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.     

Associations between perceived employability,employee well-being,and its contribution to organizational success: a matter of psychological contracts?

We investigated interactions between perceived employability and employees' perceptions about psychological contract obligations made by the employer in relation to life and job satisfaction, self-rated performance, and turnover intention. We hypothesized that perceived employability relates positively to job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and self-rated performance and negatively to turnover intention under the condition of many promises. Conversely, perceived employability relates negatively to job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and self-rated performance and positively to turnover intention under the condition of few promises. Analyses using a sample of 463 workers from seven Belgian organizations showed that perceived employability was positively related to all outcomes except job satisfaction. The number of promises was positively related to job and life satisfaction, and to self-rated performance, and negatively to turnover intention. Contradictory to our expectations, with the exception of turnover intention, the relationships between perceived employability and the outcomes were relatively stronger and positive under the condition of few promises compared with many promises.     

The role of temporal focus,dispositional employability,and training on the perceived internal career prospects of talents

Abstract

In this paper, we study employability in the group of talented employees. We explore how employees’ temporal focus affects their dispositional employability and how dispositional employability influences their perceived internal career prospects. We also examine the moderating role of training perceived as developmental on the relationship between dispositional employability and perceived internal career prospects. Upon examination of these relationships within an organization that has a closed talent management approach, we find support for the hypothesized mediating and moderating relationships. Present and future focus were positively related to talents’ dispositional employability, which in turn increased their perception of career prospects in the current company. The latter relationship was stronger among talents who perceived that they had received training for more important positions than those who did not. The results advanced current knowledge of antecedents and outcomes of employability in the specific group of talents and shed light on the organizational practices that may help with talent retention.     

Still feeling employable with growing age? Exploring the moderating effects of developmental HR practices and country-level unemployment rates in the age – employability relationship

Abstract

A compelling issue for organizations and societies at large is to ensure external employability of the workforce across workers’ entire work-life span. Using the frameworks of age norms, stereotyping and age meta-stereotypes, we investigate whether (a) age is negatively related to perceived external employability; and (b) the age-employability link is moderated by HR developmental practices (HRDPs) and unemployment rate. We argue that being aware of stereotypes and age norms in organizations, and holding also meta-stereotypes about their group, older workers perceive themselves as less externally employable. However, the context –HRDPs that one has experienced, and the country unemployment rate – would act as buffers. Using data from a large-scale survey from over 9000 individuals in 30 institutionally diverse countries, we found that the negative relationship between age and perceived external employability was significant across all countries. In addition, at the individual level, we found that HRDPs acted as a buffer for this negative relationship, such that the effect was less pronounced for individuals who have experienced more HRDPs during their working life. At the country level, the hypothesized moderating effect of unemployment rate was not observed. Limitations, future research directions, as well as practical implications of the study are discussed.     

Associations between workers' health,and non-standard hours and insecurity: the case of home care workers in Ontario,Canada

This article examines associations between home care workers' health, and non-standard hours and insecurity. Health refers to symptoms of stress and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), non-standard hours refer to part-time and casual hours, and insecurity refers to job and employability insecurity. Data come from our 2002 survey of 532 home care workers (nurses, therapists and personal support workers) in a medium-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Path analysis regression results for the conceptual model show that (1) part-time and casual hours and job insecurity are positively and significantly associated with symptoms of stress, (2) the associations between part-time and casual hours and MSDs are mediated by symptoms of stress, and (3) job and employability insecurity are directly associated with MSDs. Results provide evidence that non-standard hours and insecurity must be addressed in order to improve home care workers' health. We show the detrimental effects of non-standard hours and insecurity on workers' health, and the results have implications for employers, human resource managers, trade unionists and government policy-makers.     

Employee development and voluntary turnover: testing the employability paradox

The employability paradox is a concern among employers. It states that development activities enhancing employees' employability also increase the risk for employee turnover. This study examined this paradox and probed the relationship between six development activities and voluntary turnover mediated by perceived employability. We tested both a turnover‐stimulating path via perceived external employability (i.e. perceived job alternatives with other employers) and a retention path via perceived internal employability (i.e. perceived job alternatives with the current employer) by using two‐wave longitudinal data from 588 employees. The results put the turnover risk into perspective: only upward job transition positively influenced turnover via perceived external employability. Also, the retention path via perceived internal employability was not supported: several development activities were positively related with perceived internal employability, but perceived internal employability did not influence turnover. We did, however, find a direct retention effect of skill utilisation. Overall, the results downplay the employability paradox.     

谈高职院校学生就业能力的培养

从就业角度,就业能力是劳动者在一个既定的劳动力市场上成功从事某种工作的潜力。在教育层面上对就业能力的理解要把握好专业能力与就业能力、知识传授与技能训练、综合素质与一技之长三种关系。以培养学生就业能力为重心,深化教学模式改革,从传统的办学观念向现代教育理念转变,从以学科理论知识为中心向以培养学生就业能力为中心转变,从规模发展向内涵建设转变,这是提升高职院校学生就业能力培养水平的根本途径。     

就业能力对农民工城市居留意愿的影响——以上海市为例

就业是民生之本,提升就业能力可为改善农民工的城市生存发展处境提供基础性条件,进而影响其城市居留意愿。本文基于对上海市1026份农民工的问卷调查,应用Logistic回归分析,考察这一群体就业能力因素对于其城市长期居留意愿的影响。研究发现,就业能力的五个核心指标中教育程度、就业服务享有、社会网络以及职业类型显著影响农民工的城市居留意愿,而工会参与因素影响不显著;传统变量中只有婚姻状况通过显著性检验。研究显示,适恰的就业能力支持政策将既有助于农民工,尤其是新生代农民工的城市职业发展,也有利于提高其留城意愿、促进我国持续稳定的城市化。     

Gender differences in the effect of downward influence strategies on perceived stress and general-health: The mediating role of organizational justice

This study examined the effects of supervisor’s downward influence strategies (DIS) on subordinates’ perceived stress and general-health. The influencing effects of DIS were also analyzed in the light of the mediating effects of organizational justice dimensions, namely, distributive justice (DJ), procedural justice (PJ) and interactional justice (IJ). Responses were collected from three organizations through survey method (Males, N = 91; females, N = 74). Gender differences were observed in the perceptions of DIS which affected perceived stress and general-health conditions of both male and female employees. Further, the results revealed that supervisor’s task-oriented DIS (e.g., negative sanctions) increase perceived stress and negative health conditions in both genders. Supervisor’s people-oriented DIS (e.g., ingratiation) lowered perceived stress and triggered botheration-free existence in the employees. The mediation analysis of justice dimensions indicated that, in the case of males, IJ and PJ positively mediate people-oriented DIS effects on stress and general health. However, in females, supervisor’s ingratiation and positive sanctions helped in ameliorating stress through their positive PJ perceptions. Strong indirect effects of supervisor’s task-oriented strategy (e.g., rationality) were observed on male’s stress and general-health through IJ. On the other hand, supervisor’s rationality and assertiveness reduced female employees’ perceived stress through their PJ and DJ perceptions, respectively.     

Reactions to unjust dismissal and third-party dispute resolution: A justice framework

Little previous research has examined why dismissed workers view their discharge as unjust and how they respond to third-party dispute resolution interventions. This exploratory field study relied upon a justice framework to understand complainant motivations for filing unjust dismissal disputes and their reactions to a voluntary conciliation program. Analysis of archival and interview data suggested that procedural justice principles dominated both motivations for filing claims and reactions to third-party intervention. These findings were consistent with previous justice and labor relations research. Implications for future research, management practice, and third-party dispute resolution are discussed.     

The difference a manager can make: organizational justice and knowledge worker commitment

The quality of the employment relationship is argued to be central to knowledge workers' commitment, which in turn supports knowledge creation. Given the high levels of discretion enjoyed by knowledge workers, managers' decisions over work distribution, content and resources become more critical for commitment and knowledge creation. However, little research has explored how justice perceptions shape the quality of the employment relationship and the consequences for commitment. Using a sample of 429 R&D workers from across six science and technology-based firms this paper explores the three-way interaction of procedural and interactional justice with the psychological contract to predict knowledge worker commitment. We found that when employees simultaneously perceived high levels of procedural and interactional justice this moderated the relationship between psychological contract breach and knowledge worker commitment. Furthermore, where there was contract breach, positive perceptions of procedural justice moderated the relationship with commitment. However, in the context of contract fulfilment, low perceived levels of interactional justice predicted lower comparative levels of commitment, regardless of the level of procedural justice.

The results suggest that the perceived quality of the relationship between knowledge workers and their manager can make a positive difference in the context of breach of the psychological contract and this in turn can help maintain levels of commitment important for knowledge creation.     

Employees' perceptions of HR investment and their efforts to remain internally employable: testing the exchange-based mechanisms of the ‘new psychological contract’

This study investigates the relationship between perceived investment in employee development (PIED) and the internal employability efforts that such perceptions are assumed to influence under the terms of the ‘new psychological contract’. A cross-sectional survey among 238 employees in a Norwegian IT and management consulting firm provides support that PIED relates positively to employees' openness to develop themselves and adapt to changing work requirements (‘internal employability orientation’) and their active pursuit of new competencies and career trajectories within the organization (‘internal employability activities’). However, our findings challenge widely held claims that investment in employee development elicits these responses by way of the reciprocal mechanisms of a social exchange relationship. While PIED is found to relate positively to employees' perceptions of a social exchange relationship with their organization, these positive exchange experiences are not supported to influence internal employability outcomes. Our findings do support, however, that PIED relates negatively to perceived economic exchange relationships that in turn undermine internal employability orientations. Suggestions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Boundary conditions for turnover intentions: exploratory evidence from China,Jordan, Turkey,and the United States

Over the past decade, employability has been presented by its advocates as the solution to employment uncertainty, and by its critics as a management rhetoric possessing little relevance to the experiences of most workers. This article suggests that while employability has failed to develop into a key research area, a deeper probing of its message is warranted. In particular, it is suggested that employability may have resonance with employees as workers rather than as employees of their immediate employing organization. This demands a slightly different approach to studying employability than some other related phenomena such as employee commitment, which has resonance only in relation to the employing organization. In adopting a social identity approach, the significance of the employability message is shown to lie not only in employees' willingness to disassociate from their existing work groups and pursue individual mobility, but also in its capacity to undermine workers' collective responses to grievances and unwanted organizational changes. A future research agenda is presented which highlights the need to address recent attempts to develop employability expectations among graduate career entrants, and for a closer critical engagement with management writings that attempt to justify the unnecessary espousal of the self-development message.     

Better practices in managing layoffs

This article presents eight case studies that illustrate “better practices” in how layoffs are managed in organizations. These examples incorporate such policies and programs as early notification of layoffs, provisions for severance pay and extended benefits, education and retraining for displaced workers, outplacement assistance, clear and direct communication of layoff information, and support services for “survivors” of layoffs. These examples highlight the benefits of collaboration among downsizing businesses, public sector organizations, and unions in helping laid-off employees adjust to unemployment and obtain satisfactory reemployment.     

Perception of organization's value support and perceived employability: insights from self-determination theory

Perceived employability (PE; i.e. the worker's perception about available job opportunities) is portrayed as the upcoming resource for workers and organizations. However, organizations might particularly want to stimulate perceptions of job opportunities on the internal labor market (i.e. internal PE). In contrast, they may be hesitant in stimulating perceptions of job opportunities on the external labor market (i.e. external PE), as this might foster workers' voluntary turnover. The contextual influences adding to these different types of PE are relatively unknown. Building upon self-determination theory, we argue that the organization's support of intrinsic (e.g. personal growth) and extrinsic (e.g. status) values may play a critical role. In line with expectations, the results reveal a positive association of the perceived organization's support of intrinsic work values and a negative association of the perceived extrinsic value support with internal PE, both in terms of a similar job (i.e. internal lateral PE) and a better job (i.e. internal upward PE). Unexpectedly, perceived organization's support of extrinsic values did not relate negatively to external PE. These results show that employers can invest in the workers' employability without disadvantaging the organization. To arrive at a flexible workforce, the support of intrinsic values is of key importance.     

Exploring justice judgment patterns in Asia: a four country multi-group latent class analysis

We explore workers’ justice judgment patterns to understand how they use information to assess fair treatment at work. Justice judgment patterns are the unique set of information that individuals draw upon and use when evaluating the overall fairness of an entity. Data from four samples of workers from Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and China were analyzed using a multi-group latent class analysis. Results suggest four classes of justice judgment processes, three of which represent different patterns of heuristic processing. Comprehensive processors use a wide range of information when making justice judgments, while minimalist processors consider a limited range of information. Reward-focused processors focus on distributive justice cues and treatment-focused processors specifically attend to interpersonal justice cues while neglecting distributive justice cues. The latent class structure shared conceptual meaning across countries but the patterns had different rates of representation. Findings suggest that individuals do not always use complete information when assessing how fairly they are treated at work. Many appear to use heuristics that emphasize minimizing information processing, instrumental outcomes, or more relational outcomes. Results and implications are discussed.     

Mediating role of perceived supervisor support in the relationship between job autonomy and mental health: moderating role of value–means fit

Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study investigates the relationship between job autonomy and mental health and the mediating role of perceived supervisor support (PSS) in that relationship. The study also examines whether employees’ work values moderate the relationships between job autonomy and PSS and mental health. Although it is well known that job autonomy has close relationships with mental health, we know little about the roles of PSS and employees’ values in these relationships. Using data from a nationally representative survey, this study found that PSS mediated the relationship between job autonomy and mental health. Furthermore, intrinsic work values positively moderated the relationships of job autonomy with PSS and mental health, whereas extrinsic work values negatively moderated these relationships. These findings support the idea of value–means fit. The findings provide important implications, beyond SDT, for how employees’ mental health can be improved and which employees benefit more from job autonomy.     

Supporting the productivity and wellbeing of remote workers: Lessons from COVID-19

We examine the survey responses of 278 individuals who transitioned from the workplace to working from home (WFH) as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic to understand how individuals’ attainment of productivity in work and meaning in life are affected by WFH. We also assess their perceived stress and health challenges experienced since WFH. On average, workers perceive that productivity and meaning changed in opposite directions with the shift to WFH—productivity increased while the meaning derived from daily activities decreased. Stress was reduced while health problems increased. By investigating these changes, we identify important common sources of support and friction associated with remote work that affect multiple dimensions of work and life. For example, personal fortitude is an important source of support, and the intrusion of work into life is an important friction. Our findings lead to concrete recommendations for both organizational leaders and workers in setting key priorities for supporting remote work.     

可雇佣性能力导向下的管理人员开发

管理人员是企业的核心员工,企业管理人员的开发一直是企业人力资源开发及管理工作的重点。不同层级的企业管理人员有不同的可雇佣性能力开发路径。基层管理人员重技术培训,高层管理人员重反思和自省,中层管理人员的开发最为丰富和全面。