New Work Poses New Challenges-The Importance of Work Design Competencies Revealed in Cluster Analysis.
Fiona Niebuhr1, Greta M Steckhan1, Susanne Voelter-Mahlknecht1
1Institute of Occupational Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|November 11, 2022
Summary
Employees with higher work design competencies (WDC) are typically older and have better work ability. These competencies are crucial for occupational health, especially in the evolving modern workplace.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Human Resources Management
- Sociology of Work
Background:
- The modern work environment is undergoing continuous transformation, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, granting employees greater autonomy in shaping their roles.
- This increased scope for self-directed work can be perceived as either a burden or a valuable resource, impacting employee well-being.
- Work design competencies (WDC) are critical in understanding how employees experience and utilize their autonomy in the workplace.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between work design competencies (WDC), employee age, working from home (WFH) patterns, and work ability.
- To identify distinct employee clusters based on WDC, sociodemographic factors, and work ability.
- To explore the implications of WDC for occupational health and employee well-being in contemporary work settings.
Main Methods:
- Utilized hierarchical cluster analysis on existing datasets from two Germany-wide studies involving a total of 1232 employees.
- Analyzed data from Study 1 (N=735) and Study 2 (N=497) to identify and validate employee clusters.
- Performed split-half validation using data from Study 1 to ensure the robustness of the findings.
Main Results:
- Three distinct employee clusters consistently emerged across both studies, differentiated by age and work ability.
- The cluster characterized by the highest mean WDC comprised employees who were, on average, older and reported higher work ability.
- No significant patterns were identified concerning the amount of weekly work time spent working from home (WFH) in relation to WDC clusters.
Conclusions:
- Work design competencies (WDC) are significantly associated with an employee's work ability and, broadly, with occupational health.
- Sociodemographic factors, particularly age, are related to work design competencies and work ability.
- The findings underscore the importance of fostering WDC for enhancing employee well-being and work capacity in evolving work landscapes.
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