The relationship between motivation to work and workers' pay flexibility. The moderation of age

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of motivation to work in explaining workers’ pay flexibility – as measured by their reservation wage ratio – across the lifespan. This is important since pay inflexibility may undermine mature age workers’ retention at the workforce. Design/methodology/approach – Relying on self-determination theory the paper broadens the role of “motivation to work” from the overall work valence an individual attaches to work to the underlying work values (i.e. the perceived value of work for its intrinsic vs extrinsic outcomes) and work motives (i.e. the underlying autonomous vs controlled reasons regulating one’s work participation). The authors conducted hierarchical linear regression analyses on a sample of 1,577 Belgian workers to explore how individuals’ work values and work motives, in addition to work valence, shape workers’ reservation wage ratios across the lifespan. Findings – Results indicate that work valence and holding relative intrinsic work values and relative autonomous work motives are associated with lower reservation wage ratios. Finally, age moderates all three relationships. Whereas the negative impact of work valence and relative autonomous work motives is stronger at older age, the negative impact of relative intrinsic work values is stronger at younger age. Research limitations/implications – Motivational predictors are differently related to reservation wage ratios across the lifespan. Practical implications – By fostering overall work valence and autonomous work motivation practitioners can exert influence on mature age workers’ pay flexibility. Originality/value – This study extends prior research on pay flexibility by focussing on the content of motivation to work (i.e. work values, work motives) and its role across the lifespan.status: publishe

The impact of depression and diabetes mellitus on older workers' functioning

Objective: Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a framework, this study investigates the impact of depression and diabetes mellitus on older workers' functioning (problems with concentration, physical functioning, need for recovery and work and social participation restrictions). The study focuses on how these chronic conditions, in their interaction with the work context, affect older workers' functioning, which may be an important precursor of early retirement. Methods: Older workers (>= 45 years) with depression (n = 127) or diabetes mellitus (n = 107) enrolled in the prospective Maastricht Cohort Study (MCS) were followed between October 2008 and October 2012. Linear, logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed to investigate the effect of these health conditions on workers' functioning compared to a reference group of older workers without a chronic condition (n = 1612). The interaction with participants' working conditions (psychological job demands, decision latitude and strenuous work) was also analysed. Results: Compared to the reference group, depression and diabetes mellitus were (over time) positively related with need for recovery caseness and restrictions in social participation but not with restrictions in work participation. Depression was positively related with concentration problems and need for recovery, whereas diabetes mellitus was negatively related with physical functioning. Finally, the relationship between functioning and depression and diabetes mellitus depends on working conditions. Conclusion: Older workers with depression or diabetes mellitus are vulnerable to losses in specific domains of functioning. The impact on functioning varies across working conditions, providing insight for disease-tailored preventive measures. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved

New ways of fostering sustainable employability in inter-organizational networks: An explorative study to understand their functioning

Purpose Organizations are increasingly joining inter-organizational networks to foster sustainable employability for their employees. The purpose of this study is to examine how these inter-organizational networks function and to identify the factors that foster or hinder the benefits of network membership. Design/ methods/ approach A qualitative approach was adopted, using four focus groups with network coordinators (N = 18) and HR professionals (N = 14), complemented with available written documentation. In total, 14 Dutch inter-organizational networks were represented. Respondents were recruited through purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. Thematic analysis was applied. Findings The results outline the goals, benefits for organizations and employees, as well as contextual factors and drivers that were mentioned by respondents and reasons for starting up inter-organizational networks. Furthermore, shared obstacles and interests, reciprocity, trust, active involvement and commitment, communication, membership fee, virtual connections, and network size were identified as key factors for sustaining the collaborative efforts of network actors. Originality/ value This study provides insights into how a new type of inter-organizational network functions and the specific factors and dynamics that influence its success. Additionally, it illustrates the processes of fostering sustainable employability beyond organizational boundaries and existing HRM practices. Emmerson et al.’s (2011) collaborative governance model is used as a theoretical lens. The results of this research create a refined model that captures the specificity of this new way of inter-organizational collaboration

Using inter-organisational networks to foster workers’ sustainable employability

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A new sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect galactofuran in patients with invasive aspergillosis.

A double-direct sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that uses a rat anti-galactomannan monoclonal antibody as the acceptor and detector antibody was designed. This immunoassay, which detects less than 1 ng of galactomannan per ml, was assessed in a retrospective study with samples from patients with invasive aspergillosis. Serum is more appropriate than urine for use in the search for circulating galactomannan. Antigenemia does not have a transient character. Galactomannan can be detected at least 39 days before the death of the patients

Improving innovative work behavior through transformational leadership:the role of psychological safety and team learning

Deze studie onderzoekt op individueel niveau en teamniveau de mediërende rol van psychologische veiligheid en teamleren in de relatie tussen transformationeel leiderschap (TFL) en innovatief werkgedrag (IWG). Er werd een cross-sectioneel surveyonderzoek uitgevoerd onder medewerkers van drie media- en marketingbedrijven in Nederland, waaraan in totaal 164 medewerkers participeerden, afkomstig uit 39 werkteams. Door middel van multilevel padanalyse werden de data op zowel individueel niveau als teamniveau geanalyseerd. De onderzoeksresultaten tonen aan dat TFL positief samenhangt met IWG en haar dimensies ideeëngeneratie, ideeënpromotie en ideeënimplementatie, op zowel individueel niveau als teamniveau. Op individueel niveau werd sequentiële mediatie door psychologische veiligheid en teamleren vastgesteld in de relatie tussen TFL en ideeënpromotie en ideeënimplementatie. Op teamniveau werd sequentiële mediatie door psychologische veiligheid en teamleren vastgesteld in de relatie tussen TFL en ideeënpromotie. Door het multilevel design en de keuze voor mediatoren die het sociale proces onderliggend aan IWG reflecteren, draagt deze studie bij aan het beter begrijpen van de manier waarop TFL innovatief gedrag in de werkcontext kan bevorderen