Tijdschrift voor HRM - Volume 24, Issue 3, 2021

In March 2020 a lockdown was announced due to the Covid-19 outbreak. As a result, most employees were asked to work from home. Shortly after the lockdown, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 314 workers. This questionnaire was about happiness at work experienced before the outbreak of Covid-19 and during the (full or partial) lockdown. This provided information about the influence of Covid-19 and the associated working from home on employee happiness at work. This study examines the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and a number of other factors on people’s happiness at work. In short, it can be stated that people in the Netherlands rate their happiness at work as more than satisfactory. In the period of Covid-19, however, the average happiness at work rate decreased. Both personal and work-related factors influence happiness at work. Respondents’ mental health is a major predictor of happiness at work. Work-related factors that influence happiness at work are: autonomy, competence, relatedness and social support from the supervisor. Also, social environment influences happiness at work during the Covid-19 crisis. Employees without a partner appeared to be most vulnerable. This has implications for managers and Human Resource Managers within organizations in order to effectively facilitate these groups of employees.

For many people, the experience of daily work has changed a lot during the COVID-19 crisis. Suddenly, people found themselves sitting at home and interacting mainly online. The fun has been taken out of our jobs, partly because there’s much less direct contact with colleagues and clients. Understandably, many people also worry more and this has a clear impact on their work. What can organisations do to make sure their employees preserve their energy, enthusiasm and focus? The answer to that question can be found in stimulating positive and proactive work behaviour. In this article, the authors explain how the innovative approach of Playful Work Design helps employees stay energetic and enthusiastic, even if the work they are doing is temporarily less appealing.

Labor market discrimination limits the opportunities of minoritized groups on the labor market. Despite increasing research into labor market discrimination, a shared picture among researchers and policy makers about effective interventions to mitigate labor market discrimination is lacking. This Delphi study aims to come to a shared picture about the most effective interventions to limit labor market discrimination according to nineteen (scientific) experts in the field of discrimination and inclusion in recruitment and selection. Interventions that were judged predominantly positive related to: 1) objectifying the selection procedure via de-identification of CVs, structured interviewing, and selection based on objective criteria; 2) changing and adhering to the social norm of non-discrimination; 3) increasing awareness of stereotypes and prejudices in combination with offering a perspective for action; and 4) long-term contact with the minoritized group through internships. More information about the candidate and short-term contact by means of, for example, speed dates was judged ineffective. Based on the results of the Delphi study, several recommendations are made to practice to reduce labor market discrimination during the recruitment and selection process.

The benefits of employer branding for the attraction and retention of personnel have been repeatedly confirmed in the HR literature. However, most studies focus on solely one perspective on employer branding as well as the ‘ideal’ situation: having a positive employer brand in combination with positive product image. This study aims to provide a holistic understanding of the role of employer branding within organizations that suffer from a generally negative product image. We conducted a case study within the tobacco industry that includes interviews on three perspectives on employer branding: the external (N=21), internal (N=8), and organizational perspective (N=3). The key findings are aligned with cognitive dissonance theory and the theory of reasoned action. The employer brand may help organizations that suffer from a negative product image to address cognitive dissonance of (potential) employees as well as the influence of social norms by actively promoting attractive employment attributes (e.g., high salary, job rotation, innovation). Alignment between the external and internal employer brand, boosting the organization’s credibility, could also be of help. Taking such approach, employer branding may allow to convince (potential) employees to become or remain employed at the organization – despite the generally negative image of their products.