Humane Organizing in a Post-COVID-19 World: Learning from Buurtzorg’s Trust-Based Decentralization

This paper examines the enablers and consequences of less hierarchical organizing in which humane values are in focus as a path toward spirituality in the workplace. It describes Buurtzorg Nederland, a revolutionary case in-home health care due to its radically decentralized structure and integrative, autonomous system of organizing. Data were collected by studying the responses of directors and nurses to the COVID-19 pandemic. A formative grounded theory methodology based on theoretical sampling using two additional qualitative data sets is used. The paper demonstrates that the simplification of organizational structures through integrative self-management helps to put the organization’s purpose at the center. Even in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, this decentralized organizational architecture is empowering. The core concept of integrating simplification is elaborated using the enablers of serving, attuning, and trusting, wherein the concept of trust emerges as foundational.