oa De voorspellers van werkwens en werkzoekgedrag

Predictors of employment aspiration and job search behaviour

A study was designed to make a pair-wise comparison between people with a high employment aspiration and an active job search behaviour on the one hand and their counterparts not wanting and not searching for work on the other hand. This comparison was made for three non-working groups: non-employed without social benefits, registered unemployed, and people receiving disability benefits. Data originate from the 1997-1999 years of the Dutch life situation survey. In almost all groups, being a male, young, highly educated and being involved in part-time education was found to be a strong predictor for employment aspiration and job seek behaviour. Household situation, health and social isolation, and private and leisure activities predicted employment aspiration and job search behaviour weakly. Our conclusion is that government policy should first of all concentrate on motivating organisations to attract women, elderly, and low educated, for instance by means of making appointments with employers and by offering more opportunities for part-time education. Next concentration on the personal motivation of non-working people may stimulate them to find a job.