Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Employee health and well-being'
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Sweeney, Nancy Lee. "Enhancing employee well-being : evaluation of an employee assistance program /." The Ohio State University, 1995. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487864986610121.
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Young, Lisa. "iPawsome, LLC| A Healthcare Employee Well-Being Service." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10839189.
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Employee burnout has been a toxic concern in today’s American workforce. The prevalence of stress in the healthcare workplace is costing America billions of dollars and leading to medical errors, absenteeism, and turnover. Research indicates that human-animal bond provides physical, physiological, and psychological health benefits for professionals. This project will present the benefit of human-animal interactions (HAI) therapy in promoting the well-being in healthcare professionals. It will address services which will deliver to healthcare employees in the convenience of their workplace as well as educate the reader about the role animals play in humans’ lives. A combined minimal overhead cost and scientifically-proven health benefits of HAI, overall enhanced feelings of employee well-being and decreased animal abandonment are the strengths to this project. Finally, a discussion outlining the market, feasibility, legal and regulatory considerations and the proposal of financial analysis to deliver the project’s value with specific services from the human-animal interactions program.
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Eatough, Erin. "Illegitimate Tasks and Employee Well-Being: A Daily Diary Study." Scholar Commons, 2013. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4476.
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This dissertation focuses on an occupational stressor that has been recently introduced to the literature, illegitimate tasks, or tasks that seem unreasonable or unnecessary at work. Previous work has demonstrated the relationship between illegitimate tasks and a narrow set of discrete emotions as well as negative employee performance behaviors. The current research contributes to the literature by expanding the nomological network associated with illegitimate tasks and uses a rigorous daily diary methodology in a full-time working sample. It was expected that illegitimate tasks reduce state levels of self-esteem as well as other employee well-being indicators including anger, depressive mood, fatigue, job satisfaction, and sleep quality. Ninety participants filled out trait level surveys and subsequently completed daily dairy questionnaires three times daily for two workweeks. Daily diaries assessed experiences of illegitimate tasks as well as self-esteem and well-being. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test primary hypotheses. Results indicate that anger and job satisfaction are consistently, significantly associated with illegitimate task episodes throughout workdays; however, responses dissipate overnight. Depressive mood and fatigue tend to be related to illegitimate tasks as the workday carries on and these responses appear to persist into the following workday. Results are consistent with the notion that illegitimate tasks reduce state self-esteem. However, high trait levels of self-esteem may negate this relationship. No effects on sleep quality were evident. In sum, daily experience of illegitimate task episodes represents a meaningful occupational stressor that predicts reductions in employee self-esteem and employee well-being.
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Miller, Paul S. J. "Demonstrating the economic value of investments in employee health and well-being." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2010. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/18998.
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The extent to which any organisation dedicates its finite resources towards employee health and well-being issues is driven by some combination of ethical, legal and economic factors. This thesis is concerned with demonstrating the economic value of investments in employee health and well-being, focusing on how economic information is and could be generated and how organisations process this information in their decision-making regarding employee health and well-being issues. The thesis explores the notion that better, more appropriate economic information and more rigorous economic evaluation methodologies are important in creating incentives for organisations to invest in and better manage the health and well-being of their employees. A series of studies are presented: a review of the existing literature reporting cost-of illness and cost-effectiveness type studies; a study exploring current practice using a focus group followed by a series of individual interviews with key occupational health professionals in the UK; a study reporting a survey of specialist and generalist managers' attitudes, perceptions, information needs and experience of employee health and wellbeing 'business cases'; economic evaluation methods and their application to the occupational health setting are reviewed. These studies served to directly inform the design and development of an economic framework approach using employee self-report data to construct empirical case studies to demonstrate the correlation between employer costs and employee health and well-being metrics. These studies provide new information on the relative marginal effects of cost to an organisation of changes in different employee health and well-being measures. This knowledge could aid resource allocation decisions by providing estimates of the value to an organisation of effects that could be delivered by a diverse range of employee health and well-being interventions or policies. The separation of this economic information about the costs of employee health and well-being issues from economic information about specific interventions is likely to be key in creating incentives for organisations to invest in employee health and well-being.
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Nichol, Amelia Prudence. "Examining employees perceptions of workplace health & well-being promotion initiatives." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/10592.
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The objective of the present study was to examine the perceptions of employees who have participated in workplace health promotion (WHP) initiatives, more specifically, whether the employees perceived the WHP initiatives to have an impact on their well-being, general health or work. Furthermore, the effect of WHP initiatives on the relationship between job demands-resources and positive work outcomes, namely employee resilience, engagement, well-being and affective organisational commitment, was investigated. This study collected perceptions from 107 employees, all of whom were employed in organisations which had engaged in WHP initiatives. MultipleThe objective of the present study was to examine the perceptions of employees who have participated in workplace health promotion (WHP) initiatives, more specifically, whether the employees perceived the WHP initiatives to have an impact on their well-being, general health or work. Furthermore, the effect of WHP initiatives on the relationship between job demands-resources and positive work outcomes, namely employee resilience, engagement, well-being and affective organisational commitment, was investigated. This study collected perceptions from 107 employees, all of whom were employed in organisations which had engaged in WHP initiatives. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Two significant interactions were found – the perception the WHP initiative had an impact on well-being and work had a moderating effect on the relationship between work overload and employee resilience. These findings have implications for organisations developing WHP initiatives targeted at improving the health and well-being. Further investigation of a wider span of perceived impacts and a more targeted examination, such as the type of WHP initiative completed, or the time that the employee spent doing the initiative is warranted. hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Two significant interactions were found – the perception the WHP initiative had an impact on well-being and work had a moderating effect on the relationship between work overload and employee resilience. These findings have implications for organisations developing WHP initiatives targeted at improving the health and well-being. Further investigation of a wider span of perceived impacts and a more targeted examination, such as the type of WHP initiative completed, or the time that the employee spent doing the initiative is warranted.
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Burns, Richard A. "Exploring the effects of employee and organisational characteristics on two models of employee well-being within an organisational health research framework." University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Education, 2008. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/00006182/.
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[Abstract]Research within clinical, organisational and community contexts, generally equates an individual’s sense of well-being with the absence of adverse psychological states.More recently, proponents of ‘positive psychology’ have drawn attention to positive affective states, like happiness and joy. The focus on affective states relates to a Subjective Well-Being (SWB) approach to well-being. In contrast, a Psychological Well-Being (PWB) approach considers the role of mastery and efficacy beliefs, asense of autonomy and positive relatedness with others, as separate dimensions that are related to SWB. Two studies tested the hypothesis that two affect dimensions ofSWB, Positive (PA) and Negative (NA) Affect, were independently related to PWB.In both studies, factor analysis differentiated between items from two SWB and PWB measures, whilst correlations between the well-being factors were moderate. Apreliminary study reported PWB to be a significant predictor of SWB after controlling for Demographics and Negative Life Events. A lack of association between Negative Life Events and PA suggests independent effects for two broad SWB dimensions. Using an Organisational Health Research Framework (OHRF), a study of high-school teachers further controlled for a five-factor model of personality and both Positive and Negative Organisational Climate. PWB was still identified as a significant predictor of SWB after controlling for demographic, organisational climate and personality variables. Independent effects on positive and negative SWBdimensions were also identified. Assessing change of both dependent and independent variables with two waves of data supported the independence of SWB outcomes and the strong effect of PWB on SWB across time. Higher levels of PWBwere mostly related to better SWB outcomes (lower negative and higher positive SWB states). Although the OHRF proposes reciprocal effects of employee wellbeingand personality on perceptions of climate, the strongest effects were those reported whereby organisational climate and individual characteristics, being mostly independent of each other, strongly predicted employee SWB within and across waves. Implications for future employee well-being research are that organisational interventions need to address reducing negative and improving positive facets of the organisation. Individual interventions which promote PWB components would appear to be a most important avenue by which to improve employee SWB, by reducing NA and improving PA states.
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Demsky, Caitlin Ann. "Interpersonal Conflict and Employee Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Recovery Experiences." PDXScholar, 2012. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/766.
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Recovery during nonwork time is essential for restoring resources that have been lost throughout the working day. Recent research has begun to explore the nature of recovery experiences as boundary conditions between various job stressors and employee well-being. Interpersonal conflict is an important work stressor that has been associated with several negative employee outcomes, such as higher levels of psychosomatic complaints, anxiety, depression, and frustration. This study contributes to recovery research by examining the moderating role of recovery experiences on the relationship between workplace interpersonal conflict and employee well-being. Specifically, it was hypothesized that recovery experiences (e.g., psychological detachment, mastery, control, relaxation, negative work reflection, positive work reflection, and social activities) would moderate the relationship between interpersonal conflict and employee well-being (e.g., job satisfaction, burnout, life satisfaction, and general health complaints). Hierarchical regression was used to examine the hypotheses. Relaxation was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between self-reported interpersonal conflict and employee exhaustion. Additional analyses found mastery experiences to be a significant moderator of the relationship between coworker reported interpersonal conflict and both dimensions of burnout (exhaustion and disengagement). Several main relationships between recovery experiences and employee well-being were found that support and extend earlier research on recovery from work. Practical implications for future research are discussed.
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Dingaan, Stellin Auburn. "The relationship between psychological capital and employee well-being among primary school teachers." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14278.
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This treatise examined the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap) and employee well-being (EWB) and its sub-dimensions among primary school teachers. Self-efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism were examined as sub-dimensions of PsyCap. Positive and negative affect were used as dimensions of EWB. A sample (n = 104) was drawn from primary school teachers employed by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) - West Coast District (WCD). Convenience sampling was used in a cross-sectional design. A composite questionnaire was used to collect data. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 23 was used to analyse data. Cronbach’s coefficient alphas for all variables were above 0.60 except for the optimism variable (0.47). Results indicated a significant moderate relationship between PsyCap and EWB (r = 0.56, p<0.01). Limitations of the study included: common method variance may affect results due to the use of self-report measures and results cannot be generalised to other settings. Future studies could focus on the factors influencing the significant difference between age and self-efficacy among primary school teachers in South Africa.
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McHugh, Marie Louise. "Competitive pressure, employee well being and the healthy organisation : synthesizing diverse concepts." Thesis, University of Ulster, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.267762.
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Eatough, Erin M. "Understanding the Relationships between Interpersonal Conflict at Work, Perceived Control, Coping, and Employee Well-being." Scholar Commons, 2010. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1623.
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Stressors resulting from one's work life including work conditions, job characteristics, and relationships with others at work have been shown to impact employee health outcomes at both psychological and physical levels (Le Blanc, Jonge, & Schaufeli, 2008; Spector, Dwyer, & Jex, 1988). Interpersonal conflict is one prevalent workplace stressor that has been associated with poor work-related outcomes and psychological states. A cross-sectional design with multi-source data collection methods was used to measure conflict, perceptions of control, coping strategies, and both psychological and physical well-being. Overall, findings suggested that the success of coping efforts hinges on the combination of the nature of the stressor (conflict with supervisors vs. with a co-worker), perceptions of control over that stressor (high or low control), and coping strategy used (problem-focused or emotion-focused coping). This may explain at least to a certain extent why previous efforts to document the moderating effects of coping have been inconsistent, especially pertaining to emotion-focused coping.
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Knight, FRANCELIA Luis. "Strategies to Retain Employees in the Health Care Industry." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5888.
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Health care leaders who fail to apply effective retention strategies could negatively affect employee well-being, patient outcomes, and business performance. The purpose of this single case study was to explore effective strategies that leaders used to retain employees in a health care organization. Human capital theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected via on-site semistructured interviews with 10 leaders of a Texas health care organization who had a history of retaining employees for a minimum of 2 years from the date of hire, and from the review of organizational documents pertaining to employee retention. Data were analyzed using coding and word frequency to discern patterns. Three key themes emerged from the data: (a) healthy work environment, (b) manager relationships, and (c) training and development. The implications for positive social change include the potential to retain top talent in health care organizations, which could improve customer service, promote affordable health care, increase job satisfaction, and improve quality service to patients.
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Juniper, Bridget. "Evaluation of a novel approach to measuring well-being in the workplace." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2010. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/6851.
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The well-being of employees is an important issue. Researchers, policy makers and organisations are directing more resource into this field as the link between the health of people and their performance in the workplace becomes increasingly understood. This research programme examines how employee well-being can be measured. Having the right tools to successfully appraise well-being at the outset is judged to be imperative where any research or organisational programme to bring about change is under consideration. A review of existing methods indicates that the current provision of scales to assess the well-being of workers is limited and the construction techniques used in their development may be improved upon. At the core of this study is the testing of a new measurement framework which seeks to address these deficiencies. This innovative approach is taken from one established practice used to assess the well-being of patients using health related quality of life instruments. Three organisations participated in the study; a call centre operation, a police force and a county-based library service. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, three pilot questionnaires were constructed using Impact Analysis; an established procedure deployed in health related quality of life settings. Basic findings from each case study were analysed against conventional construction methods and against existing employee well-being scales. Results were also examined in respect of how they compared with the wider literature on employee well-being. ii The Impact Analysis method was critically appraised. Although weaknesses in respect of some of the qualitative phases of analyes were noted, the overall notion of transferring the practice of Impact Analysis to an occupational setting was assessed as cautiously encouraging. While this scale construction method lacks the statistical elegance of factor analytical methods, provisional indications suggest potential benefits in content validity over extant occupational scales where the assessment of a study population’s own experiences are critical to any well-being evaluation strategy. Based on the findings, a new operational definition for employee well-being is posited. A new, working model is also proposed. This emphasises for the first time, the need for specificity when researchers and organisations are seeking to evaluate a multi-dimensional, subjective construct that is employee well-being. Limitations regarding the study are noted. This means that the findings should be treated as tentative rather than conclusive. Nevertheless, it is hoped that this study will inject new thinking on how employee well-being may be evaluated using an alternative approach. By doing so, it is ventured that research communities and employers alike may take up the methods described in this study to conduct assessment programmes that could benefit not just the study teams or the employers, but importantly, the workers themselves.
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Williams, Gary. "Researching and developing mental health and well-being assessment tools for supporting employers and employees in Wales." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2014. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/71443/.
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The assessment and management of mental health and psychological well-being is an important issue in applied settings such as the workplace. In these settings however, the issues of practicality in terms of the resources available to devote to assessment and management are limited. This thesis presents research which aims to establish whether a single-item, multidimensional approach can be used to provide a practical way of measuring well-being in a short space while assessing and predicting well-being to a comparable level to traditional multi-item scales. Single-item measures were developed to assess well-being in terms of circumstances, individual differences, personality, and outcomes. These items were compared to multi-item measures in terms of their ability to measure the constructs in question and to predict well-being outcomes from predictor variables in samples of university staff, nurses, and students. The results indicate that many of the items are comparable to their multi-item counterparts and that single-item predictor measures can predict significant variance in well-being outcomes in both working adults and students. The result is a set of items that can be combined to create a wellbeing assessment tool that identifies well-being issues and potential causes. An example tool was prototyped in a small Welsh mental health support business.
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Lindmark, Tomas. "Span of Control’s Significance for Public Sector Employees’ Working Conditions and Well-Being." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Psykologiska institutionen, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-157141.
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The reforms in the public sector, as consequence of New Public Management, have led to flattened organizational structure, increasing the span of control(SOC) width for managers. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between SOC width, working conditions (job demands, job resources and engaged leadership), employee health and engagement. SOC was measured as predictor for employee health and engagement, where mediation of working conditions effect on the relation was examined. Self-administrated surveys were collected from 1551 employees working under 109 managers in four public sector municipal operations in Sweden. The result displayed that it was unfavorable to have managers with a wide SOC for the employees working conditions, engagement and health. SOC was a significant predictor for health, while mediation of working conditions could not account for the relationship. These results indicate that a narrow SOC may improve working conditions and health outcomes for employees.
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Fagerudd, Rosanna, and Emma Sjögren. "In the hands of a controlling leader? Implications for employee well-being from a gender perspective." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för psykologi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-159663.
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Leaders engaging in controlling leadership behaviours (CLB) has been connected to followers perceiving their basic needs thwarted. However, little research has been made in the organizational field to understand the implications of controlling leadership behaviours for employee well-being. The present study aimed to clarify this relation through understanding controlling leadership behaviours’ influence on employee health, as well as investigate the impact of both leader and employee gender on employees’ perception of controlling leadership behaviours. A sample of 818 employees, representing the Swedish labour market, completed a questionnaire including measures of perceived controlling leadership behaviours and well-being in terms of self-rated health, burnout, self-rated job satisfaction and vigour. Results confirmed the notion that leaders’ controlling leadership behaviours, like other negative leadership behaviours, is associated with lowered well-being. Results also indicate that male employees perceive male leaders as more controlling than female employees do, while female leaders are perceived as equally controlling by both male and female employees. The gender of leaders exhibiting controlling leadership behaviours seem to have no association with employee well-being. The implications of gender on controlling leadership behaviours is still a question unanswered. Future studies should therefore continue exploring both leader and employee gender influence on CLB.Ledare som använder sig av kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden har visat sig underminera basala psykologiska behov hos sina följare. Trots detta saknas det forskning på hur chefers kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden påverkar anställda. Denna studie syftade till att klargöra hur kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden påverkar anställdas hälsa, och undersöka hur såväl anställdas kön och chefens kön påverkar de anställdas uppfattning av chefens kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden. Ett randomiserat urval på 818 arbetstagare svarade på frågor om uppfattat kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden hos sin chef och självskattad hälsa i termer av självskattad hälsa, utbrändhet, arbetstillfredsställelse och arbetsenergi. Resultaten bekräftade att kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden hos chefer är relaterat till sämre hälsa och arbetsprestation hos de anställda, samt ökar viljan att sluta. Manliga anställda uppfattar manliga chefer som mer kontrollerande jämfört med sina kvinnliga kollegor, medan kvinnliga chefer uppfattas lika kontrollerande av både manliga som kvinnliga anställda. Den kontrollerande chefens könstillhörighet var inte associerat med anställdas mående. Hur könsaspekter påverkar kontrollerande ledarskapsbeteenden är fortfarande inte klarlagt. Framtida studier bör därför fortsätta undersöka hur både chefens och den anställdas kön influerar CLB.
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Segovia, Villarreal Santiago Eduardo. "Linking worker health and well-being with business performance measures in the maquiladora manufacturing industry in the US-Mexico Border Region." To access this resource online via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses @ UTEP, 2008. http://0-proquest.umi.com.lib.utep.edu/login?COPT=REJTPTU0YmImSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=2515.
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Warnakulasuriya, Mahesh Niroshan Fernando. "User acceptance of employer-sponsored personal health records." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2018. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/121762/1/Mahesh%20Niroshan%20Fernando_Warnakulasuriya_Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis investigated ways to encourage employees and employers to use an employer-sponsored electronic personal health record (ESPHR) system from a consumer-centric viewpoint. Through a mixed method research approach, our study revealed that a focus on technology, human and organizational factors, rather than only technological factors, is a must for an effective ESPHR system. This study provides recommendations for a novel, technology-based, occupational health and well-being model and validates an extension of the established Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in relation to ESPHR systems.
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Bodin, Danielsson Christina. "The Office - An Explorative Study : Architectural Design's Impact on Health, Job Satisfaction & Well-being." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Arkitektur, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-24429.
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This doctoral thesis examines the office environment’s influence on employees’ perception oftheir workplaces, their organizations and their job satisfaction, as well as their health and wellbeing.It is based on an empirical study of 491 office employees from twenty-six companies anddivisions in large companies. Seven office types, defined by their architectural and functionalfeatures, are represented in the study group: cell-office, shared-room office, small open planoffice, medium-sized open plan office, large open plan office, flex-office and combi-office. Theresearch has its basis in architecture, although an interdisciplinary approach using organizationaland management theory, environmental psychology, and social and stress medicine has beenemployed. Qualitative (Articles I & V) and quantitative methods(Articles II & IV) were used.The thesis also contains an explorative, review article. Thus it comprises all in all five articles.Article I is an analysis of the importance of architectural quality for employees´ perceptionand experience of the office using Lynch’s method (1960) developed to measure inhabitants’perception of architectural quality in cities. The study shows that in the office the experienceto a high degree is independent of both the scale of the office and office type; instead it isdetermined by the quality of the plan layout combined with the quality of other design features.It also shows Lynch’s method to be useful in foreseeing where the elements that reinforce‘imageability’ will most likely appear in an office environment.Article II investigates employees’ environmental satisfaction focusing on:1) ambient factors; 2) noise and privacy; and 3) design-related factors. The results, based onregression models with age, gender, job rank and line of business as additional covariates,show office type as a factor with a statistically significant impact on satisfaction with the officeenvironment. Employees in cell-offices are prominently most satisfied, followed by those inflex-offices, cell-offices rate low only on social aspects of design-related factors. A major findingis the internal differences between office types where employees share workspace and facilitieswith lowest satisfaction in medium-sized and large open plan offices.Article III is a review article that analyzes the employees’ office experiences in two ways:1) by framing the physical work environment’s influence on employees into the model oforganizational theorist Davis (1994); and 2) by categorizing the office experience into twogroups based on the nature of the experience and problems related to them. The results of theemperical study presented in Article II are the basis for the discussion in this article.Article IV examines employees’ health, well-being and job satisfaction. A multivariateanalysis applied to the study sample and equivalent to that of Article II shows significantly higherrisks for ill health and poor well-being in medium-sized and small open plan offices, comparedespecially with cell-office. In medium-sized open plan and combi-offices the employees evincethe lowest job satisfaction. The best chance for good health status and job satisfaction is in cellofficesand flex-offices.Article V examines the office architecture´s importance for employees’ perception of theirown workplaces and organizations based on the two key components of architecture—theaesthetical and functional dimensions. The results show that overall the employees had positiveexperiences of their office environments. These mainly concerned the aesthetical dimension,whereas the negative comments dealt with the functional dimension. The aesthetical dimensionappears not only to set the agenda for employees’ perception of the workplace and organizationas a whole, but also for the perception of the functional dimensions. The functional dimensionswere only in focus when the workstation and its proximate area were discussed.QC 20100908
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Phale, Matthews Mbangwa. "Work-related well-being of employees in a South African parastatal / Matthews Mbangwa Phale." Thesis, North-West University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4122.
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The mandates for government-owned enterprises (parastatals) have drastically changed in light of the changes in the government's post-democratic dispensation. There are more pressures and obligations related to governance, business operations, sustainability and financial viability prescribed for these institutions. Parastatals have moved from fully utilising government subsidies and incurring more debts at the expense of government, to income-generating entities. This change has exposed parastatals to global challenges, experienced by all organisations related to human capital management. Employees are the most critical assets that assist organisations to fulfil their mandates and drive their competitive advantage. While organisations experience challenges and pressures in the market, employees are also positively and adversely affected, depending on their dispositions and general functioning. The extent of employee participation and involvement in their work roles impacts on the success of the institution. Thus, work-related well-being of employees is an integral part of any organisational functioning and this relates to interplay between constructs of job demands, job resources, psychological conditions at work, health, work engagement, self-efficacy and organisational commitment.
The general objective of this research was to study work engagement and its relationship with various other antecedents, mediators and outcomes of employees within a parastatal in the South African context. Furthermore, the study aimed to understand the relationships between factors of job demands, job resources, psychological conditions, self-efficacy and work engagement. In addition to the above, this study also aimed to determine relationships between psychological conditions, job demands, job resources, work engagement, self-efficacy, health and organisational commitment.
The findings are presented in three articles, each consisting of a brief literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study included 288 participants in a parastatal in different job categories and levels. The questionnaires used in
the empirical study comprised of the Work Engagement Scale, the Antecedents Scale, the Job Demands-Re sources Scale, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, the Psychological Conditions Questionnaire, the Self-Efficacy Scale, the General Health Questionnaire and a biographical questionnaire. Exploratory factor analyses were carried out to determine the construct validity of the measuring instruments. Pearson-product moment correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationships between the variables, while multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the predictive value of factors on each other.
The results showed that psychological meaning fulness and psychological availability were significant predictors of work engagement, with person-environment fit and growth opportunities in the job as strongest predictors of psychological meaningfulness. Person-environment fit was the strongest predictor of work engagement and psychological availability was best predicted by physical resources.
Overload and psychological meaningfulness were the best predictors of work engagement. Growth opportunities in the job and organisational support were the best predictors of psychological meaningfulness, which also strongly predicted work engagement. Psychological availability was found to be positively related to organisational support and self-efficacy. Low psychological availability predicted physical and psychological ill health, while low psychological meaningfulness predicted psychological ill health. Work engagement was the strongest predictor of normative and affective commitment, while psychological meaningfulness strongly predicted normative commitment.
Recommendations for future research are made.Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.
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King, Carolyn. "The relationship between transportation mode choice and well-being: An ecological perspective." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1999. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1211.
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The present study is based on an ecological analysis of transport and wellbeing as devised by Stokols and Novaco (1981). This study seeks to examine the link between transport mode and well-being. One hundred and eight Participants (N= 1 08) filled out a questionnaire that contained the psychological well-being scales of self-efficacy, general health and perceived stress; and the organizational scales of job satisfaction and absenteeism. The participants were divided into groups of 18 according to which transport mode they used. The transport mode groups were drive alone, train, bus, car pool, walk or cycle. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in well-being between transport modes, that alternative modes of transport would score better than the drive alone category and that transport mode had an effect on psychological and organizational well-being. Findings supported that there was a difference in well-being between transport modes with the cycle and drive alone categories being significantly different to the bus, car pool and walk categories. Only the alternative mode of cycle performed better on the well-being scales than the drive alone category which did not support our second hypothesis. Transport mode did have an effect across both the psychological and organizational categories. Research and practical implications are discussed and directions for future research are highlighted.
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Jones, Leonie. "WISH (Well-being Intervention for Self-managing Health) : a feasibility work-based self-management intervention for employees with long-term health conditions." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2017. http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/31699/.
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Aim: The aim of this feasibility study is to design and evaluate the effectiveness of providing a self-management workplace intervention to employees with long-term health conditions, working in a Civil Service Department. Method: The WISH intervention (Well-being Intervention for Self-managing Health) was delivered in four-weekly sessions to two intervention groups, and compared to a waiting-list control group. 33 individuals took part in the study, with 21 participants (17 = female; 4 = male) taking part in the intervention, and 12 participants (11 = female; 1 = male) in the waiting-list control group. The Individual outcomes were competence, Self-efficacy, and well-being. The Organisational outcomes were: Absenteeism, Presenteeism, and Work-engagement. Measures included the Perceived Competency Scale (PCS); the Stanford Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Diseases (CDSE); the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6); the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES); a modified version of the Gallup-Healthways Well-being Index; and a study-specific demographic questionnaire. Baseline data was taken at pre-intervention, followed by subsequent data being recorded at post-intervention, 3-months and 6-months. Results: The intervention demonstrated significant increase for Competence, Self-efficacy and Well-being over the 6-month period. A significant decrease in Absenteeism was also found over the 6-month period of the study. There were no differences found for primary health diagnosis, gender, or age. Conclusion: The feasibility study found the WISH workplace intervention, for employees with long-term health conditions, to be an effective programme for reducing organisational absenteeism in those with health concerns, but equally a beneficial and positive experience for the individual employees in empowering them to manage their health and well-being within the workplace setting.
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Johnson, Hazel-Anne M. "The Story Behind Service With A Smile: The Effects of Emotional Labor on Job Satisfaction, Emotional Exhaustion, and Affective Well-Being." [Tampa, Fla.] : University of South Florida, 2004. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/SFE0000287.
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Van, Rooyen Brigitte. "Employees' work outcomes associated with the psychological contract within private training institutions / B. van Rooyen." Thesis, North-West University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/2511.
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Yaldiz, Lale Muazzez. "Age-based Differences in the Usefulness of Resources: a Multi-Study Investigation of Work and Well-being Outcomes." PDXScholar, 2018. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4650.
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The labor force is aging globally. It is projected that the number of older workers will increase in the workforce in the near future. At the same time, it is estimated that workplaces will grow more age-diverse, where younger and older workers will work side-by-side more often than they used to. These demographic shifts in the workforce necessitate a further understanding of the differences between the values, needs and motivation, and work outcomes of employees of different ages. To this end, few studies to date have investigated whether job-related resources are differentially useful for the work and non-work outcomes of younger and older workers. Guided by Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and two lifespan development theories (Selection-Optimization-Compensation, SOC; Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory, SST), this dissertation suggests that the utility of resources is age-dependent. Specifically, this dissertation includes three studies that expand our knowledge of age-based differences in the usefulness of job-specific, social, and personal resources, and how they relate to various job attitudes, different forms of job performance, and employee well-being. Study 1, which was published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, examines the moderating role of age in the relationship between baseline resources (skill discretion, leader-member exchange, and procedural fairness) and perceived stress after one year in a sample of U.S. construction workers (N = 243). As hypothesized, the findings of this study showed that these autonomy and support resources were more important for older workers: When resources were high in the workplace, all employees reported lower levels of stress. However, when resources were low, older workers experienced greater stress compared to their younger colleagues. In Study 2, multi-source data from Turkish manufacturing employees (N = 156) are utilized to investigate the age-based differences in the link between social support resources (leader-member exchange, perceived organizational support) and supervisory ratings of in-role performance and organizational citizenship behaviors in a cultural context other than the U.S. It was hypothesized that these social support resources would be more important for older workers' performance. However, the findings showed that both leader-member exchange and perceived organizational support were considered as equally important by older and younger workers to perform well at work. Finally, Study 3 explores whether resource from job (decision-making autonomy) and personal resources (optimism, perceived work ability) differentially relate to work attitudes (job satisfaction, work engagement) and well-being (perceived stress, emotional exhaustion) of older and younger nurses (N = 111) working in the Pacific Northwest, U.S. The findings of this study supported that the usefulness of decision-making autonomy and optimism were more pronounced for older workers. Overall, the results suggested that, when these resources were low, all employees had lower job satisfaction and work engagement, and greater emotional exhaustion and perceived stress independent of their ages. However, under high resource conditions, older employees shined at work and in life: When resourceful, they enjoyed their job more and felt strong and vigorous at work, and they perceived an overall sense of control over life as well as had an ease of mind at and outside of their work environments. Taken together, the findings of these three studies suggest several implications for theory and practice, particularly those pertaining to the key role that age may play in understanding different workers' needs for job-related resources and how this may affect their work attitudes, behavior, and well-being. Theoretical implications suggest that COR theory can be integrated with lifespan development theories to address the age-related differences in the resource utility. In addition, the findings of this dissertation highlight the need to examine employee age as a main study variable to explore the boundary conditions of various resources -- work and non-work outcomes. Implications for practice include recommendations such as facilitating job crafting and job redesigns for older workers, developing managerial trainings on relationship building with subordinates, creating a fair work environment through transparent organizational policies and practices, and improving personal capacities through stress management interventions. Avenues for future research are discussed as well, including identifying additional resources (e.g., overqualification, support from coworkers and family), and work and well-being outcomes (e.g., objective health measures such as sleep, sick days, and injuries) that may show age-based differences based on lifespan development theories. Finally, this dissertation highlights the need to replicate these study findings across industries, job types, gender, and culture as the usefulness of resources may be context-specific.
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McNamara, Rachel. "Combined and selective effects of environmental and psychosocial workplace hazards : associations with health and well-being in public sector employees." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2008. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/54476/.
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Associations between occupational stressors and poor health are well-documented. However, research to date has focused on individual stressors or single job stress models and associations with a limited set of health outcomes. The main aims of this thesis were to investigate combined and selective associations between varied sources of occupational stressors (environmental and psychosocial) and a range of health outcomes in public sector employees. Data were obtained from two cross-sectional surveys of public sector employees (n=1090 and 870). Key sources of potential stress examined were: demands, control, support, efforts, rewards, unfavourable working patterns (long hours, shift work), physical hazards (noise, harmful substances), organisational culture, role stressors (conflict, ambiguity), interpersonal relationships (Leader-Member and Team-Member Exchange) and workplace bullying. Key health outcomes comprised work-related stress, clinical anxiety and depression, lifetime, 12-month and acute symptom prevalence and use of prescribed medication within the last 12 months and 14 days. Analyses were carried out using logistic regression. Results indicate that stressors explain more variance in health outcomes when studied in combination. Cumulative exposure to stressors was measured by a composite additive score derived from traditional job stress models (Demand-Control-Support, Effort-Reward Imbalance) and items assessing working hours/physical hazards, and was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting the majority of key health outcomes. The addition of novel stressors to the composite score (e.g. role, interpersonal relationships, culture) did not explain additional variance with the exception of workplace bullying. For some outcomes (work-related stress) associations with stressors were linear for others (clinical depression), only very high levels of exposure were associated with a negative outcome (i.e. a 'threshold' effect). These different patterns of effect are suggestive of selective, as well as cumulative relationships: certain health outcomes are associated with particular risk factors. Limitations, directions for future research and stress management and policy implications are discussed.
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Bjärntoft, Sofie. "Uppfattningar kring hälsofrämjande ledarskap : En mixad studie om jämförelsen mellan första linjens chefers och medarbetares uppfattning av hälsofrämjande ledarskapsaspekter och dess relation till medarbetarnas välbefinnande." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för arbets- och folkhälsovetenskap, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-21737.
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Ledarskap har visat sig vara en utav de viktigaste faktorerna för att främja hälsa i arbetslivet. Tidigare forskning betonar att ett hälsofrämjande ledarskap där chefen bland annat är engagerad i de anställdas arbete och tillåter inflytande i beslutstagande ökar medarbetarnas trivsel och välbefinnande i arbetet, samt kan minska risken för sjukskrivning. Det är dock inte alltid chefen når ut med alla delar av sitt ledarskap, vilket kan resultera i ett ”gap” mellan chefens och medarbetarnas uppfattning. Medarbetarna kan då bli omotiverade i arbetet, vilket påverkar såväl individens välbefinnande som företagets och samhällets ekonomi. Syftet med denna studie var att utifrån begreppet hälsofrämjande ledarskap undersöka hur första linjens chefer på ett kommunalt helägt aktiebolag inom energisektorn uppfattade sitt eget ledarskap i jämförelse med medarbetarnas uppfattning av ledarskapet, samt om detta relaterade till medarbetarnas välbefinnande i arbetet. Denna studie är en fördjupning av ett tidigare projekt, GodA och är baserad på tvärsnitts design där både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder användes. För att jämföra chefens och medarbetarnas uppfattning av ledarskap användes ett urval av enkätfrågor från GodA. Chefens värdering av sitt ledaskap utifrån hälsofrämjande aspekter undersöktes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet visade att det fanns en bred uppfattning kring innebörden av ett hälsofrämjande ledarskap hos cheferna. De upplevde även en viss svårighet i rollen som första linjens chef. Jämförelsen mellan chefens och medarbetarnas uppfattning av ledarskapet resulterade i ett gap, då hälften av grupperna hade en signifikant skillnad. Det fanns även en positiv signifikant korrelation mellan gapet och medarbetarnas välbefinnande, där en större skillnad resulterade i sämre välbefinnande. Då tidigare forskning visat att chefer ofta överskattar sitt ledarskap och att ett gap kan påverka medarbetarnas välbefinnande, är det viktigt att vidare undersöka vad skillnaden kan bero på och hur gapet kan minskas. Det är även relevant att skapa en tydlig definition av ett hälsofrämjande ledarskap i syfte att utveckla hälsofrämjande strategier i arbetet.Aim: Based on the concept of health promotion leadership, the purpose is to examine how the first-line managers perceive their own leadership in comparison to employees' perceptions of the leadership, and whether this relates to employee well-being at work. Methods: This study is a recess of the project GodA and it’s based on a cross-sectional design with both quantitative and qualitative methods. To make a comparison between managers and employees perception of leadership, a selection of survey questions from GodA was used. The manager’s valuation of the health promotive leadership aspects were examined through semi-structured interviews. Main results: The results shows that there was a wide perception of health promotive leadership among managers. Although it can be interpreted that the managers work from the health promoting leadership aspects, there was a gap between the manager and employee perception of leadership. In half of the groups there was a significant difference. There was also a positive significant correlation between gap and employee well-being, then a larger gap resulted in a lower estimated well-being. Summary: Previous research shows that managers often overrate their leadership and a gap can affect employee well-being. It is therefore important to further investigate what the differences between the manager and the employees can depend on and how the gap can be reduced. It is also important to create a clear definition of a health promotive leadership in order to develop health promotion strategies at work.
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Danielsson, Christina. "Office environment, health and job satisfaction : an explorative study of office design's influence." Licentiate thesis, KTH, School of Technology and Health (STH), 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-472.
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The present thesis investigates environmental factors impact on office employees. More specifically, it investigates: 1) perception and experience of office environments, 2) satisfaction with office environments, and 3) health status and job satisfaction in connection to office environment. It is based on an empirical study with 491 office employees from twenty-six companies and divisions in larger companies. Each one respectively represents one of seven identified office-types in office design: cell-office, sharedroom office, small open plan office, medium open plan office, large open plan office, flex-office and combi-office. This study takes its basis in architecture, although an interdisciplinary approach from organizational and management theory, environmental psychology, and social and stress medicine has been used. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used.
In Article I a review of the different research fields that investigate environmental influences are presented with a focus on office environments. Different perspectives on the environmental impact on office employees are investigated.
In Article II an analysis of office environment based on the employee’s perception and experience of the architecture is done based on in-depth interviews using a method originally developed by Kevin Lynch (1960). The method measures the "imagebility" of a space, rated by the users with following elements: landmark, node, path, edge and district. The result showed that the method, based on employees’ perception and use of space, is a possible tool in the design process to get a better understanding of where the elements that reinforce "imageability" most likely will appear in an office environment. The method thus gives a better idea of the future "imageability" of a space and could be useful as guidance in the design process of how the architectural design will be received by the users in the end.
In Article III employees’ satisfaction with the office environment in different office-types is investigated. The article focuses on three domains: 1) Ambient factors, 2) Noise and Privacy and 3) Designrelated factors. The statistical analysis was done using a logistic regression model with multivariate analysis. Adjustment was done for: age, gender, job rank, job satisfaction and market division. The results show differences in satisfaction with the office environment between employees in different office-types, many of which were statistically significant. When differences persist in the multivariate analysis they can possibly be ascribed to the office-type. Results show that employees in cell-offices are prominently most satisfied followed by those in flex-offices. Cell-offices rate only low on social aspects of Design-related factors. A major finding is internal differences between different office-types where employees share workspace and facilities. The medium and large open plan offices could be described as high-risk officetypes.
In Article IV differences between employees in different office-types with regard to health, wellbeing and job satisfaction are analyzed. A multivariate analysis of the data was done with adjustment for the confounders: age, gender, job rank and market division. The results show that there are risks of ill health and poor well-being in medium and small open plan offices. Employees in these office-types show significantly higher risks compared with those in other office-types. In medium open plan and combioffices the employees show the highest prevalence of low job satisfaction. The best chance for good health status and job satisfaction is among employees in cell-offices and flex-offices; there are, however, internal differences in distribution on different outcome variables for job satisfaction. The major finding of these studies is that there are significant differences with regard to satisfaction with office environments as well as health status and job satisfaction between employees in different office-types; differences that can possibly can be ascribed to the office-types as they persist after adjustment for important confounders.
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Gradéus, Stephanie, and Lisa Max. "Vilken betydelse har ledarskapet för de anställda inom den svenska hälso- och sjukvården? : En litteraturöversikt." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för hälsa och lärande, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-17294.
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Introduktion: Personal inom den svenska hälso- och sjukvården utgör den största yrkesgruppen på arbetsmarknaden och är den grupp som står för 20 procent av alla sjukfall. Ett bristande ledarskap är en bidragande orsak till att anställda inom den svenska hälso- och sjukvården får försämrad hälsa och minskad arbetsmotivation, vilket även kan leda till försämrad patientsäkerhet.
Syfte: Syftet med litteraturöversikten är att beskriva vilka faktorer som är viktiga inom ledarskapet för att främja de anställdas välbefinnande och engagemang inom den svenska hälso- och sjukvården. Metod: Studien är en litteraturöversikt och innehåller tjugo vetenskapliga artiklar. Datainsamlingen skedde i relevanta databaser som finns tillgängliga vid Högskolan i Skövde. Samtliga artiklar är granskade och analyserade. Resultat: Ledarskapet inom den svenska hälso- och sjukvården utgör en viktig faktor för de anställda i hela organisationen. Ledaren är den viktigaste aktören för att skapa en bra arbetsmiljö där de anställda känner engagemang och välbefinnande på sin arbetsplats. Det är viktigt att medarbetarna upplever sig delaktiga inom organisationen då det är en central förutsättning för arbetsmotivationen. För att kunna säkerställa högkvalitativ vård är god kommunikation mellan de anställda och ledaren en grundläggande faktor. Då stressrelaterade sjukdomar utgör den största orsaken till sjukskrivningar inom den svenska hälso- och sjukvården är ledarskapet av stor betydelse för att skapa ett gott arbetsklimat och främja de anställdas välbefinnande. Slutsats: Ledarskapet påverkar den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, anställdas engagemang och delaktighet inom organisationen. För att uppnå gott ledarskap måste kommunikationen mellan anställda och ledare fungera. Bristande ledarskap kan leda till försämrad vårdkvalitet och bristande patientsäkerhet.Introduction: Personnel in the Swedish healthcare is the largest occupational group in the labor market and the group which has 20 percent of illness cases. Lack in leadership combines to that the employees in the Swedish health and medical care get deteriorated health and lower motivation to work, which also can result in worse safety for the patients. Aim: The aim of the literature review is to describe what factors are important in leadership for the well-being and commitment of the employees in the Swedish healthcare. Methods: The study is a literary survey and contains twenty scientific articles. The data collection has been done in relevant data bases which are accessible at Högskolan in Skövde. All articles are reviewed and analysed. Results: The leadership within the Swedish health and medical care represented an important factor to the employees in the whole organization. The leader was the most important main figure to create a good working environment where the employees felt engagement and well-being in their work places. It was important that the colleagues felt participation within the organization when it was a central condition for the working motivation. To secure a high-quality healthcare, a good communication between the employees and leader was found to be a fundamental factor. When stress related illnesses are the largest cause to sick-leave within the Swedish health and medical care, the leadership is of great signification to create a good working climate and promote the well- being of the employees. Conclusion: The leadership influences the psychosocial working environment, the engagement and participation of the employees. To achieve great leadership the communication between the employees and leader must work. A lack of leadership might lead to deteriorated quality of medical care and deteriorated safety for the patients.
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Bergman, Birgitta. "Being a physiotherapist : professional role, utilization of time an d vocational strategies." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för samhällsmedicin och rehabilitering, 1989. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-141114.
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In a research series carried out between 1984 and 1988 in the county of Västerbotten in northern Sweden, various aspects of the professional role and work of physiotherapists were studied. A variety of research methods were used: questionnaires (n = 163), a time budget study (n = 149), and a qualitative interview (n = 24). Physiotherapy was considered varied and creative, but not well defined or very specific in its objectives. Physiotherapy is still a predominantly female profession, though the proportion of male physiotherapists was increasing. The proportion entering full-time employment in physiotherapy increased due both to the greater number of male graduates and the increasing number of women working full-time. A partial internal division of work between the sexes has arisen. More women than men are employed in in-patient care, while proportionately more men worked outside institutions. Most respondents were firmly in control of their treatment methods, but were somewhat restricted in their freedom to decide whom to treat, and when to terminate treatment. Few had carried out any research concerning treatment and results. The time budget study showed that the treatment of patients took up on average 33% of the physiotherapists’ gross working hours and was the largest single task. Continuing education accounted for 5%, development work for 1% and the remaining occupational tasks for 38%. Occupational area was the most important factor in explaining the distribution of working hours, when other factors were kept constant. Neither sex nor gender markedly affects the carrying out of tasks other than treatment. Nor does professional post particularly affect time utilization other than for administrative tasks. This profession has a double objective: care and service more generally and to provide physiotherapy in particular—both equally important. In order to improve the quality of physiotherapy, and at the same time to extend their own specific, theoretical body of knowledge, a number of physiotherapists have reappraised and extended their concept of the profession to include management and research in their everyday work. Conclusion: The fact that occupational area exercises such a profound influence on the work of physiotherapists, taken together with the slight influence that professional post has, reveals that the individual physiotherapist must be prepared to play a broadly defined professional role. There seems to be a wealth of skill and expertise available within the profession, which could, however, be more efficiently used if the management and organization of physiotherapy service were better adapted to serve its objectives, and if these were better delineated and communicated.digitalisering@umu.se
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Herb, Kelsey Cristine. "Investigating the Impact of Employee Development Activities on Employee Well-being." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1429216423.
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Hellberg, Ninnie, Filippa Nielsen, and Michelle Nilsson. "Ledares uppfattningar om hälsofrämjande ledarskap ur ett pedagogiskt perspektiv : - En kvalitativ studie ur ett ledarperspektiv." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för hälsa och välfärd, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-38152.
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Ledarskapet på arbetsplatsen ses som en av de viktigaste faktorerna för att reducera ohälsa och öka välbefinnandet på arbetsplatsen. Det finns också forskning som visar hur ledarskapskvalitén påverkar arbetsklimatet samt medarbetarnas hälsa och arbetsnöjdhet på arbetsplatsen. Detta tyder på att ledarskapet har en viktig roll i att främja hälsa på arbetsplatsen. Forskning menar att arbetsplatslärande och upprätthålla kompetensutveckling på arbetsplatsen visat sig vara effektivt för hälsan i arbetslivet. Syftet med denna studie är att ur ett pedagogiskt perspektiv belysa hur ledare uppfattar sitt ledarskap i att främja hälsan på arbetsplatsen. Studien grundar sig i åtta stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer som alla besitter en ledarroll. Studien utgår ifrån ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv med en induktiv ansats där analysarbetet har utgått från en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Ledarna uppfattar situationsanpassat ledarskap som ett sätt att möta de anställdas behov samt utveckla dessa, för att nå ett ökat välbefinnande på arbetsplatsen. Vidare upplever ledarna att hälsan på arbetsplatsen främjas av formellt och informellt lärande. Ett ledarskap som bidrar till delaktighet och meningsfullhet, ökar individens påverkan av sin egen situation vilket bidrar till högre trivsel. Kommunikation, kompetensutveckling och tillgång till resurser lyfts fram som mycket betydelsefullt i ett hälsofrämjande ledarskap. Vad som framstår som ett återkommande hinder i ett hälsofrämjande ledarskap är tidsbrist, resurser samt begränsad ekonomi. Samtliga ledare uppfattar sitt ledarskap som hälsofrämjande, oberoende av vilka förutsättningar, ekonomi och resurser verksamheten har tillgång till. Ledarna menar att så länge tiden och resurserna disponeras rätt så finns alla möjligheter till att utöva ett hälsofrämjande ledarskap.Leadership in the workplace is seen as one of the most important factors for reducing unhealth and increasing well-being at the workplace. There is also research that shows how leadership quality affects the working environment as well as employee health and work satisfaction at the workplace. This indicates that leadership has an important role in promoting health in the workplace. Research believes that job placement and maintaining skills development in the workplace proved to be effective for health in working life. The aim with this study is from an educational perspective that elucidates how leaders perceive their leadership in promoting health at the workplace. The study is based on eight semistructured interviews with people who all have a leadership role. The study is based on a hermeneutic perspective with an inductive approach in which the analysis work is based on a qualitative content analysis. Leaders perceived situations-oriented leadership as a way to meet the needs of employees and develop them, in order to achieve increased well-being at the workplace. Furthermore, leaders find that health at work is promoted by formal and informal learning. A leadership that contributes to participation and meaningfulness increases the individual's impact on their own situation, which contributes to greater well-being. Communication, skills development and access to resources are highlighted as very important in a health promotion leadership. What emerges as a recurring obstacle in a health promotion leadership is time shortage, resources and limited economy. All leaders perceive their leadership as health promotive, independent of the conditions, finances and resources the business has access to. The leaders argue that as long as the resources are disposed of correctly, there is every opportunity to practice a health-promoting leadership.
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Johansson, Jessika. "”Att vara lite som en familj” : en kvalitativ studie om restauranganställdas upplevelser av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön." Thesis, Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-15404.
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Bakgrund: Med en fördubbling av antalet anställda, de höga sjukskrivningsdagar samt att arbetet inom restaurang ses som påfrestande är det viktigt och intressant att undersöka den psykosociala arbetsmiljön bland restauranganställda. Syfte: Undersöka restauranganställdas upplevelser av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön i relation till hälsa, välbefinnande och trivsel. Metod: Kvalitativ metod av induktiv karaktär med empiri insamling genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och analys genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat/konklusion: Den upplevda psykosociala arbetsmiljön inom restaurang i relation till hälsa, välbefinnande och trivsel påverkas av tre betydelsefulla kategorier: Den betydelsefulla gästen, att känna gemenskap och kärlek till yrket samt systematiskt arbete och kontroll.Background: With the increasing number of employees, the high sickness absence in the profession and to work in the restaurant seen as stressful it is important and interesting to look into the psychosocial work among restaurant employees. Aim: Investigate restaurant employee perceptions of the psychosocial work environment in relation to health, well-being and job satisfaction. Method: Qualitative method of inductive character with empirical data collection through semi-structured interviews and analysed by qualitative content analysis. Results / conclusion: The perceived psychosocial work environment in a restaurant in relation to health, well-being and job satisfaction is influenced by three major categories: The important guest, feel and love for the profession and systematic work and control.
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Fujishiro, Kaori. "Fairness at work its impacts on employee well-being /." Connect to resource, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1117142039.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 203 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-203). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center
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Daniels, Kevin. "Occupational stress and control : implications for employee well-being." Thesis, Cranfield University, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.305264.
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Herleman, Hailey A. "International work demands and employee well being and performance." Connect to this title online, 2009. http://etd.lib.clemson.edu/documents/1249065600/.
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Liu, Li. "Human resource management and employee well-being in China." Thesis, Toulouse 1, 2018. http://www.theses.fr/2018TOU10071.
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Le résumé en français n'a pas été communiqué par l'auteurContext-specific and employee-centred have emerged as two central perspectives to advance HRM research. Context-specific inquires the contextual antecedents and boundary conditions of HRM; employee-centred underlines the incorporation of employee experience, particularly employee well-being into HRM-performance models. The two perspectives extend the classic HRM-performance model into a multilevel model channelled via multiple processes. The present thesis aims to study Chinese HRM by integrating the context-specific and employee-centred perspective. It primarily consists of three papers: a systematic review on the HRM-performance link in the China-based literature (Chapter 2), a construct clarification on employee wellbeing (Chapter 3), and an empirical study on the detrimental effect of guanxi HRM (Chapter 4). By synthesising 52 survey studies, the review (Chapter 2) shows that the Chinese literature is following the West to embrace the context-specific and employee-centred perspective, but the former is less extensively addressed than the latter. This review contributes to the literature by providing a research map on empirical Chinese HRM research focusing on the context-specific and employee-centred perspective. Building on extant well-being models, the second paper (Chapter 3) substantiates employee wellbeing as an equilibrium of multiple dimensions: hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, individual and social well-being, and positive and negative affect. The qualitative and quantitative analyses based on a survey of 544 Chinese employees support the propositions except for the distinction between individual and social well-being. Drawing on basic psychological needs theory, the third paper (Chapter 4) postulates that guanxi HRM creates a detrimental environment that would frustrate employees’ basic psychological needs, and it would undermine employee well-being in sequence; reflecting on the Chinese context, it proposes that the value of perseverance would moderate the process from need frustration to employee well-being. The results based on a survey of 321 Chinese employees support the hypotheses except for the moderating effect of perseverance when employee well-being is operationalised as emotional exhaustion. The thesis contributes to the literature by integrating the context-specific and employee-centred perspective to study HRM in China. It has generated a research map on HRM-performance link, clarified the conceptualisation of employee well-being, and delineated the detrimental effect of guanxi HRM. The exploration invites researchers to contribute to the global HRM research base by addressing the context and paying due attention to employee well-being in China
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Ericsson, Nolan Marion. "Allotments, health and well-being." Thesis, University of Essex, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.572801.
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Allotment gardening has long been reputed to have health and well-being benefits, yet there has been little empirical research to date. Two premises were formulated for this research: allotment gardening results in health and well-being benefits and works as being an antidote to urban living. The fieldwork took place on eleven allotment sites in the environs of Manchester. Initial work established the allotment gardeners' demographic information, how they gardened, what they produced and its contribution to family diets. Further work then examined the well-being of allotment gardeners following a session on the allotment and demonstrated positive mood and higher self-esteem outcomes. There was no difference for gender for any of the well-being measures; there were however, significant differences according to occupation. The allotment session benefited the employed and retired allotment holders differently, with the post-test mood of the employed being significantly more positive and the self-esteem of the retired increasing significantly. A comparison between the well-being of the allotment gardeners and non-gardeners showed the better well-being of the allotment gardeners. Employed allotment gardeners had better physical well-being than the employed non-gardeners, and more positive mood and self-esteem following the allotment session. The difference between the well-being of the different populations increased over time. The second premise was also supported showing that the pre and post-test mood and self-esteem scores did not differ significantly between allotment sites or for ,"gender. The effect of the allotment session was to increase the overall positive mood t!.; ..• :' ~: ' ." \ . I • of the employed to a level that was not significantly different to the retired. This research has implications from 'cradle to grave'. It underlines the importance of teaching children future skills such as growing, cooking food and caring for things. It presents evidence which supports the well-being gains from allotment gardening which accrue into older age.
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Norrgård, Amanda. "Obalans mellan ansträngning-och belöning, en riskfaktor för nedsatt psykiskt välbefinnande? : En kvantitativt studie bland kommunanställda." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för arbets- och folkhälsovetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-26887.
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Problemområde: Nedsatt psykiskt välbefinnande kan öka risken för sjukskrivning med psykisk ohälsa som orsak. Sjukskrivningar orsakad av psykisk ohälsa överrepresenteras av; kvinnor och kommunanställda. Den psykosociala arbetsmiljön kan vara en anledning till detta, dock saknas förståelse för anledningen. För att förstå denna kontext kan ansträngning- och belöningsmodellen tillämpas. Forskning påvisar att obalans mellan ansträngning- och belöning associerar med nedsatt psykiskt välbefinnande. Dock behövs fler studier inom ämnesområdet i en svensk kontext med fokus på kommunal förvaltning som utreder könsskillnader. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka om associationen mellan psykiskt välbefinnande och balansen mellan ansträngning- och belöning var olika hos respektive kön bland anställda inom barn- och utbildningsnämnden i en kommun. Metod: En kvantitativ metod med tvärsnittsdesign tillämpades. Data samlades in genom en elektronisk enkät, vilken mailades ut till de 259 tillsvidareanställda i urvalspopulationen. 153 respondenter besvarade enkäten, varav 123 var kvinnor och 30 var män. Datan analyserades genom logistiska regressionsanalyser. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet från den logistiska regressionsanalysen, vilken inkluderade respektive kön, indikerade en positiv statistisk signifikant association mellan summaindex balans och psykiskt välbefinnande (p=,006, OR=4,539). Resultatet från den logistiska regressionsanalysen, vilken enbart inkluderade kvinnor, indikerade en positiv statistisk signifikant association mellan summaindex balans och psykiskt välbefinnande (p=,025, OR=3,685). Männen hade ingen statistisk signifikant association med någon variabel. Slutsatsen är att oddset avseende att ha nedsatt psykiskt välbefinnande ökar när respondenterna rapporterar mer obalans mellan ansträngning- och belöning, uttryckligen mer ansträngning för varje belöning. Vidare har studien inte kunnat fastställt skillnader mellan könen avseende associationen mellan psykiskt välbefinnande och balansen mellan ansträngning- och belöning.Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the association between psychological well-being and the effort-reward imbalance differ in gender among employees in the child- and education council in a municipality. Method: A total of 153 respondents participated, whereof 123 were women and 30 were men. The method that was used in this study was a quantitative method with a cross-sectional design. The data was collected through an electronic questionnaire. The data was analyzed by several logistic regression analyzes. Results: The results from the logistic regression analysis, which included both genders, indicated a positive statistically significant association between the sumindex for balance and psychological well-being (p=,006, OR=4,539). The result from the logistic regression analysis, which included only women, indicated a positive statistically significant association between the sumindex for balance and psychological well-being (p=,025, OR=3,685). Men had no statistical significant association with any variable. Conclusion: The study showed that the odds of have impaired psychological well-being increase when respondents report more imbalance between effort and reward, explicitly more effort for each reward. Furthermore, the study has not been able to determine gender differences regarding the association between psychological well-being and the effort- reward imbalance.
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Bäckström, Hannes, and Elin Lundin. ""Mer kultur till folket" : En kvalitativ studie om kulturaktiviteter i arbetslivet." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, Institutionen för sociala och psykologiska studier (from 2013), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-85650.
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The purpose of this qualitative master thesis is to investigate the cultural activity experiencesof employees and their meaning for well-being and work satisfaction. The method used inthis study was thematic analysis. The data collection was conducted through eightsemi-structured interviews with employees in a municipal department that participated incultural activities organized by their employer as a part of their ordinary work tasks. In theresult three main themes emerged with appurtenant sub-themes: The experience of increasedsocial interaction in the workplace (Promoting fellowship and cohesion in the workplace,New and deepened relationships with colleagues, and Conversations and discussions withcolleagues), The experience of a changed view of the workplace (Feeling appreciated by theemployer, The experience that cultural activities benefit the workplace, and The experience ofhow the cultural activities have been arranged), and The experience that cultural activitieslead to benefits for the individual (Something out of the ordinary and Enriching for theindividual). The main themes, together with their sub-themes, describe how the culturalactivities have been perceived to have affected social relations, increased well-being in theworkplace and enriched the individuals. The results are largely in line with previous researchand can be linked to established theories. All together, from what has emerged in the resultsand previous research the conclusion can be drawn that cultural activities could be used inwork-life to promote the individuals well-being and job satisfaction.Syftet med föreliggande kvalitativa studie är att undersöka anställdas upplevelser avkulturaktiviteter som arrangerats av arbetsgivaren och deras eventuella betydelse förvälbefinnande och arbetstillfredsställelse. Metoden som användes i studien var tematiskanalys. Datainsamlingen skedde genom åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda vid enkommunförvaltning som haft deltagande i kulturaktiviteter organiserade av arbetsgivarensom en del av sina arbetsuppgifter. I resultatet utkristalliserades tre huvudteman medtillhörande underteman: Upplevelsen av en ökad social interaktion på arbetsplatsen(Främjande av gemenskap och sammanhållning på arbetsplatsen, Nya och fördjupaderelationer med kollegor, och Samtal och diskussion med kollegor), Upplevelsen av enförändrad syn på arbetsplatsen (Att känna sig uppskattad av arbetsgivaren, Upplevelsen avatt kulturaktiviteterna gynnar arbetsplatsen, och Upplevelsen av hur kulturaktiviteterna harorganiserats), och Upplevelsen av att kulturaktiviteterna leder till fördelar för individen(Någonting utöver det vanliga för individen, och Berikande för individen). Huvudtemanabeskriver tillsammans med sina underteman hur kulturaktiviteterna upplevs ha påverkatsociala relationer, ökat trivseln på arbetsplatsen samt varit utvecklande för medarbetarna somindivider. Resultatet går till stor del i linje med tidigare forskning och kan kopplas tilletablerade psykologiska teorier. Sammantaget dras slutsatsen utifrån vad som framkommit iresultatet och tidigare forskning att kulturaktiviteter skulle kunna användas inom arbetslivetför att främja individens välbefinnande och trivsel på arbetet.
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Hughes, Emily Louise. "Work-life balance and employee well-being : a longitudinal study." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.442782.
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Smith, Lakin. "Emotional labour and employee well-being in the hospitality industry." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13012.
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Includes bibliographical references.This study examines the nature of emotional labour and its relationship with employee well-being using a sample of South African hospitality employees (N =136). Exploratory factor analysis differentiated between three distinct emotional labour dimensions: surface acting, deep acting, and naturally felt expression. Controlling for the influence of positive affectivity and general self-efficacy, hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that surface acting predicted emotional exhaustion, and deep acting predicted job satisfaction. Work-to-life conflict partially mediated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion, and fully mediated the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction. Managerial implications and suggestions for research are discussed
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Green, Morgan. "Religion, health and psychological well-being." abstract and full text PDF (UNR users only), 2008. http://0-gateway.proquest.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:1460758.
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McClelland, Charlotte Rebecca. "Performance monitoring and its effects on employee performance and well-being." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.556986.
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The focus of this Thesis is on examining and explaining the effects of performance monitoring on employee performance and well-being outcomes. The use of monitoring, organisational systems and practices for managing employees' performance behaviours, is extensive, despite an ongoing and unresolved debate over its effects on employees. Job design, goal-setting and feedback, leadership and organisational justice theories were used as a basis for constructing a more comprehensive and integrative research model on performance monitoring and its effects than has been examined to date. Herein, characteristics of the monitoring process were hypothesised to motivate cognitive and attitudinal reactions in employees, in turn affecting outcomes. The role of managers was further positioned as antecedent to the employee experience of monitoring. To test the model, survey data from around one thousand call centre employees and managers were collected within two longitudinal field studies, and analysed statistically using multiple regression, structural equation modelling and latent growth modelling. Findings from the main cross-sectional analyses supported that performance monitoring had both direct and indirect effects on employee performance and well-being as a function of its utility, and that manager support was a critical factor. Learning, mental-effort, and perceptions of the fairness and privacy invasiveness of monitoring were established as explanatory mechanisms. This was the first field research to document a monitoring-performance relationship. The model was further explored on a longitudinal basis, providing limited support for the direct effects of monitoring over time. Overall, performance monitoring that developed employees was found to have the most global benefits. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed, and directions for future research presented.
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Holdsworth, Lynn. "Empowerment,satisfaction and employee well-being : the dilemma for call centres." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.631667.
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Although empowerment is acknowledged as a beneficial form of work design for both employees and organisations, there is limited research into the concept within call centres. Two studies were conducted to explore four dimensions of psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and employee well-being for employees in call centre environments. Study 1 compared the perceptions of empowerment, job satisfaction and well-being of customer service agents, administration staff and supervisors within six call centres. Overall working as a customer service agent offered less autonomy, but was no less satisfying, than working in administration at the same level. However, all non-supervisory call centre workers reported poorer well-being than the general working population. The results for the customer service agent role revealed that more empowerment led to higher job satisfaction, improvement in employee wellbeing and a reduction in intention to leave. However, an inverted U-shape relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction suggested that too much empowerment decreased job satisfaction and impaired employee wellbeing. Comparisons between diverse service management models suggested customer service agents felt "high commitment" models to be the most empowering, satisfying and best for well-being. However, the introduction of limited empowerment practices into "mass service models" could reduce unwanted turnover. The second study used a longitudinal design in one call centre. Study 2 evaluated the effect of an organisational development programme on empowerment, job satisfaction, employee well-being, and performance for customer service agents. Study 2 . substantiated the inverted U-shape relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction. The organisational "development programme improved business performance and employee wellbeing, but reduced satisfaction and perceptions of empowerment, and could result in an increase in unwanted turnover. The findings suggest a cautious approach when introducing empowerment practices. From the employee perspective some empowerment is beneficial. However, from the organisational perspective, unless empowerment is introduced unequivocally, and in a controlled and supportive way, the result may not produce a commensurate improvement in performance and outcomes desired. Limitations of the studies are discussed and recommendations for future research are proposed.
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Barcus, Sonja M. "The relationship between religious commitment, spiritual well-being, and psychological well-being." Virtual Press, 1999. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1116296.
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The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between religious commitment, spiritual well-being and psychological well-being in college students. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) and Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) were administered. Also frequency of church attendance was assessed. Canonical Analysis was used to investigate the data from 425 participants to determine if there is relationship between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. A statistically significant relationship was found between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. The following describes the nature of the relationship. First, participants who experience existential well-being tend to be self-accepting and to a lesser extent have mastery of their environment and a purpose in life. Second, participants who experience existential well-being and to a lesser degree, religious well-being tend to accept themselves, have a purpose in life, possess mastery of their environment, positively relate to others, feel they are growing personally, and are autonomous. This study provided evidence of a relationship between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. Implications and limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future research are discussed.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
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Morris, Robert (Robert Randall). "Crowdsourcing mental health and emotional well-being." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97972.
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Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 158-170).
More than 30 million adults in the United States suffer from depression. Many more meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder. Psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy can be effective for conditions such as anxiety and depression, but the demand for these treatments exceeds the resources available. To reach the widest possible audience, mental health interventions need to be inexpensive, anonymous, always available, and, ideally, delivered in a way that delights and engages the user. Towards this end, I present Panoply, an online intervention that administers emotion- regulatory support anytime, anywhere. In lieu of direct clinician oversight, Panoply coordinates support from crowd workers and unpaid volunteers, all of whom are trained on demand, as needed. Panoply incorporates recent advances in crowdsourcing and human computation to ensure that feedback is timely and vetted for quality. The therapeutic approach behind this system is inspired by research from the fields of emotion regulation, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical psychology, and hinges primarily on the concept of cognitive reappraisal. Crowds are recruited to help users think more flexibly and objectively about stressful events. A three-week randomized controlled trial with 166 participants compared Panoply to an active control task (online expressive writing). Panoply conferred greater or equal benefits for nearly every therapeutic outcome measure. Statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups were strongest when baseline depression and reappraisal scores were factored into the analyses. Panoply also significantly outperformed the control task on all measures of engagement (with large effect sizes observed for both behavioral and self-report measures). This dissertation offers a novel approach to computer-based psychotherapy, one that is optimized for accessibility, engagement and therapeutic efficacy.
by Robert R. Morris.
Ph. D.
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Schickler, Pamela D. "The search for well-being." Thesis, University of Westminster, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.251639.
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Ul, Haq Zia. "Adiposity and subjective well-being." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2014. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5519/.
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Since 1980, the global prevalence of obesity has more than doubled. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than one in ten of the world’s adult population are now obese. The prevalence of obesity is high both in the developed and developing countries, leading to suggestions of an “obesity pandemic” or “globesity”. In Scotland alone, 28% of adults are now obese, and a further 36% are overweight. Historically, the main focus of healthcare has been the avoidance of preventable mortality. As life-expectancy has increased, attention has focused on the need to improve health, as well as longevity. The WHO definition of health encompasses mental and social, as well as physical, well-being. It is widely accepted that obesity causes, or aggravates, a number of medical conditions, and is also associated with reduced life-expectancy. However, the research on adiposity and subjective well-being is still in its infancy and previous studies suggest that the relationship is complex. This thesis starts by demonstrating the importance of subjective well-being in terms of its association with adverse outcomes: all-cause death, coronary heart disease (CHD), cancer incidence, and psychiatric hospitalisations. This is followed by six complementary studies that explore the relationship between adiposity and subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is explored using various approaches including self-reported health (SRH), health-related quality of life (overall, physical and mental/psychosocial), mental health and mood disorder, and adiposity is assessed using four measures: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and body fat percentage (BF%) across the whole range of adiposity (from underweight to class III obese).
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Coutinho, James. "Workplace democracy, well-being and political participation." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2016. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/workplace-democracy-wellbeing-and-political-participation(8caf3766-fc92-4a7c-8f55-fb09457b4cf1).html.
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A democratic workplace is one where workers as a body have the right to determine the internal organization and future direction of the firm. Worker co-operatives are a type of democratic firm. In a worker co-operative employees are joint-owners of the firm and participate democratically in workplace governance. Much has been written about the supposed benefits of worker co-operatives for workers and for society. One thread of this research, originating with Carole Pateman’s theoretical work (Pateman 1970), argues that worker co-operatives act as sites of political learning for workers. By participating democratically in workplace decisions, individuals are thought to learn the skills and psychological dispositions needed to participate in political democracy. A second thread argues that co-operatives will improve worker well-being. Democratic governance will give workers control over work organization, increasing autonomy in their daily lives, and leading to an increase in non-material work rewards such as job satisfaction. Worker ownership will equalize the material rewards from work and improve job security. These arguments are premised on the idea that democratic governance structures and worker ownership will lead to widespread, effective worker participation in decision-making and the equalization of power at work. However, insufficient attention is given to the contextual factors beyond formal governance and ownership structures that shape the internal dynamics of workplace democracy. I conduct an in-depth, mixed-methods case study of a worker co-operative with 158 employees in the UK cycling retail industry. Using survey research, social network analysis, in-depth interviews and direct observation, I show how individual differences, firm-level contextual factors such as the social composition of the organization, and macro-level factors such as economic and cultural context, lead to unequal participation opportunities and different outcomes for different groups of workers within the firm. My research leads to three conclusions. First, the outcomes of workplace democracy for workers are highly context-dependent. They will differ across groups of workers within co-operatives, across different democratic firms, and across cultures. Second, the relationship between workplace democracy and political participation is more complex than the Pateman thesis suggests. It is contingent on the political identities of workers, which are themselves shaped by wider political economic context. Political identity affects both participation behaviour at work, and how workplace experience shapes political views. Third, the subjective well-being outcomes of workplace democracy depend on workers’ expectations about work. Expectations are shaped by the same forces that mould political identity. Workplace democracy raises expectations for certain groups of workers, leading to well-being harms when expectations are not met. Overall, the benefits of workplace democracy for workers and for society are overstated. In the UK context, co-ops are unlikely to realize the benefits attributed to them without large-scale public policy interventions.
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Karle, Laurie Jane 1946. "Volunteerism, perceived health status, and well being in the well elderly." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/558179.
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