1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDi_JCuEc
U

2. THE SOCIOTECHNICAL STRUCTURE
AS STIMULUS FOR MIGRANTS
TALENTS?
Lander Vermeerbergen
Geert Van Hootegem
(University of Leuven)

3. Content
• The need for non-native employees
• Job quality of ethnic minorities
• The job quality of ethnic minorities after an
sociotechnical change
• Future research

4. 1. The Need for a Worldwide Brain and
Brawn Circulation

5. Demographic need
90%
80%
105+
70%
95-104
60%
85-94
50%
75-84
40%
65-74
30%
55-64
20%
45-54
10%
35-44
0%
25-34
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
2028
2032
2036
2040
2044
2048
2052
2056
2060
Percentage of Flemisch Population
100%
Year
22-24
(FOD Economie, 2012)

6. Demographic need
(Herremans, 2012)

7. Marginal
productivity
Economic need
(Richards, 2000)

8. 2. The ethnic division of work quality

9. Ethnic minorities and the job-demand-control
model
2
1
3
4
(Karasek, 1979)

10. Ethnic minorities and the job-demandcontrol model
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Low-strain jobs
High-strain jobs
Passive jobs
Active jobs
Migrants
Natives
(European Working and Condition Survey, 2010)

11. Ethnic minorities and the job-demandcontrol model
• Quality of working life
– More physical health consequences for minorities
• a.o. muscular pain, heart problems
– More psychological health consequences for
minorities
• a.o. sleeping problems, stress,
• Organisational performance
– Increase in
absenteeism, sickness, productivity, creativity,

12. 3. The STS as win-win theory for
employers and for employees with an
ethnic minority background?

13. A sociotechnical change
Organisation quality
Design of jobs
Quality of Working Life

14. Casestudy
• Domiciliary care organisation
• Functional structure to horizontal structure

15. Casestudy
Concepts of non-natives that increase
• Organising tasks
• Contact possibilities
• Completeness
• Autonomy
• Learning possibilities
Concepts of non-natives that decrease
• Time pressure
• Need for recovery

16. = effect of
socio-technic
organisation
change

17. Conclusion
• Demographic and economic need for a diverse
workforce
• Job quality of migrants is low
• Sociotechnical structure can be used for an
increase in the job quality
– Solution for demographic and economic need

18. 4. Future Research

19. Future research
• In-depth research at the intra-organisation
level
• In-depth research at the inter-organisation
level
– Inter-organisational human resource strategy