The impact of employees' competencies on the work ability
Nurminen, Niklas (2023)
2023
Tietojohtamisen DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Information and Knowledge Management
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-11-16
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202311149639
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202311149639
Tiivistelmä
Competence and work ability are constantly being raised in the context of a variety of issues. These issues can be related to today’s dynamic business environment, to technological stress or even to the ageing population. Work ability has been widely studied, particularly in Europe, and competence has been identified as part of it through various models. However, these studies do not precisely define how competences impacted on work ability and through what mechanisms. Competence management is also a widely discussed and researched topic, but the debate between it and work ability is scarcely explored in the literature.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate how employees’ competences impact on work ability, and to find out which competency-related factors are perceived by employers as the most relevant risk factors. It also explores how competency management tools can be used to manage work ability. The theoretical part of the study will provide a general overview of competences, work ability and competence management, as well as related models. In addition, a literature review was conducted on how competence impacts on work ability. Based on the theories, a framework was developed on how competence impacts on work ability and how competence management relates to it. The empirical part of the framework was further developed by conducting interviews and confirming the statements through a survey.
In the theoretical framework, work ability was described by three dimensions: the employee, the job and the organisation. Through empirical research, a fourth dimension was discovered. This dimension was called the environment. The environment includes the concepts of digitalization and dynamic environment, among others. All these dimensions interact with each other both positively and negatively to form the employee’s work ability.
The research found that competence impacts on all the dimensions mentioned above. The main finding was that competence has an indirect impact on work ability. This means that competence impacts, for instance, on motivation. Low motivation impacts on an individual’s mental health and, in turn, on work ability. The research also found risk factors related to competences such as digitalization, resilience, motivation and attitude. Finally, the tools of competence man agement were shown to be relevant in managing work ability. However, tools are only a support, change has to start with people. Moreover, there is no single right tool for managing work ability; cases are individual.
Research creates new knowledge for academic debate. It also has practical value in defining work ability and identifying competences in organisations as well as in the health sector.
The aim of this thesis is to investigate how employees’ competences impact on work ability, and to find out which competency-related factors are perceived by employers as the most relevant risk factors. It also explores how competency management tools can be used to manage work ability. The theoretical part of the study will provide a general overview of competences, work ability and competence management, as well as related models. In addition, a literature review was conducted on how competence impacts on work ability. Based on the theories, a framework was developed on how competence impacts on work ability and how competence management relates to it. The empirical part of the framework was further developed by conducting interviews and confirming the statements through a survey.
In the theoretical framework, work ability was described by three dimensions: the employee, the job and the organisation. Through empirical research, a fourth dimension was discovered. This dimension was called the environment. The environment includes the concepts of digitalization and dynamic environment, among others. All these dimensions interact with each other both positively and negatively to form the employee’s work ability.
The research found that competence impacts on all the dimensions mentioned above. The main finding was that competence has an indirect impact on work ability. This means that competence impacts, for instance, on motivation. Low motivation impacts on an individual’s mental health and, in turn, on work ability. The research also found risk factors related to competences such as digitalization, resilience, motivation and attitude. Finally, the tools of competence man agement were shown to be relevant in managing work ability. However, tools are only a support, change has to start with people. Moreover, there is no single right tool for managing work ability; cases are individual.
Research creates new knowledge for academic debate. It also has practical value in defining work ability and identifying competences in organisations as well as in the health sector.