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Werknemers hebben in toenemende mate behoefte aan coaching in hun werk en loopbaan. Zij komen vooral met vragen over werk-privébalans, stress of burn-out, zelfontplooiing en keuzes in de loopbaan. De vraag naar coaching lijkt vooralsnog niet samen te hangen met een falende werkomgeving maar eerder met de wens van werknemers om hun persoonlijke bronnen te ontwikkelen en te versterken. Onderzoek laat zien dat coaching effectief is, maar ook dat er meer en vooral beter onderzoek nodig is om die effectiviteit overtuigend aan te tonen. Wat er tijdens de coaching precies gebeurt, is nog een black box. Zowel de kwaliteit van de coach-coachee-werkrelatie als de door coaches gebruikte tests en methoden zullen van invloed zijn op de effectiviteit van coaching. Meer onderzoek is nodig naar de coach-coachee fit en of deze de kwaliteit van de werkrelatie en de effectiviteit van coaching beïnvloedt. Coaches gebruiken tests en methoden die theoretisch zijn gefundeerd en – binnen andere domeinen – zijn getoetst, maar ze gebruiken ook tests en methoden waarvoor geen theoretische of empirische basis is. Wij bepleiten een verdere professionalisering van coaching waarbij evidence-based werken de norm wordt en coaches op onafhankelijke en professionele wijze worden getoetst op hun bekwaamheid.

Despite the growing attention for the impact of selection procedures and outcomes on applicants, little is yet known about the factors that may influence these relationships. The general findings of a recent doctoral dissertation are presented in this article. The research in this dissertation was directed at investigating the separate and combined influences of selection feedback, fairness perceptions, and attributions on a diversity of applicant reactions: well-being, self-evaluations and perceptions of the organization. Based on four empirical studies it is shown that feedback and fairness do not merely have a positive influence on applicant reactions, and that attributional style plays an important role in the formation of reactions. Therefore, both organizations and applicants may benefit from more reflection on selection feedback and fairness by researchers and practitioners alike.Er is nog relatief weinig bekend over de invloed van selectieprocedures en -uitkomsten op sollicitanten. In dit artikel worden de algemene bevindingen beschreven van een aantal onderzoeken die onderdeel waren van een recent proefschrift. Deze onderzoeken waren gericht op de afzonderlijke en gezamenlijke invloed van rechtvaardigheidspercepties, selectiefeedback en attributies op diverse reacties van sollicitanten, zoals hun welzijn, zelf-evaluaties en organisatiepercepties. Aan de hand van vier empirische onderzoeken wordt aangetoond dat feedback en rechtvaardigheid niet altijd een louter positieve invloed op sollicitantreacties hebben en dat attributiestijl een rol speelt bij de vorming van deze reacties. Het zou daarom voor zowel sollicitanten als organisaties lonend kunnen zijn als er meer rekening wordt gehouden met de effecten van selectiefeedback en de rol van rechtvaardigheidspercepties.

Employability and the pursuit of reemployment success Employability and the pursuit of reemployment success Searching for a job often does not suffice when searching for suitable first time employment and reemployment. This paper discusses how employability and its underlying factors (adaptability, human capital, social capital and career identity) can contribute to an individual’s reemployment success. More specifically, we found that people’s employability contributes to finding reemployment over and above how hard they search. We also showed that adaptability in particular influences people’s job search strategies and their subsequent reemployment potential. Moreover, we expect that compulsory reemployment interventions can – under certain conditions – improve unemployed people’s employability and job search behavior. In this paper, we discuss three sub-studies that tested these expectations. Together these studies provide compelling evidence that employability offers a robust and comprehensive basis for an approach to genuine reemployment success. Employability factors provide people with the resources to engage in and persist with effective job search methods and to find suitable reemployment.

What are they talking about? Developmental and comfort topics in the job evaluation conversations of older and younger employees What are they talking about? Developmental and comfort topics in the job evaluation conversations of older and younger employees In this study, we examined the relationship between employees’ age and the topics they discussed with their supervisor in a job evaluation conversation. The reports of the job evaluation conversations of 85 employees were coded as ‘developmental’ (the conversation included developmental topics) or ‘comfort’ (the conversation included topics related to the facilitation of an employee’s work). In addition, we measured employees’ implicit beliefs (entity or incremental), experienced developmental support, and their training and development willingness. The results show that the job evaluation conversations of older employees included significantly fewer developmental topics than those of younger employees. Job level rather than age was associated with discussing comfort topics during job evaluation conversations. As expected, older employees – and particularly those with entity beliefs – experienced less developmental support from their supervisors than younger employees. We found a significant, positive association between employees’ experienced developmental support from the supervisor and their training and developmental willingness.

Reflections on current developments in Work and Organizational psychology Reflections on current developments in Work and Organizational psychology In this article, I address the reflections and concerns about current developments in Work and Organizational (W&O) psychology as raised by the other authors in this special issue of Gedrag & Organisatie. W&O psychology is productive and performs well in both lab and field research. However, she struggles with her identity and place in the academic landscape. W&O psychology focuses on the functioning of individuals in the context of organizations and is strong in her multi-method and multi-level approach. Her research questions are both fundamental and relevant for society. By introducing new international publication rules, research findings could become more available and attractive for professionals. This will open doors for high quality research in organizations.

Boundaryless careers: The interplay of individuals and organizations Boundaryless careers: The interplay of individuals and organizations A.E.M. van Vianen, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 20, September 2007, nr. 3, pp. 303-318 This paper discusses the question to what extent employees will be able to manage their careers in a way that matches organizations' need for a flexible workforce. It is argued that the external mobility of employees will remain limited. Yet, much more can be done regarding employees' internal mobility and development. Employees should focus on broadening the content of their jobs through performing challenging tasks. Most employees report a positive attitude towards job flexibility yet not initiate challenging experiences in their current jobs. In a similar vein, organizations prefer a flexible workforce but tend to allocate the challenging tasks to a restricted number of employees. Because optimal self-regulation is feasible for only few of us, employees need the stimulus of their organization in order to remain employable.

Challenging experiences as determinant of the judgement of growth potential Challenging experiences as determinant of the judgement of growth potential Irene E. de Pater, Annelies E.M. van Vianen & Agneta H. Fischer, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 20, maart 2007, nr. 1, pp. 41-56 Job performance is considered an important determinant of supervisors' perceptions of employees' potential for career advancement. We proposed that the content of employees' work may be another important determinant of perceptions of their potential. This paper focused on the relationship between employees' task content and managers' evaluations of employees' potential. In a first study, we used vignettes to examine whether employees' task content influenced managers' perceptions of employees' potential. In a second study, we examined the impact of employees' job content on potential evaluations in a sample of temporary student employees. The results of this study underline the importance of employees' job content for evaluations of their potential.