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About

Robert Van Der Meer is a leading scholar in the sociology of work and employment, with a focused expertise on job quality, technological change, and organisational redesign in public health services. His research critically examines how new technologies and management philosophies, particularly Lean principles, reshape work processes and employee experiences. Van Der Meer’s major contributions center on the interplay between employer agency and job quality, arguing that employer choice is a crucial, often overlooked, factor in shaping working conditions. His most cited work, a 2014 study on Lean and new technologies in the UK’s National Health Service (53 citations), provides a compelling, employee-centred analysis of a major robotics-driven redesign project, revealing the complex realities behind performance improvement initiatives. A subsequent 2016 paper (45 citations) further develops this theme, highlighting how employer-led decisions directly influence job quality outcomes. Through these impactful studies, Van Der Meer offers vital insights for researchers and practitioners navigating the sociotechnical challenges of modernising public sector work, demonstrating that the path to efficiency must be carefully balanced with the well-being of the workforce.