Dr I. Houkes, Ph.D.

Research profile

The focus of my current work as a health scientist is on research in the field of work and health. I am associate professor at the Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at Maastricht University (Netherlands). I graduated from Maastricht University with a MA in Health Sciences (specialization Health Policy and Management). I received my PhD in Health Sciences on work motivation, burnout and turnover in 2002 from Maastricht University. My current research interests encompass various topics such as sustainable employment (of lower educated employees), intervention development, burnout, work life balance, cultural differences in work and health, domestic work, gender and health, engagement of employees, vocational rehabilitation, as well as research methodology. I supervise PhD students who de research in these areas and (co-)author many scientific papers in these fields. These papers are published in journal like the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Journal of Vocational Behavior, and the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. I co-author several papers with colleagues from the University of Gothenburg (Gothenburg, Sweden), the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm) and the University of Oslo (Norway).

Key publications

Houkes, I., Miglioretti, M., Picco, E., & De Rijk, A. E. (2020). Tapping the Employee Perspective on the Improvement of Sustainable Employability (SE): Validation of the MAastricht Instrument for SE (MAISE-NL). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), Article 2211. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072211

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Bernstrom, V. H., & Houkes, I. (2020). Shift work and sickness absence at a Norwegian hospital: a longitudinal multilevel study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 77(8), 555-563. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2019-106240

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Hazelzet, E., Picco, E., Houkes, I., Bosma, H., & de Rijk, A. (2019). Effectiveness of Interventions to Promote Sustainable Employability: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(11), Article 1985. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16111985

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Bernstrom, V. H., & Houkes, I. (2018). A systematic literature review of the relationship between work hours and sickness absence. Work and Stress, 32(1), 84-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2017.1394926

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Putnik, K., Houkes, I., Jansen, N., Nijhuis, F., & Kant, IJ. (2020). Work-home interface in a cross-cultural context: a framework for future research and practice. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(13), 1645-1662. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2017.1423096

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Hoefsmit, N., Boumans, N., & Houkes, I. (2019). Eigen regie over werkhervatting door verzuimende werknemers. Gedrag & Organisatie, 32(2), 71-85. https://doi.org/10.5117/2019.032.002.001

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Hoefsmit, N., Houkes, I., Boumans, N. P. G., Noben, C., Winkens, B., & Nijhuis, F. J. N. (2016). The effectiveness of an intervention to enhance cooperation between sick-listed employees and their supervisors (COSS). Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 26(2), 229-236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-015-9606-1

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Peters, V., de Rijk, A. E., Engels, J. A., Houkes, I., Joosten, J., & Kant, I. (2018). Sickness Absence of Nurses Working in Residential Elder Care The Essential Role of Psychosocial Job Resources and Home Demands. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 60(9), E445-E454. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001393

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Smeets, J., Hoefsmit, N., & Houkes, I. (2019). Self-directing return-to-work: Employees' perspective. WORK-A Journal of Prevention Assessment & Rehabilitation, 64(4), 797-807. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-193041

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Peters, V., Houkes, I., de Rijk, A. E., Bohle, P. L., Engels, J. A., & Nijhuis, F. J. N. (2016). Which resources moderate the effects of demanding work schedules on nurses working in residential elder care? A longitudinal study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 58, 31-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2016.01.008

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Recent publications