Life stories about work
- Period: March 2023 – June 2025
- Status: completed
In this project, we conducted research into the wishes, needs and opportunities of participants in day care who are trying to make the transition from day care to (sheltered) work. The research was made possible by the Gak Institute as part of the Step by Step programme.
Description
What is important to people who are trying to make the transition from day care to sheltered employment? Policy often emphasises economic aspects such as income or benefits, but “full participation” in the labour market requires more: recognition, being heard and being able to contribute to society. In this study, we looked at these four conditions for full participation in the labour market. How do these conditions play a role in the experiences of participants with different types of work and the movements between them?
We investigated the importance people attach to these conditions and placed this in the context of their life stories, because events from the past continue to influence their experiences in the present and their images of the future. In this way, we contribute to the development of theory on “full participation”. We investigated this by interviewing participants in Step by Step several times over a period of two years. The project was completed at the end of June 2025. Sanne Wouters is now delving into the participants’ stories and writing her thesis on them.
Results
Our conclusion is that there are too few suitable sheltered workplaces, making it difficult or impossible to transition to paid work. The sheltered workplaces that do exist often do not provide full labour participation because certain conditions are lacking, such as recognition or satisfaction. Day care often does offer these aspects, but is not seen by society as “real work”. This leads to feelings of inferiority among participants in day care. In the research report (in Dutch), we describe these key findings in a narrative way and make recommendations for a more inclusive and fairer labour market.
Researchers
Partners
More than 25 providers of day care in the Netherlands.
(Co-)funding
The research is made possible by Instituut Gak.
Contact
Thomas Kampen, T.Kampen@UvH.nl.