Coping with Occupational Transitions: An Empirical Study with Employees Facing Job Loss in Five European Countries(13 Psychologie sozialer Ungleichheit)

1 This volume is one of four book publications of the project "Social Convoy and S- tainable Employability: Innovative Strategies for Outplacement/Replacement Couns- ling" (SOCOSE). It is supported by the European Commission, DG Research, under the fifth Framework Programme, Key Action "Improving the Socio-Economic Knowledge 2 3 Base" and coordinated by Thomas Kieselbach at the University of Bremen . Starting point of our research is the increase in occupational transitions (Rodgers & Rodgers, 1989). This is caused by the ongoing globalisation of markets and eco- mies as a whole, but might also be considered the central aspect of globalisation: changes and flexibility which - on the part of the individual employee - means tran- tions in his or her occupational biography. These phases might include episodes of - employment as well as training or re-orientation. While transitions increase, employees experience insecurity with regard to their individual employment situation to a much larger degree than in the past. The formal 1 Kieselbach, T. (Ed.) (2004). Social Convoy in Occupational Transitions: Recommendations for a European Framework in the Context of Enterprise Restructuring. Bremen: University of Bremen, Ins- tute for Psychology of Work, Unemployment and Health (IPG). Kieselbach, T., Beelmann, G., Mader, S. & Wagner, O. (2005). Sozialer Konvoi in beruflichen Tran- tionen: Individuelle und organisationale Bewaltigung der Prekarisierung von Beschaftigung in Deutschland [Social convoy in occupational transitions: Individual and organisational coping with precarisation of jobs]. Munchen: Rainer Hampp.

Table of Contents:
Comparative Report WP 2.- Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Experiences in five European countries.- National Reports.- Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from Belgium.- Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from Germany.- Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from The Netherlands.- Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from Italy.- Job insecurity and successful re-employment: Examples from Spain.

About the Author :
Prof. Dr. Thomas Kieselbach is professor of Work and Health Psychology, head of the Institute for Psychology of Work, Unemployment and Health (IPG) at the University of Bremen (Germany) and member of the board of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH). Prof. Dr. Sebastiano Bagnara is professor of Psychology at the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Sassari at Alghero (Italy) and past general secretary of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA). Prof. Dr. Hans De Witte is professor of Work Psychology at the Department of Psychology (Research Group Work, Organisational & Personnel Psychology, WOPP) at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). Prof. Dr. Louis Lemkow is professor of Sociology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain) and director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology also at the UAB. Prof. Dr. Wilmar Schaufeli is professor of Work and Organizational Psychology and director of the Research Institute Psychology and Health at the Universiteit Utrecht (The Netherlands).