institutions face a strategic HR dilemma. They need to attract female doctors from a tight, feminised labour market by offering family‐friendly HR practices (e.g. part‐time employment), often based on collective labour agreements, while trying to contain their labour costs by employing as many full‐timers as possible. In this study, we investigate which family‐friendly arrangements serve health‐care institutions' HR strategies best in terms of retaining female doctors' working hours. Data collected in 2008 from 1,070 Dutch female doctors indicate that offering family‐friendly HR practices such as flexible working hours (in contrast to part‐time working) minimise the strategic HR dilemma, since it offers scope for improving the work–life balance without encouraging female doctors to work less hours. However, the effect of family‐friendly arrangements on working hours is dependent on the family‐friendly workforce philosophy: only with proper support for career goals do women using family‐friendly arrangements work more hours.     

Going Off Script: How Managers Make Sense of the Ending of Their Careers

The extant retirement literature primarily focuses on factors that influence the decision to retire and the generic retirement decision‐making process. While these approaches have extended our understanding of retirement decision‐making, we propose a sensemaking perspective that orients our attention towards the subjective meanings people attach to the factors that trigger the retirement decision, rather than simply the factors themselves. Accordingly, we see the retirement decision‐making process as bounded by situational constraints and rooted in identity work. Based on interviews with 48 retired Canadian executives and managers, we use thematic narrative analysis to identify six types of end‐of‐career narratives. Drawing on these narratives, we present a model of identity work that distinguishes between retirement decision‐making factors that are perceived as identity opportunities and those that are perceived as identity threats. Our findings contribute to scholarly understanding of subjective meanings and identity considerations in the process of ending one's career.     

How the impact of HR practices on employee well‐being and performance changes with age

With changing retirement ages and an aging workforce, interest is growing on the potential contribution of relevant bundles of HR practices in eliciting well‐being and performance among aging workers. Drawing on theories on lifespan development and self‐regulation, we distinguished two bundles of HR practices: development HR practices that help individual workers reach higher levels of functioning (e.g. training), and maintenance HR practices that help individual workers maintain their current levels of functioning in the face of new challenges (e.g. performance appraisal). Further, based on lifespan theories, we expected and found that the association between development HR practices and well‐being (i.e. job satisfaction, organisational commitment and organisational fairness) weakens, and that the associations between maintenance HR practices and well‐being, and between development HR practices and employee performance, strengthen with age. In addition, a third bundle of ‘job enrichment’ HR practices emerged that elicited higher job performance among aging workers.     

Transitioning ageing workers from paid to unpaid work in non‐profits

Resource constraints and retention issues associated with an ageing workforce have challenged non‐profit institutions. Human resource management professionals in these organisations can stem the loss of organisational learning by developing strong social exchanges that encourage employees to pursue post‐retirement volunteering. This paper developed a conceptual model that described how ageing workers may evaluate and connect the quality of the relationships they build at work through social exchanges to their fit with the organisation, workgroup and vocation. Alignment of fit may create an intention to volunteer upon retirement, although we argue that this will be strengthened if the organisation is perceived to value volunteering activities. This value is also shaped through social exchange and might include attitudes toward the extra‐role activities of both employees and volunteers in the current organisation.     

Organisational consequences of asymmetries in task dependence: the moderating role of HR practices

This study integrates recent advances in interdependence theory with the literature on commitment‐based HR practices. New research on interdependence theory suggests that differences, or asymmetries, in task dependence among organisational members can cause interests to diverge. Prior research has shown that this can negatively affect interpersonal relations, individual outcomes and team processes. However, these insights gained on the dyadic, individual and team levels of analysis have not yet been explored at the organisational level and, until now, no research had yet connected these advances in interdependence theory to the field of HRM research. Hence, the current study investigates (a) whether asymmetries in task dependence do (or do not) matter at the organisational level and affect organisational effectiveness, (b) why this relationship may work by assessing a key mediator, namely, trust climate and (c) if and how these relationships can be altered by commitment‐based HR practices. Our moderated‐mediation model was tested and fully supported by a multi‐source data set of 8,390 employees from 67 organisations.     

Graduates' career aspirations and individual characteristics

Using the basic distinction between organisational and post‐organisational career orientation, this article examines preferences of business school graduates for different types of career fields and systematic differences between people with different career orientations in terms of behavioural characteristics as well as personality traits. The results show that business school graduates clearly distinguish between organisational and post‐organisational career fields. Graduates with post‐organisational career aspirations display attributes of high flexibility, leadership motivation, selfpromotion/self‐assertion, self‐monitoring, networking and less self‐consciousness. For individuals preferring an organisational career pattern, inverse relationships apply. Some implications of the findings for HR practice are discussed.     

Age diversity management and organisational outcomes: The role of diversity perspectives

Several macro‐level and meso‐level factors have led to unprecedented proportions of aged employees in organisations, resulting in higher levels of age diversity. Little is known about which age diversity practices and programmes are effective in which types of organisations for which outcomes. Derived from social exchange theory, this paper proposes and tests positive relationships between age diversity practices and organisational outcomes and work‐life programmes and organisational outcomes. Derived from contingency theory, it also proposes and tests for a moderating effect of diversity perspective (fairness and discrimination vs. synergy) on the two main relationships. Data were collected from 248 medium to large‐sized for‐profit organisations. The results partially support both main effect hypotheses and one moderating effect hypothesis. The findings suggest different organisational outcomes for age diversity practices and work‐life programmes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

HR practices for enhancing sustainable employability: implementation,use, and outcomes

Abstract

With the aging of the workforce, organizations need to maintain or improve the sustainable employability of their workforce throughout their working life. This raises the question which HR practices increase workers’ sustainable employability at work. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which organizations implement HR practices for enhancing sustainable employability in terms of workers’ health, motivation, and skills and knowledge from the employer’s perspective. In total, 312 owners/directors or HR managers (response rate 13%) filled out the questionnaire. The findings showed that most organizations implemented a range of HR practices to improve the health, motivation, and skills and knowledge of their employees. Perceived effectiveness of these practices were dependent on the number of HR practices that were implemented, employees’ use of and participation in designing these practices. Implementation of HR practices was also related to higher satisfaction with the current employability of employees, and to increased productivity of the organization. Implications for practice and examples of HR practices to enhance sustainable employability are given.     

The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–organisation and person–job fit

Human resource management (HRM) practices can play an important role in matching people with the organisations and the jobs they work in. However, little is known about how employees perceive and interpret HR practices and whether or how these perceptions relate to perceptions of person–organisation (P–O) and person–job (P–J) fit. This study aims to bridge strategic HRM and person–environment fit literature by examining possible mediating and moderating roles of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between employee perceptions of a broad set of HR practices and employee attitudes and behaviours. Results from a sample of 412 employees support direct relationships as well as a mediating and moderating role of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between perceived HR practices and employee outcomes.     

Thriving and career outcomes: The roles of achievement orientation and resilience

This research investigated how and under what conditions thriving at work affects career attitudes and behaviors. Using an experimental design (n = 174), Study 1 found that the effects of thriving on career satisfaction, career commitment, and career engagement were mediated by career resilience. The positive effect of thriving on career resilience and the resilience‐mediated effects of thriving on career satisfaction, commitment, and engagement were stronger when achievement orientation was higher. Study 2 verified these findings with a survey of another sample of 296 employees. These studies offer important insights for human resource managers and career consultants or practitioners regarding what may enhance employees' career outcomes. Our findings imply that thriving‐enabling practices might be beneficial among highly achievement‐oriented employees.     

The Effect of International Work Experience on the Career Success of Expatriates: A Comparison of Assigned and Self‐Initiated Expatriates

This article is one of the first to examine the long‐term effect of expatriation on careers, comparing the impact of international work experience on the career success of assigned and self‐initiated expatriates. Our sample consists of employees who were working abroad in 2004, and we examine their subjective and objective career success eight years later. Despite the “dark side of international careers” arguments associated with the repatriation literature, we find that the long‐term impacts of international work experience on career success are generally positive and mainly unrelated to whether the work experience was acquired as an assigned or self‐initiated expatriate. Companies recruit employees with international experience externally but are much more likely to offer further internal jobs to assigned expatriates. This reinforces the need for further research and for companies to see all those with international experience as important elements of the workforce. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

HR practices and commitment to change: an employee‐level analysis

This article explores the relationship between HR practices and commitment to change in three health service organisations in Ireland. The research focuses on employee views of HR practices and resulting employee‐level consequences including commitment to change, perceptions of the industrial relations climate and the psychological contract, and work–life balance. The findings indicate that the HR practices valued by employees, and which are related to a range of employee‐related consequences, are very different from the lists of sophisticated HR practices that appear in the high performance literature. The research suggests that organisations need to ensure that attention is still paid to the basics of the employment relationship and that these are not lost in the rush to introduce more sophisticated approaches to managing employees.     

Training at IBM's human resource service center: linking people,technology, and HR processes

IBM's Human Resource Service Center (HRSC) delivers centralized human resource operational support to over 500,000 IBM employees and retirees (including spouses and dependents). Its success is attributed to a skilled workforce focused on technology and end‐to‐end HR program support. Technology allows the Center to handle high volumes of customer requests while offering self‐service options and tiered support. Training is key to delivering quality service center support. This article describes the HRSC's methods to train customer service representatives and program specialists as well as the training challenges. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Unravelling the complexities of high commitment: an employee‐level analysis

Research within HRM has faced criticism for failing to focus adequately on employee experiences of HR practice. In particular, the ‘high‐commitment’ models fail to recognise employee perspectives on HRM, the complexities of the commitment construct and the possibility that organisations configure HR systems in various ways. This paper explores the impact of employee attitudes towards HR practices on affective, continuance and normative commitment, and intention to leave in three organisational contexts. The findings suggest that different HR systems can yield different attitudes towards HR practices, which in turn can impact on different forms of commitment and levels of intention to leave. The findings provide insights into the ways in which organisations manage the commitment process through HR practices and the response by employees to these interventions.     

It's All About CareerSKILLS: Effectiveness of a Career Development Intervention for Young Employees

The aim of our study was to investigate the effectiveness of the CareerSKILLS program, a career development intervention based on career competencies and the JOBS methodology, which aims to stimulate career self‐management and well‐being of young employees. In a quasi‐randomized control trial, the effects of the program were tested in a homogeneous sample of young employees with intermediate vocational education (N_intervention = 112, N_{non‐intervention} = 61) and in a heterogeneous sample of employees from a special reintegration program (N_intervention = 71, N_{non‐intervention} = 41). Our results support the effectiveness of the intervention: participants of the CareerSKILLS program, versus a control group, showed increases in six career competencies (reflection of motivation, reflection on qualities, networking, self‐profiling, work exploration, and career control), self‐efficacy, resilience against setbacks, career‐related behaviors, perceived employability, and work engagement. These results provide empirical support for the effectiveness of the CareerSKILLS program. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

HR practices and affective organisational commitment: (when) does HR differentiation pay off?

We argue that differentiating HR practices across employees leads employees to compare their situation with colleagues to assess the favourability of HR practice outcomes (e.g. money). These perceptions can be negative (i.e. feeling set back), neutral (i.e. feeling treated the same) or positive (i.e. feeling advantaged). Data from 13,639 Belgian employees showed that perceived favourability of HR practice outcomes is positively associated with affective organisational commitment, but the relationship is attenuated at positive levels. Thus, differentiation may be a double‐edged sword as the losses among employees feeling set back may temper, neutralise or even outweigh the benefits among those feeling advantaged. The relationships found were especially salient for work practices (e.g. autonomy) compared with economic practices (e.g. bonuses). Developmental practices were found to be least suited for differentiation across employees. No evidence of a moderating role of employees’ preference for equality (vs. differentiation) was found.     

Age‐related differences in the relations between individualised HRM and organisational performance: a large‐scale employer survey

The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between individualised HRM practices and several measures of organisational performance, including the moderating role of employee age in these relationships. A large‐scale representative study among 4,591 organisations in the Netherlands showed support for the relationships between individualised HR practices with organisational performance. Employee age moderated the relationships between the use of individualised practices and sickness absence and turnover, such that organisations with a high percentage of older workers benefited from work schedule practices, and organisations with high percentage of younger workers benefited from development practices.     

Unwrapping the HRM bundle: HR system design in an Irish power utility

This article considers the way in which new HR systems were designed for three power stations within Ireland. The study provides insights into how choices are made about which practices are included in or excluded from the HR bundle and considers the factors that can lead to or prevent the successful implementation of new HR systems. The research suggests that all HR practices are not necessarily of equal importance in the bundle that comprises an HR system. Instead, it may be useful to view such a system as comprising both core and ancillary HR practices and as dependent on the existence of appropriate HR processes if it is to operate successfully. In addition, the study suggests that new HR systems may fail because insufficient attention is paid to the impact of ‘deadly combinations’ (Becker et al., 1997 Becker, B., Huselid, M., Pickus, P. and Spratt, M. 1997. HR as a Source of Shareholder Value. Human Resource Management, 36(1): 389–447.  [Google Scholar]) and that changing an existing system will require the elimination of old practices before new practices can be introduced successfully.