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Do paid work activities displace volunteering? A potential explanation from role overload theoryRecent changes in Dutch society might lead to a shortage of volunteers. On the one hand, the demand for volunteers is increasing: in the social welfare domain because of governmental austerity policies and in other domains such as sports because of the higher supervision intensity of activities. On the other hand, the supply of volunteers is likely to decrease as more and more women and older workers are active in the labor market, which reduces the time that is available for volunteering. Role overload theory would suggest that the increasing labor participation rate of certain categories of workers goes along with a decline of participation in voluntary work. The secondary data analysis shows that various role loads (work, care for children living at home) are associated with differences in participation in voluntary work. However, while a higher number of contractual work hours and hours spent on work-related training are negatively associated with volunteer work, care for children living at home is positively associated with volunteering. These results provide only limited support for role overload theory.Betaalde arbeid als verdringer van vrijwilligerswerk? Overbelasting als mogelijke verklaringDe afgelopen jaren hebben zich enkele maatschappelijke veranderingen voorgedaan, die wellicht tot schaarste op de Nederlandse vrijwilligersmarkt zouden kunnen leiden. Enerzijds neemt de vraag naar vrijwilligers toe doordat subsidieregelingen versoberen (bijvoorbeeld in zorg en welzijn) en de begeleidingsintensiteit in bepaalde organisaties stijgt (bijvoorbeeld in sport). Anderzijds neemt het aanbod van vrijwilligers af doordat vrouwen en ouderen meer en langer op de arbeidsmarkt actief zijn, waardoor minder tijd beschikbaar is voor vrijwilligerswerk. In dit artikel wordt aan de hand van de role overload theorie nagegaan of het al dan niet deelnemen aan vrijwilligerswerk van diverse categorieën werknemers samenhangt met de belasting door betaalde arbeid. Uit de secundaire data-analyse blijkt dat verschillen in belasting samenhangen met verschillen in deelname aan vrijwilligerswerk. Terwijl hogere arbeidsbelasting negatief samenhangt met het verrichten van vrijwilligerswerk, hangt zorg voor kinderen thuis positief samen met vrijwilligerswerk. Hierdoor is de steun voor de role overload theorie beperkt.

The reason behind this study concerns amendments to Dutch legislation in the period 1990-2005, which were aimed at stimulating active reintegration behaviour in employers and employees. These have far-reaching consequences for what is expected from those directly involved in sick-leave situations. The main focus is on the reintegration behaviour of the sick employee, of the manager who is responsible for the guidance process and of the occupational physician supporting them: In situations of long-term sick leave, to what extent does the reintegration behaviour of a sick employee, the direct manager and the occupational physician involved in the micro situation correspond to the behaviour that is intended by legislation and regulations and what are the key factors and mechanisms that play a role in the differences that occur? In a multiple-case study with a longitudinal setup and a grounded approach, reintegration development is analysed in eleven cases from two healthcare institutions. On the basis of the analyses of the differences in reintegration behaviour the following conclusions have been drawn. In a literal sense, the reintegration behaviour meets the requirements of the legislation in most cases. Seen from the perspective of the intentions of the legislation, the majority of the cases show considerable discrepancies between the behaviour observed and the behaviour intended by the legislator. According to the logic of legislation, the employee and manager – supported by the occupational physician – must actively and mutually cooperate in a structured process in order to establish a return to the labour process that is as swift as possible. The norm ‘work to your capacity’ implies that adequate behaviour means that labour possibilities are optimally used. The macro objective of increasing labour participation implies that the legislator finds a sustainable return to the labour process important. Behaviour that is labelled as anticipating corresponds the most to what the legislator intended with the amended legislation. Differences in reintegration behaviour are related to the various normative role orientations and cognitive action orientations of employee and manager. Furthermore, there is a connection to the differences in using resources: · An active interpretation of the own role by the employee and manager coincides with the expectation that the other will take part actively as well and with the idea of placing reintegration into the perspective of future employability. This interpretation and vision are linked to an active use of resources, e.g. medical knowledge, knowledge of legislation and regulations, previous experiences with reintegration and expert advice. · A less active interpretation of the own role by the employee and manager, in which they expect that the other or the occupational physician will take the lead, coincides with a vision in which the medical aspects of sick leave are emphasized and in which priority is given to terminating the sick leave. In this interpretation and vision, less use is made of the available resources. In both cases the mechanisms of adjustment of the employee’s and manager’s behaviour to that of the other and of the intensification of this in the interaction process occur.

This study explores the frontline delivery of activation services in three Dutch municipal social assistance agencies, aimed at stimulating unemployed people to find work. Further, the study explores how the delivery of activation work can be understood from policy and organisational choices regarding activation. The study develops ideal types for bureaucratic and professional activation work to characterise the activation practices. Empirical data comes from interviews with workers and key-informants as well as from observations of interactions of workers with clients. The research finds considerable variation which is conceptualised as three types of activation work: •a professional ‘interventionist’ type, consisting of individualised guidance to the unemployed to find work, primarily based on ‘professional’ norms regarding effective activation; •a mixed bureaucratic/professional ‘director’ type, consisting of the selection of external activation programmes and administrative monitoring. In this type, some workers primarily act as bureaucrats, following guidelines whenever possible. Others use their own ‘professional’ judgement to select external services; •a bureaucratic ‘administrator’ type, in which workers primarily focus on benefit administration and consider activation work to be a marginal task. They refer clients to a limited number of programmes based on policy guidelines. Rule bending and rationing are identified as coping strategies used by all three types. The professional standards the workers adhere to are interpreted as ‘pre-professional’ because they lack a general professional legitimacy that transcends local practices. This can be understood given the lack of specific professional qualifications for activation work and the limited professional institutionalisation of activation work. The study finds the following policy and organisational choices to be stimulating the bureaucratic or professional nature of the work and the occurrence of coping strategies. Professional service delivery is stimulated by: •the policy choice for individualised service delivery; •the absence of strict regulation of the service delivery; •output steering based on activation results. Bureaucratic service delivery is stimulated by: •the choice for a limited number of activation programmes; •outsourcing of service delivery in combination with administrative monitoring tasks; •the combination of activation tasks, benefit administration and high caseloads; •output steering on the number of activation plans, referrals to certain activation programmes and standard review meetings with clients. Coping strategies can be understood given: •strict steering on administrative accountability in combination with high workloads; •high caseloads; •output steering based on number of activation plans, referrals to certain activation programmes and standard review meetings with clients. These results show that the nature of activation work is not self-evidently bureaucratic or professional. Therefore, the role of bureaucracy and professionalism in activation work and possibly other new types of frontline work needs careful attention. These variations contribute to a lack of transparency regarding the norms that workers follow. In combination with the pre-professional activation norms this raises normative accountability issues. The study gives recommendations regarding the further development of activation work in the Netherlands. It is argued that developing activation as a professional, rather than a bureaucratic, function is the most viable option.

The linkage between Human Resource Management (HRM) and performance has received a lot of attention in HRM research. Research evidence indicates that HRM is, at least weakly, related to firm performance. Subsequently, research interest has shifted to the mechanisms linking HRM and performance (the mediating variables in the so-called black box). However, very few studies have tried to open the black box empirically. In the dissertation ‘Balanced Value Creation’ the mediating mechanisms linking people management and outcomes are studied. The concept people management it used to emphasise that the focus of this study is not limited to the effects of HR practices as such. It is acknowledged that line managers play a crucial role in the implementation of HR practices and that their leadership behaviour is more important than has been recognised in previous HR studies. Adopting a balanced approach to performance, the focus of this study is not exclusively on outcomes relevant for the organisation, but also includes important employee outcomes. The AMO framework, which argues that individuals perform well if they have the Ability, Motivation and Opportunities to perform, is used to categorise the mechanisms linking people management and outcomes. The research used a mixed-method approach, applying both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative part of the study consists of a two-wave longitudinal survey. The data for this dissertation come from 354 line managers and 3,368 employees. The multilevel data have been analysed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. Overall, this research and the resulting dissertation do contribute to the literature on the people management/HRM-outcomes/performance link by providing empirical evidence of the linking mechanisms. The main conclusion is that investing in people management activities aimed at supporting employees is worthwhile and will benefit both employees and organisations: that is, balanced value creation

The linkage between Human Resource Management (HRM) and performance has received a lot of attention in HRM research. Research evidence indicates that HRM is, at least weakly, related to firm performance. Subsequently, research interest has shifted to the mechanisms linking HRM and performance (the mediating variables in the so-called black box). However, very few studies have tried to open the black box empirically. In the dissertation ‘Balanced Value Creation’ the mediating mechanisms linking people management and outcomes are studied. The concept people management it used to emphasise that the focus of this study is not limited to the effects of HR practices as such. It is acknowledged that line managers play a crucial role in the implementation of HR practices and that their leadership behaviour is more important than has been recognised in previous HR studies. Adopting a balanced approach to performance, the focus of this study is not exclusively on outcomes relevant for the organisation, but also includes important employee outcomes. The AMO framework, which argues that individuals perform well if they have the Ability, Motivation and Opportunities to perform, is used to categorise the mechanisms linking people management and outcomes. The research used a mixed-method approach, applying both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative part of the study consists of a two-wave longitudinal survey. The data for this dissertation come from 354 line managers and 3,368 employees. The multilevel data have been analysed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques. Overall, this research and the resulting dissertation do contribute to the literature on the people management/HRM-outcomes/performance link by providing empirical evidence of the linking mechanisms. The main conclusion is that investing in people management activities aimed at supporting employees is worthwhile and will benefit both employees and organisations: that is, balanced value creation

In many Western countries, including The Netherlands, the presumed ‘clash’ between managers and professionals in public domains has grown into a societal problem. Relations between professionals and managers have become contested and contrasts between managers and professionals are sharply marked. In fierce public and political debates, especially in secondary education, managers have been criticized of being alienated from work floor professionals. Instead of focusing on dichotomous public and political debates about managers versus professionals, this study empirically questions two popular assumptions about public managers. First, it is generally assumed that management reforms (especially new public management) have harmed managerial loyalties to professionals. Public managers represent management reforms and therefore propagate efficiency logics, performance models and organisational change. This would be at odds with professional logics. It ‘drives’ managers ‘away’ from service delivery, destroys professional autonomies and affects the intrinsic ‘goodness’ of professionals. A second popular assumption about public managers refers to a rise of a homogeneous caste of executives and managers who identify themselves primarily with managerialism. These assumptions are hardly analysed in solid empirical research, which is striking given the fierceness of political and public debates, as well as their far-reaching implications. Public and political discomfort has led to many policy measures and organizational actions; as a consequence professional autonomies are enlarged, managerial levels are eliminated and organizational change is halted. Academically, the lack of empirical research limits our understanding of public managers as active agents. Based on an empirical mixed method study to school principals’ loyalty to teachers in Dutch secondary education, this study shows that popular assumptions are not tenable. School principals experience loyalty conflicts; they manoeuvre between external changes and the internal care and efforts for teachers. As stakeholders’ expectations intensify, many principals feel torn between teachers and other stakeholders’ demands. In general, executives, school directors and middle managers in education are loyal leaders. This is not only a matter of attitude; loyalty manifests itself in the behaviour of principals as well. This study rejects the assumption that management reforms in education have harmed managerial loyalties to professionals, and that principals do not feel emotional attachments to teachers. School principals are not alienated from teachers. Principals see their relationship with teachers as ‘meaningful’. In addition, school principals bear teachers and teachers’ interests in mind when they lead their schools; they take (potential) consequences of their actions for their relationship with teachers into account. Moreover, school principals regularly put teachers’ interests first when they make choices, even though these choices are costly or involve making sacrifices. Finally, this study rejects the assumption that ‘the manager’ has become a member of a homogenous caste of executives and managers who identify themselves primarily with managerialism. This study emphasizes that ‘school principals in secondary education’ are in fact a heterogeneous group of people with various backgrounds and varied managerial positions.