Co-worker dialogue – a tool for health, personal development, and an empowering development culture in the workplace

Abstract

This study explores managers' perspective on how co-worker dialogue [CWD] can foster coworker health and personal development, and contribute to an empowering development culture in the workplace. The interview study was performed at a hospital in Sweden. Seventeen hospital managers participated. The managers, both men and women, worked in different areas, and a majority had 30-40 co-workers. To uncover underlying pattern phenomena in the interview data, a six-step inductive qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. The findings present three themes, each highlighting different prerequisites for CWD to function as a resource for the co-workers and the workplace: (1) Utility; (2) Content, and (3) Implementation. The study provides suggestions for and problems of practical implications from the findings. To make the findings useful in other organizations, practical implications are presented and discussed in the light of workplace health promotion [WHP]. The CWD is not focusing on performance the way traditional PA does. The CWD is therefore an important complement to PA in annual co-worker meetings, to also highlight the co-worker perspective. If managers realize the value of working with both PA and CWD, opportunities for health, personal development, and an empowering development culture are created.

Swedish managers’ experience of yearly staff development dialogues, aiming for employee development, performance, and well-being

“…However, the participating managers experienced difficulties in relation to goal-setting as part of the SDD model, indicating a need for support and competence development in goal-setting. The need for communication and management support has previously been identified in relation to co-worker dialogue and to PA [ 10 , 23 ]. Education and training in goal-setting and performance rating have, thus, been found to be crucial for an efficient PA process [ 10 , 23 ] and experience of well-functioning PA facilitates a positive relation between assessment, job satisfaction and motivation [ 4 , 12 ].…”

“…The findings indicate that when managers use an instrumental approach there is a strong focus on development at the organisational level and the SDD is less likely to have a health or well-being perspective, which can be recognised from the criticism of dialogue models like PA [ 7 , 9 ]. However, in Scandinavia PM is often combined with a focus on the well-being of the employees, due to the working life legislation [ 13 , 14 ], and has previously been identified as a challenge but nevertheless a tool for improving employee health and for fostering a development culture in the workplace [ 23 ]. According to the findings, a well-being perspective in SDDs is facilitated by managers using a relational approach, employees being open to discussing personal matters and an employee-manager relationship that is characterised by confidence and trust.…”

“…Managers are key actors in workplace health promotion activities/actions, and their approach to such action processes sets the tone and focus [ 21 ]. Skilled managers using a health perspective are considered key components of successful workplace health management [ 22 ] and managers’ relationships and interactions with employees have a significant impact on employee well-being as well as performance [ 23 , 24 ]. Managers thus have a key role regarding employees’ prerequisites for workplace-related performance, personal development and well-being through their responsibility for PM, including implementing yearly dialogues with employees.…”

“…Managers thus have a key role regarding employees’ prerequisites for workplace-related performance, personal development and well-being through their responsibility for PM, including implementing yearly dialogues with employees. However, dialogues combining employee performance with a focus on employee development and well-being have been shown to be a challenge [ 13 , 23 ], and research is limited compared to research focusing on traditional PA. More research is thereby needed exploring the complexity of dialogue models combining employee performance with individual development and well-being.…”