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Transformation of the Finnish employee ideal in job advertisements from 1944 to 2009

Bibliographic Data

ID2300995
AuthorsAnna Kuokkanen (0000-0002-6061-9724, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, corresponding author), Pekka Varje (0000-0002-7554-0621, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health), Ari Vaananen (0000-0003-1107-5799, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health)
Year2013
Volume56
Issue3
Pages213-226
Publication date2013-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueActa Sociologica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-6993 • E-ISSN: 1502-3869
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0001699313477871
OpenAlexW2332233388
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited29

In this article we examine transformation of the Finnish employee ideal since the Second World War. Our qualitative analysis is based on the data of 490 job advertisements from 1944 to 2009, and follows the change in employee requirements during this period. Our results show that requirements for transferable, particularly interpersonal, skills increased considerably during the research period. While workmanship, diligence, competence and work experience were the most common employee requirements in the job advertisements of the 1940s and 1950s, employees today are required to possess qualities such as stress resilience, flexibility, productivity, inventiveness and the desire to learn new things. The qualities required of white-collar employees have increased in particular. We conclude that, unlike the post-war period, today the ideal employee is characterized by flexibility and interpersonal skills reflecting changes in the organization of work, work organizations and work culture

Business · Competence (human resources · Diligence · Economics · Flexibility (engineering · Ideal (ethics · Interpersonal communication · Management · Political science · Public relations · Higher Education and Employability · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Marketing · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Unique citing works11
Citations per year1,22
Citation span2017 - 2025 (9)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 11
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