papierbaan

Papierbaan (Dutch for "paper job") refers to a position that is recognized in organizational records but has little or no substantive duties in practice. In such arrangements, an employee is listed in payroll and official hierarchies, yet the daily work is minimal or non-existent; the role may exist to satisfy political or budgetary constraints, preserve employment numbers, or maintain a façade of staffing levels.

Context and use: The term is most often discussed in public administration, where governments face calls to reduce deficits while avoiding layoffs. Papierbanen can arise when staff are kept on payroll without equivalent real work, or when job descriptions are retained to claim compliance with staffing norms. Similar concepts exist in private organizations, though less frequently described in public debate.

Characteristics: Tasks associated with a papierbaan are typically vague, poorly defined, or inconsistent with department needs. Workers may perform only routine, non-critical tasks, or be present with limited functional output. The existence of papierbanen can obscure the true level of unemployment or inefficiency within an organization.

Criticism and reform: Papierbanen are widely criticized for wasting public funds, eroding accountability, and dampening service quality. Critics advocate transparency, performance-based evaluation, and regular audits to ensure that roles correspond to real, measurable outputs. When possible, staff are reassigned to meaningful duties or programs are restructured to eliminate non-value-added positions.

Related terms: ghost employees or spookbanen are related concepts in other contexts.