Workplace Inclusion Competence and Employer Engagement

Abstract

Existing active labor market policy (ALMP) measures have been unsuccessful in establishing longterm employment for vulnerable groups. This paper contributes to further development of the role of the employer engagement perspective in ALMP. We introduce the term workplace inclusion competence and explore its association to two distinct work-organizational categories: participation- and control-oriented management. We operationalize workplace inclusion competence as inclusion opportunity and inclusion capability. We argue that such competence is dynamic and processual, and find that organizational management-orientation, as well as work pace, employees’ developmental opportunities, financial situation and OSH, have an impact on workplace inclusion competence. Survey data among a sample of managers is analyzed regarding workplaces’ capabilities and opportunities in work inclusion processes. We present two sets of indexes to measure organizational management-orientation and inclusion skills competence. As such, we contribute to the research field by providing new and more specific concepts with adherent question indexes, and by connecting them to a work-organizational perspective.