Promoting sustainable employability of employees in low-skilled jobs:development, implementation, and evaluation of a dialogue-based intervention

This thesis has expanded the knowledge base to conduct intervention research in the field of occupational health on the development, implementation, and evaluation of an organizational intervention “Healthy HR” targeting the sustainable employability (SE) of the understudied group of employees in low-skilled jobs. Despite the challenges encountered during the development and implementation process, a unique dialogue-based approach is offered to increase job control. Job control, that is, autonomy, is an important determinant of employee wellbeing, particularly for those in lower skilled jobs. Research with a longer follow-up than possible in this project is needed to verify whether such a participatory approach is also effective in promoting the more robust concept of SE and reducing health inequalities. Moreover, it was concluded that the still prevailing traditional view on work in terms of “profit over people” is not sustainable. A drastic change of perspective and culture is needed to truly assure a collective, participatory, bottom-up mindset positioning the employee in low-skilled jobs in the centre. This humanistic approach seems necessary for addressing the wider range of current and future challenges in the Dutch labor market and society