Mens & Maatschappij - Volume 99, Issue 1, 2024

Hybrid working and the employee engagement. An analysis based on self-determination theory

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the practical and academic attention for hybrid work, which refers to work at the premises of the employer is combined with working elsewhere. Previous research into the consequences of hybrid work for workers lead to mixed results. The present study aims to provide some clarity by analyzing how hybrid work relates to engagement of employees. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), it is argued that hybrid work may affect engagement via the (lack of) fulfillment of the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Using data from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) 2021on 31,000 employees in 36 countries, three hypotheses were tested. The analyzes show that in comparison with completely working at the premises of the employer, employees having hybrid working arrangements experience higher levels of autonomy and competence, which in turn contributes to their engagement. In contrast to the expectation, their level of relatedness is also higher. Another notable finding is that the outcomes of hybrid working are similar to other forms of telework.

Bridging minds and borders: the effects of educational attainment on anti-immigration attitudes in Western and Eastern Europe

Increasing immigration flows into the European Union over the past two decades have created tensions between Eastern and Western European member states over how best to address this problem. This article examines and compares the effect of educational attainment on anti-immigration attitudes in Eastern and Western European countries from 2002 to 2022. It also evaluates whether and how this effect is mediated by cultural and economic threat perceptions in the Eastern and Western European contexts. Using the Hayes process multiple moderated mediation regression model, we find an overall effect of educational attainment on anti-immigration attitudes, which is partially mediated by economic and cultural threat perceptions in both regions. The strength of these mediating effects varies by region and is smaller for both types of perceived threats in the context of Eastern Europe. These results highlight the importance of taking regional differences into account when examining the relationship between educational attainment and anti-immigrant attitudes in the European context, as well as for understanding and developing immigration policy in the EU.

Public procurement and the quality of labour in the Netherlands

In labour-intensive sectors, public procurement’s focus on price competition and efficiency jeopardises job quality. This study shows procurement’s negative impacts in all job quality dimensions in four sectors in the Netherlands. Employing an actor-institutionalist lens, the research investigates these problems by analysing several actor positions, interactions, and orientations. The findings show a ‘wicked problem’ in which the stakeholders in procurement do not share the same problem definition and experience a limited and unclear scope of actions. However, the article shows that actors have opportunities to enhance job quality in the context of procurement at the national, sectoral and local levels.

Work practices and employee vitality

This study investigates the relationship between the work practices and employee vitality. In the literature, there are two opposing views regarding this relationship. On the one hand, there is the expectation that these work practices are a resource contributing to the vitality of employees, while on the other hand, it is expected that these practices come with increased demands through which vitality decreases. Based on theoretical insights derived from Job-Demands Resources (JD-R) research, attribution theory, and social exchange theory, two contrasting hypotheses are formulated. In addition, two mediation hypotheses are formulated: a positive relationship between work practices and vitality is expected to be mediated by recognition by the organization and a negative one by work pressure. These hypotheses are tested with data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015 of 34,399 employees from 35 European countries. The results show that there is a positive relationship between work practices and vitality and that this relationship is mediated by the recognition that employees experience.