1. Understanding and managing psychological well-being at work
Dr Tina Kowalski, Lecturer in HRM
University of York Management School

2. Outline of session Introduction Part 1: understanding well-being
Part 2: managing well-being
Part 3: challenges
Part 4: implications and future research

3. My background
PhD (2013) ‘exploring the relationship between social support and psychological well-being’
ESRC seminar series ( ) ‘Sustaining employee well-being in the 21st century’
International Journal of Human Resource Management special issue ‘Well-being and HRM in the changing workplace’ (due Summer, 2017).
Prior to PhD - worked in various community mental health units (forensic and adult rehabilitation) in London

4. HEADER
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Research Questions
How is ‘well-being’ defined and understood by employees?
How do employees perceive existing organisational initiatives aimed at improving well-being at work, and how do they perceive the organisation could improve well-being at work for employees?
ESRC funded 4

5. Overview of PhD research
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Overview of PhD research
Sample demographics:
Title:
‘Exploring the contribution of social support to employee psychological well-being: an exploratory mixed methods study’
Case study of a large public sector organisation in the UK
Phase 1: online survey (n=156)
Phase 2: semi-structured interviews (n=31)
Phase 3: two week diary study (n=11)
Phase 4: semi – structured interviews (n=11)
Variable
Categories
Phase 1 interview sample
(n=31)
Sex
Male
Female
9 (29)
22 (71)
Location
Head Office
Other
Missing:
23 (74)
8 (26)
Age
16-34:
35-44:
45-59:
10 (32)
12 (39)
No. of Years Worked
0-7:
8-15:
16+ :
Job
Grade
2-4:
5-7:
8-11:
Don’t Know
5 (16)
16 (51)
1 (4)
TOTAL
31 (100%)

6. Conceptualising well-being
“a dynamic state, in which the individual is able to develop their potential, work productively and creatively, build strong and positive relationships with others, and contribute to their community”.
(Dewe and Kompier, 2008)
Social, psychological, physical (Grant, Christianson and Price, 2007)
Hedonic and eudaimonic (Ryan and Deci, 2001)
‘Feeling good’ and ‘functioning effectively’ (Huppert et al, 2009)
nef - 5 ways to well-being: connect, give, keep learning, be active, take notice (Aked et al, 2005 )

7. HEADER
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Feeling good
“…to me it is about feeling good in yourself, mentally, physically, holistically I suppose. It is about have you got the right balance between work and social and family, and are you eating the right foods, are you taking enough exercise. I guess it means different things to different people. This is just what it means to me.” (ID53)
“I suppose being happy and healthy and employed and not stressed. Having a good family life, having good relationships with your immediate family and colleagues. Enjoying your job, getting spare time and joy out of work. Yes, feeling good. Not being ill. Feeling mentally and physically ok.” (ID36)
“being no more ill than the norm…” (ID40) 7

8. Functioning effectively
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Functioning effectively
“For me at work I need a challenge, but I like the challenge and stretching my capabilities because that’s quite nice… so I think the well-being is just the right amount of stretch and push in a job so that you can actually excel and the discomfort is when you don’t think you’ve got enough skills to, there’s a gap” (ID23)
“From my point of view, I am one of these people to whom their job is extremely important, and it defines me in some ways more so maybe than other things so if I feel as though I’m not getting quite what I need or what I want from my job, not so much in the day to day minutiae of tasks but more from the general surroundings then yes, I think it does affect me” (ID52)
...others also mentioned, ‘opportunities to develop’ and ‘influence in decision making 8

9. Theories of well-being at work
Job Demand Control Support model (Karasek and Theorell, 1979; 1990)
Job Demands-Resource model (Bakker and Demerouti,2007)
Conservation of Resources model (Hobfoll, 1989; 2002)
Social support frequently cited as factor affecting job strain and well-being outcomes
Social support is also often perceived as being positive or as a resource

10. Relationship between social support and well-being
“I think support can make a tremendous difference to people because if they are isolated it is extremely difficult isn’t it to get things in perspective and if you are tired and exhausted and working hard, problems kind of get out of scale and if you get social support outwith work, as well as within work it kind of helps to talk things over and keep things within perspective” (ID46)
“I think peer support is difficult as you become more senior, people get a bit more guarded and things are slightly more competitive…” (ID32)
The same respondent went on to say:
“when you become more senior management, you cease to be ‘us’ and you become ‘them’ erm, and I guess it gets lonelier as you go further up, there are just fewer people on your level...” (ID32)

11. Perceptions of social support
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Perceptions of social support
Social support: mainly positive...
“I would say probably friends and family, and your work colleagues…things like stress at work and those kinds of things, I guess your friends and family and your colleagues that you would talk to about it and see if it’s just you or if it’s everybody in the same situation.” (DPM022)
But, contrary to the theoretical models, can be negative too. When asked if they felt supported by their family during a difficult period at work:
“Were they a constant source of comfort? To be honest no, it worked the other way because of the responsibility...because if I didn’t have them and it was just me, I mean there can be negatives as well as positives...I mean if it was just up to me, I might think right, I’m not taking this any more, but it’s not.” (DPM048) 11

12. Other factors affecting well-being
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Other factors affecting well-being
Individual:
Life cycle stage
Past experience
Perceptions of equity/fairness
Psychological capital (e.g. Luthans et al., 2004)
- Resilience – what makes these people different?
- Proactive – ‘seek and ye shall find’
Organisational:
Location of workplace
Acknowledgement by management
Levels/culture of trust
Organisational change
Structural issues 12

13. Perceptions of organisational initiatives to promote well-being?
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Perceptions of organisational initiatives to promote well-being?
Most respondents reported that although many policies seemed to be in place, access and availability of these in practice was much harder
“...I must admit, that when it comes down to social support from the organisation, I still think there is an absolutely vast gap between the intended social support and welfare guidelines and what happens in reality. I mean all the HR guidelines and everything are very commendable, very well intentioned and absolutely fantastic but they just don’t actually operate as they are advertised.” (ID59)
However, differences emerged between those speaking from experience and those who were not:
“[social support] is very important. Even if it is something you never use or you never have the need to use, just knowing it is there is a big deal...” (ID29) 13

14. Perceptions of how these efforts could be improved?
More open and honest communication between managers and employees
Greater acknowledgment by senior managers of work demands and of work achievements
Greater understanding of job roles
“I mean being valued is actually quite important and when you experience a complete lack of that, how can I put it, you don’t think it’s important until you realise you are at the absolute bottom of it.” (ID48)

15. Examples of good practice
Organisations:
BT –
Procter and Gamble –
Professional bodies:
Investors in People -
Health and Safety Executive (individual and business solutions case studies) -
Business in the Community -
Mix of examples from public/private sector and small/large businesses

16. HEADER
Importance of Context
DATE
Changes undergone by case study organisation in 3-5 years prior to the study:
Head office had moved from city centre location to industrial park
Technology upgraded to innovative, relatively un-tested new system
Outsourcing of: HR support; Occupational health support, IT and technical support
Governance mechanism to senior managers has changed function, now more critical than supportive
Impact of economic climate – job insecurity, workload, shift in focus by organisation to replace permanent workers with contract workers
...gradual depersonalisation of the workplace – all of which could potentially affect well-being of employees (and interview responses)
…See article by Johns (2006) for more on context

17. Evidence of ‘depersonalisation’ of the workplace
“There are lots of things we don’t get here now. We used to have an occupational nurse and everything. If you want a light bulb changed here, you’ve got to phone Birmingham, you know it is that kind of mind-set.” (ID30)
“I think that is very much of a hidden cost of sourcing outside, there is a disengagement because it’s… it makes it far less familiar…” (ID39)
“[I feel] Frustrated, angry, unhappy, constantly I mean every time something goes wrong, you sigh, because you know you’re going to have to pick up the phone and you know that the person that you speak to isn’t going to know anything about you, or where you are or what you do…” (ID50)
What is it that is missed? – sense of familiarity or of community; social support; proximity of support and contextualised understanding of job role?

18. Challenges for managing well-being at work
Implementing interventions - importance of ‘getting it right’
“I did the stress thing last week, just to see what it was like before I came here and…where do you go from there? Who’s going to take the stress away from you? …there’s not the log onto ‘this is what you should do’, or ‘if you feel you can’t do this in your job you need to speak to somebody’ that is not on it” (ID24)
Tailoring initiatives may be more likely to improve well-being, and more likely to be well received by employees – e.g. importance of department, shift work
Interview evidence revealed if initiatives are poorly implemented or perceived as the ‘wrong’ type of intervention this can serve to reduce perceived organisational support (Eisenberger et al., 1986) e.g. well-being event at case study organisation

19. Potential pitfalls of implementation
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Potential pitfalls of implementation
1. Lack of visibility
‘Hard’ versus ‘soft’ practices
Not always well communicated
2. Gaps between policy and practice
Lack of follow-up and of an active role for employees
– identify the problem but not necessarily pursue a solution
3. Poor design of interventions
‘Sticking plasters’ versus long-term interventions
Avoiding the ‘elephant in the room’
4. Issues with delivery
Unequal access, e.g. for shift workers
Managers not always trained or supported – also potential effect of who is implementing and evaluating initiatives. Importance of line managers and employees themselves (Nielsen, 2013) 19

20. Responsibility for well-being?
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Responsibility for well-being?
Individual? Effect of diet and exercise, and opportunities for detachment aiding well-being. Not all perceived organisation to be solely responsible
HR? interviewees reported existence of lots of HR policies, but found experience of putting policy into practice was very different. Shift noticed to place more responsibility with line managers?
Combination of both? Baruch (2003) suggests a move away from either/or approach towards a combined approach would be most effective. 20

21. Implications of study findings for research and practice
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Implications of study findings for research and practice
Mismatch identified between policy and practice., and between employee and employer perceptions.
The findings from this study can be useful in identifying problems as well as identifying potential solutions – e.g. regarding the design and implementation of tailored organisational interventions which take into account contextual issues
Being acknowledged and feeling valued can be important for employee well-being
Challenge for HR professionals - when well-being is so multi-faceted and when it means different things to different people – is it possible to cover everything/please everyone? How do you choose what to focus on?
Importance of strong evidence base to establish whether initiatives being used are relevant, accessible, effective, and that they are being evaluated (e.g. Briner and Walshe, 2015).

22. Future research directions...
Measurement issues
Evaluation issues
Move toward holistic approach to understanding and managing employee well-being
Potential benefits of tailored and contextualised approaches
Potential benefits of sector specific research
Shift towards preventative measures rather than, or in parallel with, intervention approach?

23. Online resources What Works Well-being https://whatworkswellbeing.org/
Health and Safety Executive
Investors in People
Business in the Community
CIPD website/publications

24. References
Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C and Thompson, S (2008) Five ways to well-being: A report presented to the Foresight Project on communicating the evidence base for improving people’s well-being. Centre for well-being, nef (the new economics foundation).
Bakker, A B and Demerouti, E (2007) The job demands-resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 22 (3), p.309–328.  
Baruch, Y (2003) Career systems in transition: A normative model for organizational career practices. Personnel review, 32 (2), p.231–251.  
Briner, R.B. and Walshe, N.D. (2015). An evidence-based approach to improving the quality of resource-oriented well-being interventions at work. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 88, (3),
Dewe, P and Kompier, M (2008) Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project. Wellbeing and work: Future challenges. The Government Office for Science, London
Eisenberger, R. Huntington, R., Hutchison, S. and Sowa, D (1986) Perceived Organizational Support. Journal of Applied Psychology. 71. p
Grant, A M, Christianson, M K and Price, R H (2007) Happiness, health or relationships? Managerial practices and employee well-being trade-offs. Academy of Management Perspectives. August, 2007.
Hobfoll, S E (1989) Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualising stress. American Psychologist. 44 (3), p
Huppert, F A (2009) Psychological Well-being: Evidence Regarding its Causes and Consequences. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being, 1 (2), p. 137–164.

25. References
Johns, G (2006) The essential impact of context on organizational behaviour. Academy of Management Review. 31 (2), p
Karasek, R and Theorell, T (1990) Healthy work: stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life, New York: Basic Books.
Luthans, F, Luthans, K W and Luthans, B C (2004) Positive psychological capital: beyond human and social capital. Business Horizons. 47 (1), p
Nielsen, K and Randall, R (2012) The importance of employee participation and perception of changes in procedures in a team-working intervention. Work and Stress. 26 (2), p
Ryan, R M and Deci, E L (2001) On Happiness and Human Potentials: A Review of Research on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being. Annual Review of Psychology. 52, p. 141–66.

26. Thank you for listening!
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