Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify key enablers and challenges in the implementation of a comprehensive approach to the management of employee well-being. Design/methodology/approach -A large organization which had implemented such an approach was chosen as a case study. Company documents and data regarding the corporate well-being strategy were analysed, informing the content of the approach. Interviews with implementers and managers were conducted to identify how it was done. Findings -The focal organization had several health management systems capable of addressing the requirements for employee well-being management. These included occupational safety and health, health promotion, management of ill-health and human resource management. Key enablers identified were strong senior leadership support, dedicated resources, involvement of stakeholders and intensive communication. Challenges revolved around the integration of these systems into a coherent whole, striking a balance between a focus on occupational risks and lifestyle risks; readiness of managers to bring attention to the concept of employees' well-being and their ability to monitor employees' healthrelated needs. Together with a target-driven work culture, these challenges worked against promoting well-being. Research limitations/implications -This case study is exploratory. Further research needs to gather direct views of both managers and employees on how the well-being approach had been received. Explanatory research models that integrate health promotion and work management systems to better inform implementation strategy and the roles of managers are needed. Originality/value -The paper shows that line managers need to make greater use of regular management processes such as work planning, formal and informal interactions, and resourcing, to monitor employees' well-being needs. They also need to continually self-assess how their own leadership style may affect employee well-being.
Few studies have directly examined the processes through which workers use job resources, such as job control and social support, to regulate affect. We focused on affective expression, which is a specific form of affect regulation. We investigated the extent to which workers used both job control and social support to express affect. Thirty‐nine call centre workers provided data up to four times a day over five consecutive working days (number of observations = 272). Executing job control to allow workers to express affect was related to using social support to express affect. Workers' understanding of their personal goals mediated relationships between using social support to express affect and four outcomes (negative affect, positive affect, perceived performance, and quality of workplace relationships). Perceived empathy mediated relationships between using social support to express affect and three outcomes (negative affect, positive affect, and quality of workplace relationships). The findings indicated that (1) one job resource can be used to facilitate using another job resource for affect regulation and (2) different job resources may play different roles in conferring benefits from affective expression. Practitioner points Jobs cannot be treated as static entities with fixed characteristics. Rather workers will use resources embedded in job design for specific purposes. Job redesign interventions intended to enhance affective well‐being need to take account of the social and cognitive processes that mediate the relationship between work and affective well‐being. Job redesign interventions need to integrate information about dynamic processes in which use of one job resource can enable use of another job resource.
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -In Great Britain, the '"Management Standards" were launched in 2004 and formally published in 2007 by the Health and Safety Executive to help organizations manage work-related stress. The purpose of this paper is to examine how these Standards are translated into organizational practice. Design/methodology/approach -The research uses case studies carried out in five large organizations drawn from the public and private sectors in Great Britain. Findings -Senior management commitment and worker participation are key to managing workrelated stress and are commonly reported across organizations, although to variable form and depth. The solution chosen to identify stress issues is a short assessment of all staff via annual staff surveys, coupled with in-depth assessments of groups at risk. Common practice also includes combining individual and organizational interventions. One significant challenge emerges as the translation from identified stress issues to focussed interventions and their evaluation.Research limitations/implications -The implementation processes outlined in this study are by no means exhaustive due to the small sample size but are consistent with previous research. Practical implications -The findings suggest that the HSE Management Standards approach for dealing with stress issues is do-able. Refining the information in the HSE guidance on implementing and evaluating interventions and broadening the current focus on organization-level interventions is needed. Originality/value -Publication of case studies of the implementation of the Management Standards has been limited. This paper illustrates the efforts made by large organizations to integrate national guidance on stress and this could be used for guiding and improving stress management in similar work settings.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of mindfulness training (MT) on employee well-being. Mindfulness is the awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, sensations, actions and surroundings in the present moment. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used pre-post training measures and a four-week follow-up on a sample of 23 employees from a UK-based organization. The MT group (n=12) received a weekly two-hour training over eight weeks whilst the control group (n=11) received no training. Qualitative interviews (n=36) were conducted with the MT group at three time points to further assess the subjective experiences of training participants. Findings – Compared to the control group, the MT group significantly increased their mindfulness skills including observing and acting with awareness. Scores on well-being, i.e. satisfaction with life, hope and anxiety also improved and were generally maintained at follow-up. Some improvements were seen in the control group too but there was a larger difference in change scores in the MT group on most variables. Qualitative data show additional benefits of MT such as improved concentration at work and better interpersonal relationships. More practice at home led to greater benefits suggesting a dose-response relationship between the amount of practice and substantial benefits. Research limitations/implications – Inviting participants to have a greater amount of practice between sessions may further increase the benefits of mindfulness. Future research should consider a longer follow-up period to further explore the sustainability of the training benefits. Originality/value – Employing a mixed-method approach, this study showed that MT is a viable psychological intervention for enhancing employee well-being.
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