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Care concepts, working hours and employment contracts within the elderly care, home care and maternity care

Vlietman, Erik-Jan (2010) Care concepts, working hours and employment contracts within the elderly care, home care and maternity care.

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Abstract:This research was done to get insight in the relationship between different care concepts, the working hours and employment contracts within the elderly care, home care and maternity care. This research was a multiple case study within nine organizations from the elderly care, home care and maternity care. 86 Employees were interviewed and asked for employment contracts, working hours and satisfaction about their work. Research question: To what extent can innovative care concepts within the sectors of elderly care, home care and maternity care affect working hours and employment contracts and how will this affect the satisfaction of the employee? Conclusions: The external environment influences the care concepts. The financial changes and more client-oriented care made a transition from large-scale concepts to small-scale concept. This transition occurred due to ZZP and more client-based care. The client asks for care on demand and the financial changes in care ask for more tailored care. The government provides with the ZZP money to the specific diseases of a client. The care concepts have an influence on the working hours and employment contracts. A lot of organizations with a large-scale concept have full-time contracts, but new employees will be hired on small contracts from 24-28 hours a week, with some exceptions. The working hours are more flexible, because of the small-scale concepts. These concepts ask for more flexibility of the employees. In a small-scale concept they work in a smaller team. The team is more committed to each other and they are more involved in the organization and team. In some organizations they will easier fill out a shift and change easier shifts. Shifts and tasks are also more clear, because of the small group and team. The working hours and employment contracts influence the degree of satisfaction of the employee. Some employees will have full-time contracts and other prefer part-time contracts. The employees are more satisfied when they know the working hours on time. On time can mean 13 weeks before in elderly care and home care, and 2 weeks in maternity care. Employees who participate in making the working schedule are more satisfied than employees who participate very little in the working schedule. The transition from the large-scale concept to the small-scale concept has started several years ago. All investigated organizations in this research had already started this transition or want to start this transition. Organizations have to deal with the right balance between employees and clients. A lot of employees, especially those who work on the somatic group, experience 7 Care concepts, working hours and employment contracts too much work pressure. Somatic clients need more help washing themselves and getting out of bed or going to the toilet. Recommendations Care organizations will decrease the amount of full-time contracts to have more flexibility with small contracts. It is important for the organizations to look for possibilities to keep these full-time contracts. The care sector will be more appealing. A more appealing sector could attract more employees. Organizations are apprehensive about absenteeism of these employees, but with a higher satisfaction of employees there is more involvement of the employees. With more satisfied employees the absenteeism will decrease. A “safety net” like a central flexpool (per organization) or decentralized flexpool (per establishment or department(s)) will give more certainty to fill these shifts of absent employees. This also provides more stability and security in the team. Employees feel like they participate too little in making the working schedule. A pilot of self-scheduling will help the employees to participate in making the working schedule. Employees that use self-scheduling are satisfied and feel more involved in their organization. It is important that the collective labor agreement gives more freedom to organizations that want to be innovative with working hours and employment contracts in cooperation with the employee and inside the collective labor agreement and law. The small-scale organization needs more employees per group or put this group of somatic clients in another concept, for example large-scale or a care hotel. Often somatic care in a small-scale concept is too difficult in a small-scale concept.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/60172
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