Objectives This paper is the first multidisciplinary study into the impact of new skill requirements in the job on absenteeism. The aim of this study was to investigate whether economic skills obsolescence (ESO) increased both absence frequency and average duration mediated by burnout and/or work engagement.Methods A longitudinal study was conducted on data from the Dutch Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (N=4493). Structural equation modelling was used to test the specific direct and indirect effects of ESO on absence frequency and average duration, followed by bootstrapping to compute the confidence intervals.Results ESO at baseline had a positive relationship with burnout at follow-up. In turn, burnout was positively related to both absence frequency and average absence duration at follow-up. The bootstrap indirect effect test showed that ESO had a significant positive indirect effect, via burnout and (lower) work engagement, on absence frequency and average duration. Furthermore, ESO at baseline was negatively related to work engagement at follow-up. Work engagement, in turn, was negatively related to absence frequency and average duration at follow-up. The bootstrap test showed that ESO had a significant indirect effect, via work engagement, on absence frequency.Conclusion ESO is associated with subsequent absence frequency and average duration of workers, both mediated by burnout and decreased work engagement.
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Substantial and continuous shifts in skills demands urge us to rethink education, labour market and reintegration policies and practices. In this article, we argue for a more skills based approach to (re)integration. This skills based (re)integration practice is based more on up-to-date, complete and validated skills sets of candidates, than on diplomas and other, more or less, outdated and incomplete proxies to one’s current skills. Such a new reintegration practice seems feasible if the actual and complete skills set of an individual becomes the starting point for both matching, guidance and (up/re)skilling efforts. Intersectoral mobility, alternative career pathways and suitable training and development routes can be designed on a more fine-grained skills basis, with occupations considered more as dynamic sets of tasks requiring specific skills. This new (re)integration practice presupposes a common skills language, which is being developed in the Netherlands, Competent NL. Sectoral and intersectoral experiments with skills instruments using this language, such as skills passports, are conducted to optimize their quality and effectiveness. Since first experiments with skills instruments seem promising, we argue that more room for experiment is required. So that integration in the labor market can be sustained and reintegration practices can be prevented.
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Introduction This study aims to advance theoretical development on digital transformation (DT) skills that are essential for sustainable employment. Rapid and continuous advancements of digital technology, such as increased automation, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, robotics and internet of things (IoT), lead to huge transformations for society, economy, and its organizations (Ivaldi et al., 2022; Trenerry et al., 2021). For organizations to successfully transform, it is important to strongly invest in an organizational learning climate, while for employees, investment in the sustainability of their employment is key. Therefore, one of the greatest challenges is to identify and develop essential skills that contribute to both the collective learning climate and employment sustainability (Ivaldi et al., 2022). Because previous scientific literature has focused predominantly on mapping general 21st century skills, digital competences of citizens, or essential skills for specific professions, it remains largely unclear which employee skills are essential in the context of DT. Hence, the contribution of this study lies in identifying these essential skills and developing a comprehensive DT skills framework. The following research question is central: Which DT skills are essential for sustainable employment and how can these skills be synthesized into a DT skills framework?
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