Organizational Communication and Burnout Symptoms

Job burnout is a psychological response to work stress. Many studies have been conducted measuring burnout and its causes and consequences. The research into causes of burnout brings up various communication-related constructs, but the relationships with feedback employees receive and communication climate is underexposed. This study investigates these relationships. Data for the current study were collected through a web-based questionnaire held among employees of a Dutch subsidiary of an international financial consultancy firm. The questionnaire included the following clusters of independent variables: (a) background variables, (b) work characteristics, (c) communication, and (d) organizational engagement. Of the four clusters of variables, the organizational engagement variables appeared to be the strongest predictors of job burnout. Still, the communication variables also made an important contribution. Particularly the communication climate and the co-worker social support appeared to be important antecedents of job burnout

Managing work-life policies in the European Workplace: explorations for future research

In this paper we focus on the implementation and management of work-life policies in the workplace and the key role of managers in this context. We review the existing literature, enabling us to set a research agenda focused on explaining managerial attitudes and behaviour toward work-life policies in different organisational and national contexts. The evidence found in several studies suggests that managers often receive mixed messages about the implementation of work/life policies because these policies are not embedded in the workplace; managers are often unaware of such policies and lack training in them, leading to inconsistency in implementation and short-term thinking rather than a long-term perspective that cherishes human capital. Our review points to the need for more research allowing a full understanding of managerial attitudes and behaviour in different organisational and national contexts. Although a few interesting studies do exist, research in the field is still in its infancy. More research is needed, in particular systematic studies with well-developed theoretical frameworks. Keywords Line managers, work-life policies, allowance decisions, European workplac

Working Parents' Use of Work-Life Policies

In this paper, we examine working parent’s use of work-life policies in three financial sector organizations in the Netherlands. We analyse the barriers and support regarding the actual take up of work-life policies by working parents and to what extent this in turn influence their experienced work-life balance. We collected survey data in three Dutch financial sector organizations: one public sector organization and two private firms. All three differ considerably regarding their organizational culture and working practices. Two of the organizations are characterised by a contradictory work-life culture, and one by an approving work-life culture. Findings point out that household characteristics and the work-life culture in the organization determine the take up of work-life policies. With respect to the work-life balance of working parents, organizational culture is an important determinant, no impact is found of the utilization of policies

Herziening van sociale zekerheid: het perspectief van flexwerkers en zelfstandigen

De idee dat individualisering de sociale solidariteit ondermijnt, is wijd verbreid.Niet alleen in het maatschappelijke discours is het bijna een gemeenplaats, ook inde sociologie vindt de stelling brede steun. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn er legio.Robert Putnam (2000) ziet gemeenschapsbesef verminderen ten gevolge van hetverzwakken van het sociale vlechtwerk in zijn inmiddels befaamde Bowling Alone.Zygmunt Baumans notie van Liquid Modernity geeft aan dat sociale institutiesniet langer richtinggevend zijn voor individuele levens, waardoor het individumeer en meer zelf vorm moet geven aan zijn leven, een leven dat fragmenteert enwaarin loyaliteiten en bindingen verzwakken (Bauman, 2001). Ook in de sfeervan de arbeid worden vergelijkbare ideeën verkondigd. Richard Sennett stelt inThe Corrosion of Character (1998) dat de moderne flexibele arbeidsmarkt waarinarbeidsrelaties vluchtig en arbeidsloopbanen zeer divers zijn geworden, de socialebanden en het klassenbesef dat hij een generatie eerder in zijn The Hidden Injuriesof Class (1972) nog tegenkwam, volledig heeft doen verdwijnen. Het gevolg vandergelijke individualiseringsprocessen is volgens velen een vergelijkbare individu‐alisering van de sociale solidariteit, leidend tot afnemende steun voor de moderneverzorgingsstaat (Giddens, 1994; Inglehart, 1997)

Jumlah dan pertumbuhan penduduk asli di Jawa dalam abad kesembilan belas, suatu pandangan lain, khususnya mengenai masa 1800-1850

156 p.; 21 cm

How to Rage Against the Dying of the Light? A Critique of Ritzer's McDonaldization Thesis.

Ritzer presents his 'The McDonalization of Society' as a social critique on the nationalization of modern society. In this article I will analyze the underlying assumptions of his critique. By means of a meta-theoretical analysis, I examine Ritzer's views on modernity and rationality. This analysis reveals that Ritzer holds a rather dualistic view of the relation between man and society. Ritzer does not give much thought to the ambivalence of modernity. I wil further argue that Ritzer uses a resticted idea of rationality. As a result, he can not escape the pessimism which also marked Weber's vision of the future. Ritzer can only offer his reader the hope that an awareness of McDonzalization will unleash a critical attitude towards the inevitable rationalization of the lifeworld. He does not present a well-founded theory of rational behavior, necessary for coping with a McDonzalized society. By introducing Habermas' theory of communicative action, and more specific his idea of rationality, I propose an alternative to Ritzer's hope