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1 – 10 of over 1000Theo van der Voordt and Per Anker Jensen
This paper aims to explore the added value of healthy workplaces for employees and organizations, in particular regarding employee satisfaction, labour productivity and facility…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the added value of healthy workplaces for employees and organizations, in particular regarding employee satisfaction, labour productivity and facility cost.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a narrative review of journal papers and other sources covering the fields of building research, corporate real estate management, facilities management, environmental psychology and ergonomics.
Findings
The review supports the assumption of positive impacts of appropriate building characteristics on health, satisfaction and productivity. Correlations between these impacts are still underexposed. Data on cost and economic benefits of healthy workplace characteristics is limited, and mainly regard reduced sickness absence. The discussed papers indicate that investing in healthy work environments is cost-effective.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between physical characteristics of the environment and health, satisfaction, productivity and costs. These insights can be used to assess work environments on these topics, and to identify appropriate interventions in value-adding management of buildings and facilities.
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Katrin Olafsdottir and Arney Einarsdottir
The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of gender composition in the workplace on employee job satisfaction and commitment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to estimate the effects of gender composition in the workplace on employee job satisfaction and commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected on both the organizational and employee levels at three different points in time in organizations with more than 70 employees. Multi-level mixed-effects ordered logistics regressions were used to account for the multi-level nature of the data and the ordered nature of the dependent variables.
Findings
Employees in gender-balanced workplaces show higher levels of job satisfaction and commitment than those in female-dominated or male-dominated workplaces. The relationship is also based on the gender of the individual, as men show a significantly lower level of both job satisfaction and commitment when working in male-dominated workplaces than others, while for women, the effect is only significant for commitment.
Practical implications
Aiming for a balance in the gender composition of the workplace may improve employee attitudes, especially for men. The results also indicate that further research is warranted into why job satisfaction and commitment are significantly lower among men in male-dominated workplaces.
Originality/value
The relationship between gender and job satisfaction and commitment is well established, but less is known about the effects of gender composition on job satisfaction and commitment. Previous papers have focused on job satisfaction. This paper extends prior studies by estimating the effects of gender composition on both job satisfaction and commitment using multi-level regressions on a rich dataset.
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Kiia Aurora Einola, Laura Remes and Kenneth Dooley
This study aims to explore an emerging collection of smart building technologies, known as smart workplace solutions (SWS), in the context of facilities management (FM).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore an emerging collection of smart building technologies, known as smart workplace solutions (SWS), in the context of facilities management (FM).
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on semi-structured interviews with facility managers in Finland, Norway and Sweden who have deployed SWSs in their organizations. SWS features, based on empirical data from a previous study, were also used to further analyse the interviews.
Findings
It analyses the benefits that SWSs bring from the facility management point of view. It is clear that the impetus for change and for deploying SWS in the context of FM is primarily driven by cost savings related to reductions in office space.
Research limitations/implications
This research has been conducted with a focus on office buildings only. However, other building types can learn from the benefits that facility managers receive in the area of user-centred smart buildings.
Practical implications
SWSs are often seen as employee experience solutions that are only related to “soft” elements such as collaboration, innovation and learning. Understanding the FM business case can help make a more practical case for their deployment.
Originality/value
SWSs are an emerging area, and this study has collected data from facility managers who use them daily.
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Saul Nurick and Andrew Thatcher
This paper aims to investigate green buildings and individual productivity, specifically within the context of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) within green certified office…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate green buildings and individual productivity, specifically within the context of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) within green certified office buildings. The purpose of the research was to determine how self-assessed productivity levels were influenced by the indoor environment of the office building.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data analysis was conducted via semi-structured interviews in two financial services companies (FSCs), both based in green certified office buildings in South Africa. Thematic analysis was conducted to extract common themes from the data. Furthermore, the data were compared to previous research to identify new potential pathways or provide support for existing pathways.
Findings
The main findings were that physical components, such as temperature, lighting, ventilation and noise, contribute depending on the respondent to individual productivity, engagement, organisational commitment and psychological wellbeing. Safety, underpinned by location and amenities, was a new component not previously considered that subtly contributed to individual productivity.
Originality/value
The research provides valuable insight into the contributing factors that impact individual productivity within a green certified office building, as previous researchers have yet to reach a consensus on the relationship between individual productivity and IEQ in green certified office buildings.
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Keith Whitfield, Andrew Pendleton, Sukanya Sengupta and Katy Huxley
A range of studies have shown that performance is typically higher in organisations with employee share ownership (ESO) schemes in place. Many possible causal mechanisms…
Abstract
Purpose
A range of studies have shown that performance is typically higher in organisations with employee share ownership (ESO) schemes in place. Many possible causal mechanisms explaining this relationship have been suggested. These include a reduction in labour turnover, synergies with other forms of productivity-enhancing communication and participation schemes, and synergies with employer-provided training. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper empirically assesses these potential linkages using data from the 2004 and 2011 British Workplace Employment Relations Surveys, and provides comparisons with earlier analyses conducted on the 1990 and 1998 versions of the survey.
Findings
Substantial differences are found between the 2004 and 2011 results: a positive relationship between ESO and workplace productivity and financial performance, observed in 2004, is no longer present in 2011. In both years, ESO is found to have no clear relationship with labour turnover, and there is no significant association between turnover and performance. There is, however, a positive moderating relationship with downward communication schemes in 2004 and in 2011 in the case of labour productivity. There is no corresponding relationship for upward involvement schemes.
Research limitations/implications
The results are only partially supportive of extant theory and its various predictions, and the relationship between ESO and performance seems to have weakened over time.
Originality/value
The study further questions the rhetoric offered in support of wider ESO.
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Bouke Boegheim, Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek, Dujuan Yang and Marcel Loomans
This paper aims to study employee mental health in relation to workplace design and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) when working from home, which has received little attention…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study employee mental health in relation to workplace design and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) when working from home, which has received little attention. The trend toward hybrid working urges for more knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a mixed data collection method, this study analyzed potential relationships (between mental health, workplace design and IEQ) from information obtained through a cross-sectional survey, repeated point-in-time surveys and desk-based IEQ sensors at home. Data were collected in April 2020 during a national COVID-19 lockdown in The Netherlands amongst 36 subjects. They all worked full time from home in this period and together completed 321 point-in-time surveys. The three data sets were combined and analyzed using bivariate and path analysis.
Findings
Outcomes indicate that subjective and objective IEQ conditions, workplace suitability and distraction affect employee mental health in the home workplace in a similar way as in the office. Being satisfied with the noise level increases concentration, self-reported well-being and engagement. High sound pressure levels (>58 dB) increased tension or nervous feelings.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to explore employee mental health in relation to simultaneously assessed (perceived and measured) multiple IEQ parameters in the home workplace.
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Lilian M. de Menezes and Ana B. Escrig-Tena
This paper aims to improve our understanding of performance measurement systems in the health and care sector, by focussing on employee reactions to core performance measurement…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to improve our understanding of performance measurement systems in the health and care sector, by focussing on employee reactions to core performance measurement practices. Targets and monitoring are hypothesised to be associated with employee perceptions of job control, supportive management and job demands, which in turn, are expected to be linked to employee-wellbeing and organisational commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
Matched employee workplace data are extracted from a nationally representative and publicly available survey. Structural equation models are estimated.
Findings
Performance measurement systems are neither perceived as resources nor additional demands. Setting many targets and a focus on productivity can lead to negative employee outcomes, since these positively correlate with perceptions of job demands, which negatively correlate with employee wellbeing. However, monitoring financial performance and monitoring employee performance may be helpful to managers, as these are positively associated with employee perceptions of job control and supportive management, which positively correlate with job satisfaction and organisational commitment and, negatively, with anxiety. Overall, common criticisms of performance measurement systems in healthcare are questioned.
Originality/value
Given the lack of consensus on how performance measurement systems can influence employee experiences and outcomes, this study combines theories that argue for performance measurement systems in managing operations with models developed by psychologists to describe how perceptions of the work conditions can affect employee attitude and wellbeing. A conceptual model is therefore developed and tested, and potential direct and indirect effects of performance measurement systems in the health sector are inferred.
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Alexander Braun, Arleta Anna Franczukowska, Irina Teufl and Eva Krczal
There is growing interest in the economic impact of workplace physical activity interventions, but the evidence is still lacking — especially in Europe. Although, some evidence on…
Abstract
Purpose
There is growing interest in the economic impact of workplace physical activity interventions, but the evidence is still lacking — especially in Europe. Although, some evidence on the return on investment (ROI) is found in literature, the included studies may not be applicable to the Europe situation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to review current evidence on the economic impact of workplace physical activity interventions in European countries.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review on the economic impact of worksite health promotion programs aiming at increasing physical activity was conducted. Five electronic databases (MEDLINE (Ovid), MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, NHS-EED and Emerald Insights) were searched for relevant studies published between 2000 and 2020.
Findings
A total of 953 abstracts were screened, and 28 were reviewed, 11 of which met all inclusion criteria. The studies varied substantially in sample size, intervention type, duration and frequency of follow-up measurements, valuation methods and assessed economic outcomes. There is inconclusive evidence for decreasing absenteeism, positive net benefit (NB) and positive ROI. No evidence was found to indicate an effect on self-assessed productivity or job satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study is the first try to take the different working conditions from Europe into consideration. The authors found that working conditions could have some impact on the valuation of absenteeism costs and thereof on the ROI. Further, this study provides insight into how to deploy effective and efficient workplace physical activity interventions, based on a standardized and validated methodology and program scope.
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Reetta Oksa, Henri Pirkkalainen, Markus Salo, Nina Savela and Atte Oksanen
Social media platforms are increasingly used at work to facilitate work-related activities and can either challenge or make people feel more productive at jobs. This study drew…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media platforms are increasingly used at work to facilitate work-related activities and can either challenge or make people feel more productive at jobs. This study drew from technostress and employee well-being literature and analyzed longitudinal effects of professional social media (PSM) invasion, work engagement and work exhaustion on PSM-enabled productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
Nationally representative five-wave survey data of Finnish employees were analyzed with hybrid multilevel linear regression analysis. Outcome measure was PSM-enabled productivity and the predictors included PSM invasion, work exhaustion and work engagement. Age, gender, education, occupational sector, managerial position, remote work and personality traits were used as control variables.
Findings
PSM invasion and work engagement had both within-person and between-person effects on PSM-enabled productivity. Higher educated and individuals with open personality reported higher PSM-enabled productivity. No association between work exhaustion and PSM-enabled productivity was found.
Originality/value
The findings are central considering the increasing use of social media and other technologies for work purposes. The authors challenge the dominant view in the literature that has often seen PSM invasion as a negative factor. Instead, PSM invasion's positive association with PSM-enabled productivity and the association of work engagement and PSM-enabled productivity should be recognized in work life.
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Peter Lindeberg, Minna Saunila, Pia Lappalainen, Juhani Ukko and Hannu Rantanen
Work environments are undergoing a transformation where organizations have various spatial solutions at their disposal. However, organizations may have challenges in making the…
Abstract
Purpose
Work environments are undergoing a transformation where organizations have various spatial solutions at their disposal. However, organizations may have challenges in making the right decisions in a work environment change, when the spatial solution is only one dimension of the work environment. The purpose of this paper is to approach this problem in a holistic way and explain the relationship between work environment changes and the development of organizational performance in the activity-based work (ABW) environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The results are based on an extensive quantitative survey involving 471 participants. The survey was theory driven and built on former literature. The participants were randomly collected from the largest cities in Finland, and the data were analyzed with a regression analysis.
Findings
The results showed that ABW environments require no more attention to the different work environment dimensions when compared to other office types, with the exception of the social work environment; the changes of which have a relatively strong relationship with the development of organizational well-being. In the ABW environment, a change in the physical work environment has a stronger relationship with the development of organizational productivity and a change in the social work environment has a stronger relationship with the development of organizational well-being than a change in the other work environment dimensions.
Originality/value
This study yields empirical evidence of the relationship of physical, digital and social work environment changes with the development of organizational performance in the ABW environment. The value of this paper is that it offers a simple but holistic research model to distinguish the outcomes between the different work environment dimensions so that relevant expertise is applied to take concrete and targeted action.
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