The "Meer Uren Werkt!" project is an initiative by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and Utrecht University, funded by the National Growth Fund. The project's goal is to remove visible and invisible barriers preventing employees from working more hours, enabling those who want to work more to do so. This initiative focuses on tackling various obstacles in how work is organized, aiming to help address labor market shortages. The program is a unique collaboration between the government and academic partners, including Utrecht University, Radboud University, and the NIDI.
The program will involve implementing five proven interventions within participating organizations, developing and validating new interventions, and conducting academic research to identify and address barriers that prevent employees from increasing their working hours.
Within this larger project, two PhD positions are available at the NIDI, addressing demographic aspects of part-time work in the Netherlands and Europe. Relevant questions that can be studied are:
- How can we explain national differences in the prevalence of part-time work? Why is the Netherlands such a unique case?
- Why are so few fathers working part-time in the Netherlands? Is this due to financial constraints, or do cultural differences also play a role?
- How can we understand differences in the prevalence of part-time work between work organizations? What is the role of the gender composition of work organizations, and do employer policies have an impact?
- How does part-time work change across the life course? What is the role of partner relations, parenthood, and the empty nest stage?
- Why are substantial numbers of people in the Netherlands already working part-time before they have children?
- What are the individual consequences of part-time work? Is there a trade-off between adverse career effects and positive consequences for well-being?
Questions like these will be answered with quantitative analyses of a variety of data sources: (a) data from national registers, (b) longitudinal survey data from the Netherlands (e.g., LISS), (c) large-scale cross-national survey data in Europe (e.g., GGP, ESS), and (d) new survey data from the Netherlands (to be collected). The projects will be supervised by prof. dr. K. (Kène) Henkens and/or prof. dr. M. (Matthijs) Kalmijn.
Function description
- Carry out cutting-edge academic research within an international team of engaged researchers.
- Publish international journal articles within the described project, resulting in a PhD thesis.
- Participate in the Groeifonds project and collaborate with colleagues from Utrecht University and Radboud University.
- Participate in and present at (inter-)national scientific meetings and contribute to project dissemination activities.
Qualifications
- A research master's degree in sociology, demography, (micro) economics, social geography, or (social) psychology.
- A solid background in quantitative data analyses and strong skills in advanced statistical methods and programming.
- Experience in survey design is recommended
- Good writing and presentation skills.
Application procedure
Candidates are invited to submit their application in English. Applicants should include:
- Letter of motivation (max 1 page)
- Curriculum vitae
- Copy of university BA and MA grades (transcript)
- One sample of written work (copy of master dissertation, published article, or coursework)
- Names and contact details of one referee
- All these should be included in a single PDF file