Organization aesthetics in nursing homes

Abstract

Materiality is closely related to management topics, such as decision-making, values and identity formation of organizational members. Aesthetic dimensions of care are constructed by management practices which, in their turn, influence the nature of management. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers need to be aware of the unintended and unnoticed consequences of materiality and aesthetics. Space and body issues may have considerable effects, for example, on the identity of care workers and on the attractiveness of the care branch.

Material Construction of Care Workers’ Identity

“…It resembles the problems related to dirty work and can be a threat to strong professional identity and even lead to cynicism and burnout. It is worth asking how management could involve care workers more in developing care environments to meet the needs of both residents and workers (Hujala and Rissanen 2011). This involvement could be an efficient way to support the motivation and commitment of care workers and to achieve more productivity and better quality.…”

“…The strong professional care workers' identity is thus constructed regardless of material surroundings and even as an opposite to materiality. At least for us researchers, this was something of a surprise, because our earlier findings from interviews and observations, partly in the very same organizations, had revealed considerable shortcomings related to both the spaces and (work) equipment (Hujala and Rissanen 2011).…”

“…This materiality has also been addressed in elderly care (see, e.g., Bechky 2008;Dale 2005;Hujala et al 2013). In order to obtain a rich and diverse picture of the material and physical world of elderly care organizations, we look at materiality through the lenses of organizational aesthetics (Strati 1992;Strati and Guillet de Montoux 2002;Taylor and Hansen 2005; see also Hujala and Rissanen 2011). According to organizational aesthetics the people in an organization are physical beings connected to their environment through all their senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.…”

“…In addition, elderly care organizations are an interesting object for the study of materiality, because both their workers and customers (residents) are closely tied to the physical settings, mostly due to the poor health of the frail residents. According to earlier studies, the physical resources of many care organizations are insufficient, including the architectural solutions and the functionality of the (work) equipment (Hujala and Rissanen 2011). This affects the well-being of both residents and care workers.…”

The Institutional Practice

“…But caring staff are not involved in creating, transferring or adapting these specific and conceptual notions to the nursing home. Even minor aspects of everyday life in nursing homes, such as the organization of ordering goods as discussed, are not made by practitioners in need of the goods, but rather by management far removed from the staff-resident interaction, often resulting in a mismatch (Hujala & Rissanen 2011). Caring staff in nursing homes are thus removed from the process of defining the regulatory framework of their work, from the conceptual construction of the idea of «the nursing home» and even from decisions concerning the daily operations of their nursing homes or units.…”