Gedrag & Organisatie - Volume 23, Issue 3, 2010

The influence of working at non-standard working hours on the work-home situation

M.L.M. van Hooff, M.C. Bakhuys Roozeboom, E.M.M. de Vroome & P.G.W. Smulders, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 23, September 2010, nr. 3, pp. 175-193.

The present study was designed to map the causal relationships between non-standard working hours and work-home interference (WHI) and home-work interference (HWI). To this purpose, a longitudinal full-panel design was employed. Using such a design, we examined both the causal effects of non-standard working hours on WHI /HWI and the causal effects of WHI /HWI on non-standard working hours. We also investigated the moderating effect of gender in these relationships.

Data were collected in two waves (2002 and 2004) among 337 Dutch employees and self-employed persons who lived together with a partner and had at least one child living in the household. We included evening work and weekend work as types of non-standard working hours. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling.

Results showed that, among women with children, evening work was related to elevated levels of WHI and HWI two years later. A comparable relationship for men with children was not found. A possible explanation for this finding is that for women working at non-standard hours appears to cause WHI and HWI, as working at non-standard hours interferes with their responsibilities at home, which they are still more often accountable for than men.

Furthermore, WHI turned out to be related to an increase in evening work and weekend work two years later for both men and women. A possible explanation for this finding is that workers try to reduce WHI by means of working at non-standard hours.

Longitudinal study on the determinants and consequences of presenteeism

E.M.M. de Vroome, P.G.W. Smulders & I.L.D. Houtman, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 23, September 2010, nr. 3, pp. 194-212.

In a longitudinal cross-lagged study, the determinants and consequences were examined of presenteeism (going to work despite feeling unhealthy). All variables were measured with questionnaires in 2002 and in 2004 among a representative Dutch sample (N = 653), and these data were individually and longitudinally matched. In 2002 as well as in 2004, approximately 60% reported presenteeism. In this study, no effects of job demands were confirmed. Emotional exhaustion was found to be an important determinant of later sickness absence and later presenteeism, and sickness absence also had a direct effect on later presenteeism. However, the relationship between presenteeism and sickness absence was not found to be reciprocal. This implies that emotional exhaustion lies at the base of both sickness absence and presenteeism, and emotional exhaustion may serve as an important target to reduce sickness absence as well as presenteeism.

A new perspective on role-player training in assessment centres

Eveline Schollaert & Filip Lievens, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 23, September 2010, nr. 3, pp. 213-231.

The most recent assessment centre guidelines emphasize that exercises should be designed to evoke a substantial amount of relevant behaviour (International Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines, 2009). However, no empirical evidence exists of how one can manage this. This study aims to fill this gap by suggesting that role-player training should be extended via the use of 'prompts' to evoke behaviour. Prompts are standardized cues that a role-player consistently mentions in an AC exercise across candidates to elicit behaviours related to specific job-related dimensions. In the present study, role players and candidates were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions. In the first condition, the role players (N = 9) received no prompt training (117 candidates). In the second condition, the role players (N = 10) received a training with prompts (116 candidates). Results reveal that role-players are able to use prompts after attending training with prompts. When role-players use prompts, candidates also have favourable perceptions of the job-relatedness, two-way communication, and warmth of the assessment centre exercises. In addition, however, the inter-rater reliability of assessors was not positively affected by the use of prompts. A possible explanation is that assessors did not acknowledge that prompts had been used.

Assessing people for work-related purposes: Diversity, morality and subjectivity

M.Ph. Born, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 23, September 2010, nr. 3, pp. 232-256.

This paper deals with the issue of suitability of the assessment process for an ethnoculturally heterogeneous pool of candidates and investigates whether this process helps organizations in their wish to create a diverse workforce. To what extent do integrity and moral values play a role in this issue? Moral disengagement forms a potential explanation for the fact that blatant rejection of ethnic minority candidates is a big taboo but that this nevertheless still happens. To which degree do regular methods of selection contribute to accurate procedures for a heterogeneous candidate pool and to diversity at work? In comparison to the sole use of cognitive tests, measuring the full arsenal of relevant capabilities, knowledge and skills reduces score differences between ethnic groups, while retaining selection utility. Finally, self-reported personality does not always provide a good representation of personality characteristics of ethnic-minority candidates. Transparent rating and decision making facilitates correct recruitment and selection towards a diverse work force.

Werving en selectie is van oudsher een belangrijk proces binnen organisaties. Een goed werving- en selectiebeleid bepaalt niet alleen de kwaliteit van de instroom van goede medewerkers, maar zet ook de bakens voor een goede doorstroming en een goed personeelsbeleid in organisaties. Onder invloed van recente technologische, maatschappelijke en demografische ontwikkelingen zijn er diverse nieuwe uitdagingen binnen het domein van de werving en selectie.