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1 – 7 of 7Virginia Dickson-Swift, Christopher Fox, Karen Marshall, Nicky Welch and Jon Willis
Factors for successful workplace health promotion (WHP) are well described in the literature, but often sourced from evaluations of wellness programmes. Less well understood are…
Abstract
Purpose
Factors for successful workplace health promotion (WHP) are well described in the literature, but often sourced from evaluations of wellness programmes. Less well understood are the features of an organisation that contribute to employee health which are not part of a health promotion programme. The purpose of this paper is to inform policy on best practice principles and provide real life examples of health promotion in regional Victorian workplaces.
Design/methodology/approach
Individual case studies were conducted on three organisations, each with a health and wellbeing programme in place. In total, 42 employers and employees participated in a face to face interview. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and the qualitative data were thematically coded.
Findings
Employers and senior management had a greater focus on occupational health and safety than employees, who felt that mental/emotional health and happiness were the areas most benefited by a health promoting workplace. An organisational culture which supported the psychosocial needs of the employees emerged as a significant factor in employee's overall wellbeing. Respectful personal relationships, flexible work, supportive management and good communication were some of the key factors identified as creating a health promoting working environment.
Practical implications
Currently in Australia, the main focus of WHP programmes is physical health. Government workplace health policy and funding must expand to include psychosocial factors. Employers will require assistance to understand the benefits to their business of creating environments which support employee's mental and emotional health.
Originality/value
This study took a qualitative approach to an area dominated by quantitative biomedical programme evaluations. It revealed new information about what employees really feel is impacting their health at work.
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Daniel James Acton, Rosalyn Arnold, Gavin Williams, Nicky NG, Kirstyn Mackay and Sujeet Jaydeokar
This preliminary study aims to examine the use of a co-designed immersive virtual reality intervention programme in improving access to health care for people with intellectual…
Abstract
Purpose
This preliminary study aims to examine the use of a co-designed immersive virtual reality intervention programme in improving access to health care for people with intellectual disability.
Design/methodology/approach
A co-production approach was used to design a virtual reality intervention in collaboration with people with intellectual disability, their families and carers. A mixed-method single sample pre-test-post-test design examined using a virtual reality intervention simulating health-care environments to improve access of attending health-care appointments. Qualitative feedback was used to understand participants’ experience and opinions of using the digital technology.
Findings
The study found that the intervention did help people access health-care appointment and reduced their fear. Improvements were also found in quality-of-life post intervention. Positive feedback was provided from participants on using digital technologies indicating the novelty of the approach and potential further applications.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which has used virtual reality to support people with intellectual disability access health care.
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Reimara Valk and Sandra Hannon
The purpose of this paper is to explore engagement of flexpatriates on rotational and regular field assignments in the energy industry, theoretically grounded in the “Four…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore engagement of flexpatriates on rotational and regular field assignments in the energy industry, theoretically grounded in the “Four Fundamental Pillars of Engagement”.
Design/methodology/approach
In an exploratory case study within a global organisation in the energy industry, in a post-merger/acquisition integration stage, the authors interviewed 24 rotational and regular field assignees of seven different nationalities, residing at nine different global locations.
Findings
The results of the case study show that the following newly identified drivers within the “Four Fundamental Pillars of Engagement” are crucial for engagement of flexpatriate rotational and regular field assignees in the energy industry: information, communication and technology; training, learning and growth; support from colleagues and line managers (“capacity to engage”); job ownership/control; respect, recognition and appreciation (“reason to engage”); freedom to be creative and innovative; pride and promises; client satisfaction (“freedom to engage”); alignment between the organisation and the individual (“alignment to engage”), especially in a post-merger and acquisition (M&A) organisational context during a downturn in the oil and gas industry.
Research limitations/implications
The case study focused on rotational assignees from one particular organisation in the energy industry, which restricts the generalisability of the findings on engagement of rotational assignees to other organisations, industries and geographies.
Practical implications
Organisations in the energy industry that actively promote engagement of rotational assignees, especially during the post-M&A integration stage and economic turmoil, will strengthen their sustainable global competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is that it presents a refinement and expansion of the drivers of engagement within the “Four Fundamental Pillars of Engagement”, conceptualised in an international post-M&A organisational context during a downturn in the oil and gas industry.
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Elif Karaosmanoglu, Didem Gamze Isiksal and Nesenur Altinigne
With the aim of developing a better understanding of why some consumers still excuse corporate brands that engage in transgressions, this study tests whether extrinsically…
Abstract
Purpose
With the aim of developing a better understanding of why some consumers still excuse corporate brands that engage in transgressions, this study tests whether extrinsically religious people tolerate corporate brands more than intrinsically religious individuals at different transgression levels (severe and mild) and punish them less than the latter.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a 2 × 2 experimental design to manipulate corporate brand transgression levels (mild vs severe) and religiosity orientations (intrinsically religious vs extrinsically religious) on a convenience sample of 134 subjects who live in Turkey, a country where Islam shapes religious context. It uses a scenario technique and projective approach.
Findings
While the main effect of corporate brand transgression on punishing behaviour does not appear in the analysis, religiosity’s main effect on the latter does. Unexpectedly, extrinsically religious consumers punish corporate brand transgressors more than their intrinsically religious counterparts regardless of the transgression severity levels.
Research limitation/implications
Although the study does not refer to any religion in particular, countries predominated by religions other than Islam may yield different consumer reactions. Future studies should focus on transgressions in such different settings.
Practical implications
Corporate brand transgressors should immediately take up good causes to attract the attention of intrinsically religious consumers. Otherwise, for the sake of showing off, extrinsically religious people may punish the transgressor for its intentional mistakes, which may harm corporate brand associations.
Originality/value
This study examines the link between religiosity and corporate branding. Unique in this way, it introduces religiosity as a valid contributor that can explain why some consumers do not punish corporate brand transgressors, especially in countries like Turkey where religiosity is intertwined with the developments in the liberal economy which led to the emergence of a new middle class.
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Research on work–life interface in the expatriation context has to date focused on expatriates relocating with a family, and the work–life experiences of single and childless…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on work–life interface in the expatriation context has to date focused on expatriates relocating with a family, and the work–life experiences of single and childless expatriates remain largely unexplored. This is particularly relevant for women, as female expatriates appear to be more often single than their male counterparts and have children less often. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to examine the specific work–life experiences of single and childless female expatriates who are working and living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research design has been adopted for this exploratory study. Data was collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 20 single and childless female expatriates living and working in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Findings
Our findings identify a set of personal, work-related, and social and cultural factors contributing to single and childless female expatriates’ conflict and enrichment between work and nonwork spheres, as well as a range of sources and types of social support they rely upon. Our findings demonstrate that work–life issues are also exacerbated for single and childless women in the international context.
Originality/value
This study is the first dedicated to the examination of specific work–life issues of single and childless women in the expatriate context. By revealing the specificities of their work–life experiences, this study contributes to the fields of (female) expatriate research and work–life research and advances current knowledge on nontraditional expatriates.
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Xavier Salamin and Doris Hanappi
Research on female expatriates has been substantially growing over the last decades and particularly in more recent years. Complementing previous thematic analyses of the…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on female expatriates has been substantially growing over the last decades and particularly in more recent years. Complementing previous thematic analyses of the literature, the purpose of this paper is to apply textual statistics and correspondence analysis to reveal the existing semantic structure of the field of research on female expatriates.
Design/methodology/approach
Using correspondence analysis, the authors explored textual data from the abstracts of 151 identified journal articles published in English since 1975. The authors obtained a graphical representation showing the various developmental stages of research on female expatriates.
Findings
The authors found that research follows a home-host country orientation and advances from an organizational focus toward individual-level studies. The authors identified various directions for future research and especially a strong need for more multilevel approaches to study men’s and women’s expatriate experiences and trajectories in various contexts.
Research limitations/implications
Only articles with abstracts entered the analysis, which in turn was dependent on the content and quality of these abstracts. This limitation has been addressed by thoroughly reading each article considered.
Originality/value
This review adopts an original method in research on (female) expatriates and more broadly management research. It enabled the authors to map out the development of key research themes over time. Based on this analysis, gaps in current research could be identified and clear directions for future research were formulated.
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