Supporting Business Strategy Through Employee Well Being

SUPPORTING BUSINESS STRATEGY THROUGH

EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING

By

Wendy Creelman

An Organizational Leadership Project submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

In

LEADERSHIP

We accept this Report as conforming to the required standard

………………………………………

Sandra Sellick, EdD, Faculty Supervisor

………………………………………

Niels Agger-Gupta, PhD, Committee Chair

ROYAL ROADS UNIVERSITY

February, 2011

© Wendy Creelman, 2011

SUPPORTING BUSINESS STRATEGY THROUGH EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING 2

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this action research project was to discover, through an appreciative inquiry lens,

how an employer could enhance employee well-being to strengthen business results. Through a

world café, two online surveys, interviews, and a physical activity challenge that mobilized

participants, I discovered a strong link between well-being and business results. This was also

confirmed in the literature which pointed to how sustained employee engagement is not possible

without well-being and that organizational change benefits from a positive framework that

supports and cares for people. My final recommendations included building a culture of well-

being, involving staff in decisions that affect them, coaching employees for resiliency, and

consistently measuring what matters. I was struck by the impact that poor mental health is having

in workplaces and feel that further work needs to be done to understand how an emphasis on

brain health might assist to alleviate this alarming trend.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Without the support of my family and friends, this achievement would not be a reality.

Significant life events, including the sudden death of my mother and the diagnosis of my father

with multiple myeloma, made this a deeply reflective journey. Without this program and the

well-being focus of this project, my outcomes from these events would have been quite different.

I first want to thank my husband Gene who surely thought he lost his wife in this intense

period. He stayed steady, as he always does, and dug deep to find this strength. I am indebted to

my children Tyler, Jason, Alexa and Brianna for inspiring me to be the best example that I can be

for them. My family continues to be my grounding force and I am thankful for that. I also want

to thank my friends Jane, Jacqui and Denise – Jane for inspiring me to take this program; Jacqui

for keeping me running; and, Denise for believing in me. I am forever grateful to Barry for

sponsoring me, Sandra for guiding me and Karole for her ever-consistent support.

It is interesting how certain people cross our lives in a timely manner. My second year

MAL buddy, Ali, lost her Mom and Dad while completing her degree and my supervisor,

Sandra, lost her Dad while completing her EdD. They gave me the courage to see this through. I

am also grateful for my sisters who supported me and in the process taught me about myself.

The one person I most wish to thank, and the one I dedicate this work to, is my Mom:

Mary Jones. It is through her leadership and positivity that I have pushed through some very dark

days and have emerged with renewed energy and hope. Her influence will continue to guide me

in my pursuit of my own leadership roles as I venture to bring more well-being into workplaces,

communities, and my own family.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 3

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... 7

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 8

CHAPTER ONE: FOCUS AND FRAMING ................................................................................. 9

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 9

The Opportunity and its Significance ............................................................................................. 9

Systems Analysis of the Opportunity ........................................................................................... 11

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................................ 13

Employee Well-being ................................................................................................................... 13

Defining Employee Well-being ............................................................................................... 13

The Connection between Employee Engagement and Employee Well-being......................... 16

Employee Well-being and Business Results ............................................................................ 18

Organizational Change.................................................................................................................. 20

Strategies for Effectively Managing Change ........................................................................... 20

Leading a Merger through Culture Change ............................................................................. 22

Engaging Employees in Organizational Change...................................................................... 24

CHAPTER THREE: INQUIRY APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ................................... 28

Inquiry Approach .......................................................................................................................... 28

Project Participants ....................................................................................................................... 30

Inquiry Methods ............................................................................................................................ 32

Data Collection Tools .............................................................................................................. 32


Study Conduct .......................................................................................................................... 35

Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 37

Ethical Issues ................................................................................................................................ 39

CHAPTER FOUR: ACTION INQUIRY PROJECT RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS ........... 41

Study Findings .............................................................................................................................. 41

World Café ............................................................................................................................... 41

Pre-PAC and Post-PAC Survey ............................................................................................... 44

Interviews ................................................................................................................................. 47

Study Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 55

How can employees be supported to create a culture of employee well-being? ..................... 55

How can a culture of employee well-being support employee engagement? .......................... 56

How can culture and vision inform metrics and areas of focus for well-being?...................... 58

How can organizations enhance employee well-being to support their business strategy? ..... 58

Scope and Limitations of the Inquiry............................................................................................ 59

CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS ...................................................................... 60

Study Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 60

Create a culture of well-being .................................................................................................. 60

Involve staff in decisions that affect them ............................................................................... 62

Coach employees to be resilient ............................................................................................... 64

Measure what matters and be consistent across brands ........................................................... 66

Organizational Implications .......................................................................................................... 69

Implications for Future Inquiry ..................................................................................................... 72

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 75


APPENDIX A: CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS ............................................................. 93

Confidentiality Agreement – Research Team Member ........................................................... 93

Confidentiality Agreement - Editor ......................................................................................... 95

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONS FOR SURVEYS ADMINISTERED BEFORE AND AFTER THE

THE PERSONAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGE ............................................................................ 96

APPENDIX C: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGE SUPPORT MATERIAL .................. 101

APPENDIX D: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN CHALLENGE .......................................... 105

APPENDIX E: LETTER OF INVITATION – WORLD CAFÉ ................................................ 107

APPENDIX F: LETTER OF CONSENT – WORLD CAFÉ ..................................................... 109

APPENDIX G: WORLD CAFÉ AGENDA ............................................................................... 110

APPENDIX H: WORLD CAFÉ EQUIPMENT ......................................................................... 112

APPENDIX I: GUIDING QUESTIONS – WORLD CAFÉ ...................................................... 113

APPENDIX J: LETTER OF INVITATION: PAC, INTERVIEWS, ONLINE SURVEYS ...... 114

APPENDIX K: LETTER OF CONSENT - PRE- AND POST-PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

CHALLENGE ONLINE SURVEY ............................................................................................ 115

APPENDIX L: LETTER OF CONSENT – PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGE .............. 117

APPENDIX M: INTERVIEW RESULTS REPORT ................................................................. 119

APPENDIX N: WORK AND WELL-BEING SURVEY (UWES) ........................................... 121


LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Study Conduct Timeline ................................................................................................. 35

Table 2 A Comparison of Questions Posed In and Resulting From the World Café .................. 41

Table 3 Comparison of Mean Hours Spent Participating in Physical Activity (PA) as

Reported by Pre- and Post-PAC Survey Respondents over the Previous Seven Days ................. 44

Table 4 Percentage of Respondents Reporting Specific Feelings on the Day Prior to

the Survey ..................................................................................................................................... 44

Table 5 Mean Hours Respondents Spent on Activities the Day Prior to Survey ........................ 45

Table 6 Percentage Comparison of Pre- and Post-PAC survey Respondent Self-Reported

Activities on Day Prior to Survey ................................................................................................. 46

Table 7 Percentage Comparison of Survey Responses Based on Positive and Negative

Experience Reported for Day Prior to Pre- and Post-PAC survey ............................................... 47

Table 8 Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question One: What does employee

well-being mean to you? ............................................................................................................... 48

Table 9 Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question two (part one): What positive

factors in your workplace contribute to your well-being? ............................................................ 49

Table 10 Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question two (part two): How do

these positive factors affect you? .................................................................................................. 50

Table 11 Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question three: How does your

well-being enable you to deliver excellent customer service? ...................................................... 51

Table 12 Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question four: How has the physical

activity challenge (PAC) changed your work relationships? ........................................................ 52


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Potential Outcomes of Employee Well-being ................................................................ 12

Figure 3 Wordles Selected to Represent Well-being .................................................................... 54

SUPPORTING BUSINESS RESULTS THROUGH WELL-BEING 9

CHAPTER ONE: FOCUS AND FRAMING

Introduction

Through this organizational leadership project (OLP), I explored how employee well-

being supported the business strategy. Specifically, the focus was on how well-being connected

to business results. Business is increasingly competitive today and, therefore, resources allocated

to employee initiatives continue to be framed in terms of return on investment. My interest lay in

the importance of well-being for sustained results from both the organizational and the employee

perspective, particularly in a merger environment. I was keen to extend an understanding of

overall employee health as an important business foundation and competitive advantage.

The main question of this inquiry was: How can employee well-being be enhanced to

support business results? The subquestions that guided this action research were:

1. How can a culture of well-being support employee engagement?

2. How can employees be supported to create a culture of well-being?

The Opportunity and its Significance

Change is constant in a merger environment, causing stress and uncertainty for

employees (Deal & Kennedy, 1999). Pollard (2001) studied the relationship between well-being

and workplace reorganization and found that “workplace reorganization caused significant

increases in distress and in systolic blood pressure and that uncertainty contributed to these

effects” (p. 1). Workplace change can negatively impact employee stress levels.

We all deal with multiple roles in life, often overriding our ability to stay well (Duxbury

& Higgins, 2009). It is a reality that employees juggle family and care-giving responsibilities

with their work. Duxbury and Higgins (2009) defined role overload as, “the perceptual aspect of


feeling overwhelmed, overloaded or stressed by the pressures of multiple roles” (p. 18). This

stress can cause burnout, anxiety and depression leading to low productivity, low life

satisfaction, and low physical health levels (Murphy, Duxbury, & Higgins, 2006). Lowe (2002)

articulated that a healthy workplace strategy can result in “improved employee health, job

satisfaction, productivity, engagement and retention” (p. 54). Lowe (2002) further stated that the

“evidence points to reasonable workload, control over work, participation in decision-making,

supportive peer and supervisory relations, and open organizational communications as key

ingredients of a healthy workplace” (p. 54). The evidence was clear but most organizations,

diverted by what they saw as more important, put well-being as a low priority. My leadership

stretch and the opportunity of this OLP was to engage the organization, keeping my bias in

check, in a way that spoke to the merger reality to deliver recommendations that could positively

impact the business results.

A focus on well-being had potential to assist in alleviating some of the stress of change

and role overload. This OLP created an opportunity to explore how an organization could

support the physical, psychological, and social health of their employees in a collaborative

manner that positively impacted business results. Baker (2003) told us that by building

collaborative relationships we can create reciprocity where “we are helped because we help

others” (p. 13). Engaging in conversations with employees about well-being, was one option to

explore ways that well-being connected to high performance and business results.

One way to do this was to understand how to create a healthy culture. Mintzberg (1999)

captured the essence of a healthy organization as “a collective social system that naturally

survives changes in leadership” (p. 30). Towers Watson (2010) argued that if well-being was not

addressed in times of stress and uncertainty that sustained engagement and retention of key staff


would not be possible. They emphasized the need to develop targeted strategies and interventions

that addressed employee well-being (Towers Watson, 2010). With stress levels a concern in a

merger environment, I felt a well-being focus could potentially ease higher turnover, more

stressed employees and lowering of engagement levels. This OLP aimed to explore connections

between employee well-being and the business strategy.

Systems Analysis of the Opportunity

In a merger environment there was typically “a double workload” (Muller, 2006).

Managers not only ran the core business; they were also in the middle of a complex change

process that demanded more time with their staff. Krell (2001) stressed that successfully merging

cultures required people to be involved in the change. Performing a culture audit first follows the

advice of Franklin Covey as quoted by Krell (2001). Covey advised to “seek first to understand”

(Krell, 2001, p. 76). A culture audit creates a valuable data baseline. Time is scarce in a merger

environment, and therefore, this inquiry needed to minimize survey overload while clarifying

potential organizational benefits of employee well-being.


Figure 1 Potential Outcomes of Employee Well-being

From a systems perspective, Senge (2006) taught us how reinforcing loops can in fact be

“virtuous cycles” (p. 81). He pointed to physical activity as being one such reinforcing cycle

whereby a person exercises, feels better and thus exercises more. I further connected this to

Figure 1 which hypothesized how employee well-being could reinforce employee engagement

and thus cause employees to stay, to thrive, and to recommend their employer to others. These

potential outcomes of employee well-being were hypothetically linked to the possibility of

becoming an “employer of choice”; to lower absenteeism, presenteeism and stress; and to higher

recruitment, retention and business performance. Ultimately, employee well-being had the

potential to create a virtuous cycle that spilled over to an employee’s home life and their ability

to be a healthy, happy individual.

•Improved recruitment

•Decreased stress, presenteeism & benefits cost

•Measures:

• Stay

• Say

• Strive

•Physical Health

•Psychological Health

•Social Health

Employee Wellbeing

Employee Engagement

Higher retention

Organizational Efficiency


CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The focus of this literature review was on two key topics: employee well-being and

organizational change. In my first topic I concentrated on defining employee well-being and the

relationship it had to employee engagement and business results. Defining employee well-being

as a subset of well-being was important to focus the inquiry. Connecting employee engagement

to employee well-being was critical in order for employee well-being to garner the attention of

senior management. Furthermore, employee well-being needed to create business results to

sustain management attention. The second topic of my literature review focused on strategies for

managing change, leading a merger through culture change, and change leadership. I discovered

that understanding and managing change as well as the interplay between leadership and culture

created the platform for success and innovation so necessary for business today.

Employee Well-being

Defining Employee Well-being

An employee has been defined as “a person who works for some person or firm for pay”

(Gage, 1997, p. 510) and well-being is defined as “health and happiness” (Gage, 1997, p. 1669).

In working to formulate a clear definition of employee well-being, I was overcome by the many

definitions of well-being and the global interest in this subject. Before employee well-being

could be defined, I felt it was important to understand that a spillover between life and work

existed. A person’s well-being is not solely defined by the environment in which they work, the

work they do, or the people they work with. When we go to work, we bring other aspects of our

well-being with us. For this reason it is important to have an understanding of well-being before

we can define employee well-being.


Aked, Marks, Cordon, and Thompson (2008) defined five ways to well-being that are

simple yet comprehensive. They encouraged people to: connect; be active; take notice; keep

learning; and to give, in order to achieve high well-being. Furthermore, they argued that by

nurturing relationships we create a support system that gives back; by being physically active we

feel good; by being curious and reflecting, we are aware of our world and how we feel; by

challenging ourselves to learn new things we increase our confidence; and by giving to others we

reap happiness.

The World Health Organization incorporated well-being into their definition of health in

1947 (Ereaut &Whiting, 2008) but understanding the implications of quantifying well-being has

only recently hit the economic world stage. I discovered that Canadians living in high income

cities had the lowest levels of happiness (Anielski, 2007) and rises worldwide in the Gross

Domestic Product (GDP) have resulted in decreased well-being (Anielski, 2007; Thomson &

Marks, 2009). Robert Kennedy criticized the GDP for this reason, because it “measures

everything in short, except for that which makes life worthwhile” (Anielski, 2007, p. 27). Diener

(2009a) argued that economic measures needed to be supplemented with measures of well-being

and noted that "as everyone's income rises in affluent societies, rising income does not seem to

provide a well-being dividend" (p. 214). Diener (2009a) stated that mental health issues have

risen dramatically with our GDP and the resulting increase in mental health costs have

paradoxically raised our GDP even more.

The evidence is clear that well-being positively affects our social relationships as well as

our physical and mental health (Argyle, 2001; Diener, 1984; Diener, 2009a; Diener, 2009b;

Diener, 2009c; Frey & Stutzer, 2002; Kahneman et al., 1999). Twenge (2000) reported that

depression rates increased ten-fold in the previous 50 years and anxiety levels in children were


also on the rise. Putnam (2001) found declining levels of trust resulted in decreased social

connectedness leading to lower social capital, a key ingredient to well-being. In our workplaces,

trust and relationships are crucial to business success. How can we have engaged employees and

successful businesses if well-being is on the decline? Diener (2009a) stressed that one of the key

aspects to measure for well-being is engagement at work.

Defra (2009) claimed that well-being is “enhanced by conditions that include supportive

personal relationships, strong and inclusive communities, good health, financial and personal

security, rewarding employment, and a healthy and attractive environment” (p. 119). Rath and

Harter (2010) placed well-being into five dimensions: career, social, financial, physical and

community and found that people with high career well-being are "more than twice as likely to

be thriving in their lives overall" (p. 16). One’s career was the most essential of the five elements

of well-being but all aspects must work together to bring about happiness or satisfaction with

one’s work and life.

Well-being is complex and profoundly affected by our environment and “everyday life”

(Kearns & Gavin, 2009). I merged several definitions (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010; Page &

Vella-Brodrick, 2009; Towers Watson, 2010) to identify three key aspects of employee health

when defining employee well-being which are physical, psychological and social. Further to this,

it is essential that the spillover effects of life to work are taken into account. Moreover, the

connection that employee well-being has to employee engagement and to business results was an

important aspect of this inquiry. Employee well-being takes into account physical, psychological

and social health of the individual which is affected by their environments and relationships both

at work and outside of work time. Employee well-being positively affects a person’s ability to

become engaged and to sustain engagement while at work.


Further to this definition and more specifically focused on the environmental and

relationship aspect of employee well-being, I found mental health issues to be the top cause of

long term disability and the second most common cause of short term disability in Canada

(Conference Board of Canada, 2009). I hypothesize that using a technique such as positivity can

help to create a psychologically healthy workplace necessary for sustained employee

engagement. Employee engagement and employee well-being create psychological capital

(PsyCap) which has been found to interact with mindfulness to predict positive emotions and

engagement in the workplace (Norman et al., 2010; Avey, Wernsing, & Luthans, 2008). There is

an opportunity to create a win-win for both the individual and the organization when culture

supports positivity, efficacy, self-actualization and ultimately employee well-being in the

workplace (Schaufeli & Salanova, 2007).

The Connection between Employee Engagement and Employee Well-being

Similar to employee well-being, the notion of employee engagement has multiple

definitions and a lack of academic agreement on measurement aspects. Kahn (1990) was the first

to define employee engagement as “the harnessing of organizational members’ selves to their

work roles” (p. 694). Business consultancy agencies such as Towers Perrin, The Gallup

Organization, Watson Wyatt, Hewitt, and BlessingWhite have since done the bulk of research in

this area.

Towers Perrin’s 2009 Global Workforce Study (2010) defined employee engagement as

“employees’ willingness and ability to contribute to company success … the extent to which

employees ‘go the extra mile’ and put discretionary effort into their work – contributing more

energy, creativity and passion on the job” (p. 3). I consistently found that employee engagement

was the degree to which an organization was successful at harnessing the heart and minds of


their employees. A number of authors wrote about aspects of employee well-being in relation to

employee engagement. Several definitions (Attridge, 2009; The Conference Board, 2006; Shuck

& Wollard, 2010; Schaufeli et al., 2002) included aspects of vigor, dedication and absorption and

pointed to the necessary presence of cognitive, emotional and behavioral states focused on

organizational outcomes for employee engagement. I noticed repeated references to the

importance of positivity, resilience, strengths-based leadership, and Csikszentmihalyi’s flow

theory (2003). I propose that these conditions necessitate a high level of employee well-being

that acts as a foundation for high employee engagement.

Further to the concept of “flow”, Shuck and Wollard (2010) proposed that employee

engagement is a “conceptual idea” (p. 104) and cited Maslow (1970) in explaining that employee

engagement can potentially bring “self-actualization” (p. 107) concepts into the workplace.

Schmidt (2004) illustrated this in a diagram similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where he

showed how employee well-being was a necessary condition to set the stage for employee

engagement and that physical health, safety and wellness supports needed to first be in place

before employee engagement could be realized. The first “basic need” he identified was

recruiting and retaining the right workforce which is a concept also supported by Collins (2001).

The actively disengaged often had a negative effect on the engaged which eroded opportunities

to create employee flow states. Moreover, Burud and Tumolo (2004) cited that “attention is a

physiological phenomenon and it follows a hierarchy, with survival always getting first priority”

(Chapter one). If our attention is distracted by physical, mental, spiritual and emotional needs,

we cannot be attentive or present at work (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2002). This is called

“presenteeism” which is a costly condition for employers and a common condition for

disengaged employees.


Organizations with high employee engagement experience a competitive advantage and

this has created a market for employee engagement measurement tools which has led to the

development of many with no clear standard (Schaufeli et al., 2002; Shuck & Wollard, 2010;

Warr, 1990). Many used employee self-report surveys and focused on three dimensions: rational

(thinking), emotional (feeling) and motivational (acting). Additionally, Hewitt’s (2009a) model

of “say, stay and strive” captured a framework that centered on how employees advocated for

their organization, their intention to stay, and their level of commitment to put their best efforts

forward. It is important that an organization has benchmarks in place to know where they need to

focus their employee engagement and employee well-being efforts. The evidence clearly

indicated that in order to sustain employee engagement, well-being must be present and,

furthermore, that employee engagement was a stable indicator of employee well-being (Hewitt,

2009b; Seppälä et al., 2009; Towers Watson, 2010).

Employee Well-being and Business Results

The connection that employee well-being has to business results is an important aspect of

this inquiry. Harter et al., (2009) concluded through a meta-analysis involving almost 1 million

employees in 152 organizations around the world that organizations with higher employee

engagement “essentially double their odds of success” (p. 3). Best Buy reported that when

employee engagement increased by one-tenth of a point (on a five point scale), they saw a sales

increase of more than $100,000/year (BlessingWhite, 2008). The evidence is abundant that high

employee engagement is a significant predictor of customer satisfaction, employee productivity,

company profit, innovation and low employee turnover (Attridge, 2009; Harter et al., 2003;

Hewitt, 2009b; Krieger, 2010). Evidence showed that high employee well-being enables


sustainable employee engagement and that higher employee engagement established higher

levels of well-being (Towers Watson, 2010).

I propose that it is short-sighted to analyze employee well-being investments from just an

employee benefit cost savings perspective. Harter et al., (2010) found that if employee work

perceptions were improved such as “role clarity, feeling appreciated, coworker relationships, and

opportunities to learn” (p. 388), business competitiveness and both employee well-being and

employee engagement would be positively impacted. Data clearly indicated positive

relationships between employee work perceptions and outcomes such as sales, profit, employee

retention, decreased accidents, and customer loyalty at both the individual and workgroup level

(Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002; Harter, Schmidt, Killham & Agrawal, 2009; Judge, Bono,

Patton, 2001). Moreover, The Conference Board of Canada (2008) stated that “businesses and

other organizations, in their role as employers, can improve organizational performance by

addressing the socio-economic determinants of their employee’s health and that of their families”

(p. i) supporting the importance of addressing the whole to achieve sustainable business success.

Towers Perrin (2009) found that senior management’s sincere interest in employee well-

being was the key driver for employee engagement in Canada. Buckingham et al., (1999) found

that when an employee knew what was expected of them and they had a manager that cared

about them, that customer satisfaction/loyalty criterion was positively impacted especially in the

domains of customer service, profitability, productivity and turnover. In Canada, only 17% of

employees are highly engaged (Towers Perrin, 2006). Notably, Towers Watson (2010) found

that although employees understood that they are responsible for their own financial and physical

health, their own well-being, and their career and work performance, they had “serious doubts”

about their ability to successfully take on these roles alone.


The organization’s reputation for social responsibility was the second top employee

engagement driver (Towers Perrin, 2009) and could potentially serve to enhance customer

relationships at the same time. Corporate social responsibility carried out both as an employer

with potential to create environments that support employee well-being and as a business that

supports community well-being, can create a competitive advantage for a firm in today’s

marketplace. There is a win-win opportunity to not only support employee well-being to drive

employee engagement but also to enhance the employer reputation and customer loyalty. The

evidence is clear on the benefits of addressing employee well-being and it is common sense to

understand that when you have a system that supports your community, your employees and

your customers; your business will grow.

Organizational Change

Strategies for Effectively Managing Change

To set the stage with an appreciation of change, I start this topic with a description of

Lewin’s three-step model of change which incorporated unfreezing, changing and refreezing

(Burnes, 2004). Burnes (2004) explained that Lewin “believed that the key to resolving social

conflict was to facilitate planned change through learning, and so enable individuals to

understand and restructure their perceptions of the world around them” (p. 311). Burnes (2004)

argued that Lewin’s planned change, although seen as outdated by many, is still effective even

though organizations today are much more complex than they were when it was developed. I

agree and connect Senge’s (2006) concept of a “learning organization” that is so necessary in the

complex systems that exist in organizations today. Organizations are not the linear structures

they once were and given that employees are well educated today, I posit that this complex


reality is an opportunity to teach concepts such as Senge’s five disciplines of building shared

vision, mental models, systems thinking, personal mastery and team learning.

Lewin’s theory was that certain conditions or forces existed that maintained the “status

quo” (Lewin, 1943) and that organizations would benefit more from a focus on group change

rather than individual change. Lewin (1946) believed that you couldn’t understand an

organization unless you tried to change it and that participation in the process of change was

instrumental and more important than the actual resulting change. In order to change, people

need to be involved. This was the premise of action research which was first devised by Lewin

(1946) as “a spiral of steps each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact

finding about the results of the action” (p. 206). Lewin (1946) wrote of successful change in

terms of the need to identify existing group norms, patterns of behavior and routines, and to

develop more appropriate ones (Lewin, 1939, 1946, 1947a, 1947b). Finally, Lewin stated that “a

culture … is not a static affair but a live process like a river which moves but still keeps to a

recognisable form” (p. 172) and that “We should consider action, research, and training as a

triangle that should be kept together” (p. 211). I support that providing a culture of learning and

employee involvement is critical for successful change.

A successful organizational culture requires a balanced distribution of power, a strong

customer focus, a strategy of continuous learning and an orientation towards community service.

This view is supported by several authors who believed that there was a need for greater

employee involvement to successfully live between chaos and order, or, “at the edge of chaos”

(Handy, 1989; Peters, 1989, 1993, 1997; Kotter, 1996). Senge (2006) introduced “metanoia” as

“a shift of the mind” and that “through learning we re-create ourselves” (p. 13). I offer that

employees exposed to continuous learning opportunities have a chance to shift their minds


towards a clearer understanding of how they can thrive as both an individual and a member of an

organization. I further suggest that, given a supportive environment that fosters a culture of

employee well-being and trust, employees can begin to embrace inevitable organizational

conflict as an opportunity to learn and create greater team experiences. Senge (2006) suggested

that "in great teams conflict becomes productive" (p. 232). I recognize that successful cultures

address conflict constructively.

An organization that accepts conflict can also overcome what Lencioni (2005) called the

five dysfunctions of a team: by building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment,

embracing accountability, and focusing on results. Lencioni (2005) emphasized that “teams that

trust one another, engage in conflict, commit to decisions, and hold one another accountable are

very likely to set aside their individual needs and agendas and focus almost exclusively on what

is best for the team” (p. 7). Learning how to manage conflict and develop a culture that accepts

conflict will, I believe, ultimately create success in an environment of constant change and

innovation.

Leading a Merger through Culture Change

In a study that examined creativity in mergers, Zou et al., (2008) found that threat is not

conducive to creativity and that attention to employee perception is important in order to frame

the merger as an opportunity to develop creativity and innovation. Mergers typically bring

feelings of uncertainty. Strong communication and a culture that encourages involvement,

creativity, trust, and employee well-being help to calm uncertainty. Positivity was a consistent

theme that kept surfacing throughout my research as it enabled a strong platform for change and

employee well-being.


Perceptions can either close or open the door to change. I suggest that an appreciative

focus on the opportunity that change offers can assist merging organizations to develop a culture

of positivity. Positive psychology began to surface in organizations in 2000 (Seligman 2002,

2003; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Turner et al., 2002). The positive psychology

movement coined the term “psychological capital (PsyCap)” which is defined as hope, optimism,

efficacy, and resilience (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007). High levels of PsyCap predict

individual health, motivation, commitment, and low absenteeism better than job satisfaction

(Luthans & Youssef, 2007; Luthans & Jensen, 2005). Evidence supported a positive culture as a

strong predictor of a high performance organization that enhanced creativity (Amabile, Barsade,

Mueller, & Staw, 2005), interpersonal trust in relationships (Anderson & Thompson, 2004; Rhee

et al., 2006), health, productivity (Bolino, Turnley, & Bloodgood, 2002; Rhoades & Eisenberger,

2002), and greater mindfulness (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2007). Losada and Heaphy (2004) found that

the most profitable, productive, and effective teams had a ratio of five positive statements for

each negative statement. Abundant empirical evidence suggested that a prevalence of positive

over negative helps enable positive organizational change. Furthermore, Cameron (2008) found

that “when positive conditions exist—such as positive climate, positive relationships, positive

communication, positive meaning, and positive energy – heliotropic tendencies are able to

mitigate negative tendencies and produce positive change” (p. 18).

Burnout, which is common in a merger, is defined as “an erosion of a positive state of

mind” and it occurred as employee engagement and employee well-being decreased, specifically

when “energy turns into exhaustion, involvement turns into cynicism, and efficacy turns into

ineffectiveness” (Maslach & Leiter, 1997, pp. 214-216). Schaufeli & Salanova (2007) labeled

employee engagement as a positive work-related mood that is associated with mental and


psychosomatic health, intrinsic motivation, efficacy, positive attitudes, and high performance.

There appears to be a synergy between a culture that focuses on positivity and high levels of

employee engagement, employee well-being and PsyCap.

Cotton and Hart (2003) cited numerous studies that point to the “pervasive influence” (p.

122) that culture has on employee well-being. They found that employee perceptions, leadership,

structures and processes, clarity of goals and goal alignment had the largest impact on employee

well-being. I offer that the supportive culture and effective, participative leadership that Attridge

(2009) affirmed is necessary for employee engagement (p. 392) concurrently sustains and fuels

employee well-being, leading to business results. Ogbonna and Harris (2000) found that

“competitive and innovative cultural traits are directly linked with performance” (p. 781) and

that culture must be adaptable to environmental conditions while exhibiting a uniqueness that

cannot easily be replicated. I further propose that positive leadership is the central force to

guiding successful culture change.

Engaging Employees in Organizational Change

Gaining commitment and employee engagement in an environment of change is essential

to organizational success. Schroeder-Saulnier (2009) found that the statement: “I am committed

to my organization’s core values” had the highest correlation to employee engagement (p. 2).

The alignment of values and trust was a consistent finding in my research as an important aspect

of employee engagement. Kouzes and Posner (2007) stated "people commit to causes, not to

plans" (p. 121) and that “at the heart of collaboration is trust” (p. 224).

Furthermore, given that the top employee engagement driver is: “Senior management is

sincerely interested in employee well-being” (Towers Perrin, 2008, p.21), I believe that leaders

need to truly care. While many CEO’s have said that their people were their most important


asset, a Towers Perrin (2009) global workforce study found that only one in ten employees

agreed that senior leaders in their companies treated them as a vital corporate asset. One of the 4

key findings in research conducted by Towers Watson (2010) noted that “confidence in leaders

and managers is disturbingly low — particularly in terms of the interpersonal aspects of their

respective roles” (p. 1). Towers Perrin (2009) identified qualities of an engaging leader as:

emotional intelligence; great communication skills; coaching/involvement; ability to inspire; and

authenticity and humility. Engaging leadership styles such as open source leadership (Gadman &

Cooper, 2009), transformational leadership, and adaptive leadership all have the capacity to

lead through change.

I was particularly struck by this description of open source leaders by Gadman and

Cooper (2009):

people who can be trusted when they give their word, reveal new worlds of new opportunity,

generate the capacity to open hearts and minds to the universe's abundance of possibility and

narrow these down to a few powerful opportunities, selective and timely (know when to make

things happen and when to let things happen), skillfully structure human and technical

processes, structures and systems (structures of synergistic interaction that produce emergent

products that exceed the sum of the individual parts/contributions). (p. 149)

I discounted a transactional leadership style which does not engage people as effectively as

transformational leadership (Bycio, Hackett, & Allen, 1995; Bass & Avolio, 1993). Open source

leadership is similar to transformational leadership which Bass and Riggio (2006) defined is “at

its core, about issues around transformation and change” (p. 225) and Lowe and Kroeck (1995)

found to be effective at all levels of the organization. Transformational leadership centers on

culture change where achievement, self-actualization and the development of people is

imperative (Bass, 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1993). Bass, Avolio, Jung, and Berson (2003)

summarized the four key components of transformational leadership to include “idealized


influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration” (p.

208).

Adaptive leadership was linked to a military environment where inaction is deadly. Our

business environments are presenting the challenge of “act or die” as well and so I was intrigued

by Useem (2010) who summarized adaptive leadership:

Create a personal link with every employee—individually or in gatherings. … Act fast—don’t

shoot from the hip but don’t wait for perfection. Make organizational interests your top

priority—don’t let others falter as you prosper. Set a direction but don’t micromanage—give

people the freedom to improvise. (p. 89)

I found trust and integrity to be paramount in adaptive leadership and the underlying message of

“mission first, then team, then self” (Useem, 2010, p. 89) was one that resonated with me.

Teamwork is critical in business today and to be effective I believe our businesses need to

include more collectivism.

Gillespie and Mann (2004) found that when teams are led in a consultative manner by a

leader who communicates and models a collective value-driven vision that it “accounts for up to

67 per cent of team members’ trust in their leader” (p. 602). Furthermore, Hamel and Valikangas

(2009) asserted that success was “about having the capacity to change before the case for change

becomes desperately obvious” by being able to “dynamically reinvent business models and

strategies as circumstances change” (p. 513). They pointed to the need for organizational

resiliency with an aspiration for “zero trauma” (Hamel & Valikangas, 2009, p. 514).

Strong leadership is vital today when leading culture change. I found the most important

aspects of leadership to be trust and confidence. As Kouzes and Posner (2003) stated, “when

leadership is a relationship founded on trust and confidence people take risks, make changes,

keep organizations and movements alive” (p. 18). I assert that successful organizations will focus


on their people’s well-being so that they have the energy and resilience to face the new realities

of constant change, teamwork, and innovation in a way that creates self-actualization or states of

flow. This win-win will be challenging in a world fraught with interruptions where employees

need to be aware of and aligned with the organizational vision. Gadman and Cooper (2009)

declared that "consciousness differs from awareness in that consciousness says you are alive,

while awareness says you are alive and awake" (p. 80). Leaders need to empower employees to

be more than conscious; employees need to be well so that they can realize their potential

through spontaneous effort and flow states that lead to engagement.

In conclusion, my literature review pointed to the importance of leadership in developing

a strong, positive culture that is open to change as a means of thriving. A culture that supports

employee well-being and the development of people will lead to high levels of employee

engagement which is vital for the innovation, adaptability, and customer service excellence

necessary for businesses to prosper.


CHAPTER THREE: INQUIRY APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

Inquiry Approach

The purpose of this section is to describe the philosophical approach and methodology

used in this Organizational Leadership Project (OLP). Using a mixed methods action research

approach that encompassed both quantitative and qualitative methods (Stringer, 2007) this OLP

captured both a pre and post measure of a physical activity challenge (PAC) and a more in-depth

individualized understanding of well-being at the branch level. Furthermore, the appreciative

inquiry philosophy (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2000) was used to explore the relationship between

employee well-being and employee engagement with employees “drawn into the processes of

inquiry” (Coghlan & Brannick, 2005, p. 4). The overall question was: How can an organization

enhance employee well-being to support their business strategy? The subquestions were:

1. How can employees be supported to create a culture of employee well-being?

2. How can a culture of employee well-being support employee engagement?

3. How can culture and vision inform metrics and areas of focus for well-being?

The action research in this OLP was reflective of a merger where the culture strengths of

the two merging organizations were taken into account by stressing high involvement and

synergistic outcomes. Stringer (2007) referred to action research as a “collaborative approach to

inquiry or investigation that provides people with the means to take systematic action to resolve

specific problems” (p. 8). It is “simultaneously concerned with bringing about change in

organizations, in developing self-help competencies in organizational members and adding to

scientific knowledge” (Shani & Pasmore, as cited in Coghlan & Brannick, 2007, p. 3).


An appreciative inquiry philosophy created a commitment to results because participants

were involved in the change. Appreciative inquiry was developed through the work of

Cooperrider (Cooperrider & Whitney, 2000; Cooperrider et al., 2000, 2003; Golembiewski,

1998; Ludema et al., 2001, 2003) using a strengths perspective. Coghlan and Brannick (2005)

explained that appreciative inquiry focuses on discovering ‘what is’, ‘what could be’, ‘what

should be’ and ‘what will be’ (p. 18). Using this as a framework, this OLP allowed me to use an

appreciative lens to explore how one group of employees within two merging organizations

could discover, dream, design, and determine their well-being destiny through a PAC and

qualitative research. Weisbord cited Lewin’s core principle that: “We are likely to modify our

own behavior when we participate in problem analysis and solution and likely to carry out

decisions we have helped make” (Weisbord, 2004, p. 94). I strived to conduct my inquiry using

what Bushe and Marshak (2009) called dialogic appreciative inquiry which they explained as

choreographed events that create a “container” or enabling conditions within which stakeholders

share their views of social reality and seek common agreements in real time” (Bushe & Marshak,

2009, p. 356).

Stringer (2007) claimed that action research provides a framework to “look, think, act”

(p. 8) and that it is concerned with understanding the way that stakeholders “perceive, interpret,

and respond to events related to the issue being investigated” (p. 19). My approach was to

maximize engagement through a PAC that acted as an appreciative inquiry container for data

collection. This minimized organizational time commitment in a way that was fun, engaging and

generative. Dimmock and Kass (2007) affirmed “involvement can be encouraged by increasing

the attractiveness of the group’s activities; the satisfaction the members receive from interacting

with other members and the prestige gained through the groups accomplishments" (p. 6). Bushe


(2007) described the generative aspect of appreciative inquiry as a “quest for new ideas” that

“liberate our collective aspirations, alter the social construction of reality and, in the process,

make available decisions and actions that weren’t available or didn’t occur to us before” (p. 1).

Furthermore, Masters (2000) summarized four basic themes: “empowerment of participants;

collaboration through participation; acquisition of knowledge; and social change” (p. 2).

Glesne (2006) pointed out that qualitative inquiry allowed the interviewer to see things

through another’s eyes. This type of research typically elicits a high response rate (Palys &

Atchison, 2008) and further to this, Stringer (2007) maintained that by using multiple methods to

gather information and data from participants, I increased the credibility of my data. Glesne

(2006) concurred that the “multiple data-collection methods contributes to the trustworthiness of

the data” (p. 36). Moreover, Glesne emphasized that “the more sources tapped for understanding,

the richer the data and the more believable the findings” (p. 36). I have gathered internal

documents and statistics and had conversations with research participants to validate data

gathered and findings were reviewed by all participants for their comments and feedback.

Project Participants

In addition to my sponsor, I involved three groups of participants: the human resources

(HR) team (five people); the Well-being Council (WC) (12 people); and all staff at one office (34

people). These participants, including five senior staff, provided a cross section of both merging

organizations to reflect a balanced perspective. The WC included staff from only one of the two

merging organizations but was selected due to their well-being expertise. In consultation with my

sponsor, it was felt that the other merging organization would be a better choice for the AI

research and that the Vice President of Human Resources (VP HR) would be a key person to

choose the appropriate office within the organization for this research. It was important to be


inclusive of both organizations due to the merger and the fact that a new culture was emerging at

the time of this inquiry.

The Senior Vice President Risk Management (SVP RM) was my official sponsor and was

involved from a strategic level to guide this OLP. The Senior Vice President, People Services

(SVP, PS), joined the organization after this OLP was well underway. He chose to accept the

work that had been done and left the management of the project to the Assistant Vice President

Corporate Human Resources (AVP HR) with the assistance of the Human Resources Advisor

(HRA). In addition, the VP HR assisted in guiding the research with the manager of the site

selected. The SVP, PS was responsible for well-being initiatives and therefore was ultimately

responsible for implementing OLP recommendations.

I utilized a research team that included one fellow Royal Roads University student and all

the above mentioned participants except for the SVP PS. My colleague assisted me by reviewing

my OLP, advising me throughout the process and participating in the world café. She signed a

confidentiality agreement (see Appendix A) and a copy of this was sent to the AVP HR. My

research team was instrumental in ensuring that the different perspectives were captured and that

organizational commitment to results was strong.

The HRA and the WC were instrumental to this inquiry as they provided an overall view

of the organization and had prior experience with well-being initiatives. The first segment of

research involved this group, the AVP HR and my fellow student in a world café. The second

segment of research involved the VP HR, who assisted in selecting an appropriate office for the

research and provided ongoing support. The largest independent office was selected to ensure we

had enough participants (34) and also due to the manager’s enthusiasm to be involved.


Inquiry Methods

The three inquiry methods used in this OLP included a world café, interviews and two

online surveys. In the next sections, I described why I selected the inquiry tools, and how they

were developed, tested, and implemented. I also explained research conduct and data analysis.

Data Collection Tools

The tools I used included two online surveys and four qualitative interview questions that

were collaboratively developed. The appreciative philosophy of this inquiry necessitated that

participants be involved in the planning, action, observation, and reflection and I used three

unique methods to articulate this. Bushe and Marshak (2009) cited Bushe and Kassam, who

explained that “rather than attempting to diagnose and manage change levers, appreciative

inquiry seeks to evoke new ideas that will compel self-organizing change” (p. 352). The tools,

therefore, needed to create opportunities for this evolution in a way that was conducive to time-

limited participant access.

The first method was a world café which involved what Brown and Isaacs (2005) called

hosting conversations that matter in a way that taps into “the realm of collective intelligence” (p.

xii). I involved my research team to help pre-test the world café format and develop effective

wording for guiding questions that helped to formulate final interview questions. The four

interview questions that were developed through the world café process minimized my own

potential “mental models” (Senge, 2006) and bias using the expertise and reflections of the WC.

Kirby and McKenna (1989) spoke to the importance of self-reflection in defining the question

and also in knowing how you influence your research along the way.

The world café was held as part of a regular WC meeting at the head office. The

participants didn’t know each other and so the world café offered an environment conducive to


participation. Each person reviewed and provided input to four guiding questions; each question

was tested and reshaped twice; and then reviewed as a group. The results included four

qualitative interview questions, taped proceedings and flip chart notes. The questions were:

1. What does employee well-being mean to you?

2. What positive factors in your workplace contribute to your well-being? How do these

positive factors affect you?

3. How does your well-being enable you to deliver excellent service?

4. How has the Pirates of the Caribbean Challenge changed your work relationships?

The second method employed was a PAC that utilized pedometers, prizes and an online

virtual team competition to encourage walking at lunch, on breaks and outside of work; and

acted as a container for interview questions. This method got almost everyone in the branch

participating in a well-being initiative, allowing me to measure its effectiveness through two

online surveys (Fluid Surveys, 2010) that enabled a quick way to confidentially capture pre- and

post-data. The survey asked quantitative questions which facilitated clear comparison data

between pre- and post-PAC. The questions (see Appendix B) were based on the International

Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ, 2010) as well as the Well-being Finder (Rath & Harter,

2010) to allow for valid physical activity and well-being measurement.

I mentored four team leads to conduct the four week PAC which included their own

theme of “Pirates of the Caribbean” where teams virtually raced from Penticton to Anaheim (see

Appendix C). Participants were given a pedometer at the start of the PAC and one $25 mall gift

card was awarded, via random draw each week, to those who participated in recording answers

to the “question of the week” on hand held recording devices. Participants were encouraged, by

their team leads, to walk with their coworkers at lunch and during breaks and answer the


“question of the week” while also gaining and entering steps online for their team in a quest to

win the online team race to Anaheim (Appendix D). Interview data was captured on hand-held

recorders. Two random draw prizes were awarded to increase participation in the pre- and post-

PAC survey and a grand prize of $200 was awarded to the team who arrived at the online

destination of Anaheim first.

I visited the office to train and brief the four team leads of the PAC; for the launch of the

PAC; the following week to check on the handheld recorders; at the end of the PAC to thank

participants; and, after data were tabulated and themed to present and verify data. I was in touch

with the team leads throughout the PAC to offer support and was thankful that I visited the

branch just after the launch because I discovered that the recorders were not recording all

interviews. I decided to offer an additional $25 draw prize to encourage participants to answer

both question one and two during week two to rectify this issue. I also supported the team leads

to ensure that they worked with their team members more closely to verify that they were

correctly recording their interviews. The team leads were supported through e-mail and

administrative tools. As an outsider, it was crucial throughout this process that I was as

supportive and consultative as possible. Palys and Atchison (2008) defined “research as

engagement” (p. 1) and because I was exploring engagement and its relationship to well-being, I

felt it was fitting to observe this aspect as well. Stringer (2007) states: “…action research is

necessarily based on localized studies that focus on the need to understand how things are

happening, rather than merely on what is happening, and to understand the ways that

stakeholders - the different people concerned with the issue - perceive, interpret, and respond to

the events related to the issue investigated” (p. 19).


The PAC interviews provided me with individual views on well-being in a way that

removed my bias and decreased participant anxiety. My goal was to learn what well-being meant

to staff, to identify well-being strengths, to see how well-being connected to customer service

and engagement, and to see if relationships were changed by the PAC. Glesne (2006) cautioned

researchers against “interview anxiety about ‘right answers’” (p. 41). I sought to remove this

anxiety by having coworkers interview each other using hand-held recorders. This removed

anxiety as well as any bias I might convey and created an opportunity for coworker relationship

building which I believe is an essential element in creating a culture of well-being.

The third method I used was an online tool (Wordle, 2010) that allowed me to place my

full PAC transcription into a utility that created word art that reflected the frequency of data by

graphically depicting these words as larger than less frequently used words. The resulting

graphics were used by the organization to further define their well-being strategy (Figure 3).

I was supported via a conference call every two weeks with my colleague and I also

communicated via e-mail and phone with my supervisor to get feedback. Each research segment

informed the next creating the action research “spiral” of activity (Stringer, 2007). The world

café, for example, produced questions which were used for the face-to-face interviews and the

interview data informed a final meeting to present and reflect on the data discovered.

Study Conduct

Table 1

Study Conduct Timeline

Date Task

July 14/10 Organized schedule, sought approvals for research

team/activities/budget.


July 23/10 Obtained approvals for access to Well-being Council and staff for PAC.

Aug. 15/10 Arranged for recorders, batteries, pedometers, incentives (six $25 mall

gift cards and $200 cash for winning PAC team), and Executive

participation in launch and/or close of PAC.

Aug. 18/10 Developed draft plan, invitation and letter of consent for world café (see

Appendix E & F).

Aug. 23/10 Finalized world café plan: agenda (see Appendix G), equipment (see

Appendix H), guiding questions (see Appendix I), room booking, and

refreshments.

Sept. 3/10 Confirmed research location and met with manager/finalize team leads

& plan.

Sept.4 /10 Obtained approval for activity challenge draft materials (invitation letter,

poster, online challenge template, e-mail communications, process

calendar, forms for team leads, pre and post online survey, four

questions).

Sept. 1/10 Sent world café invitation through organization contact.

Sept. 7/10 Sent invitations (see Appendix J) and letters of consent (see Appendix K

and L) for PAC and online survey through office manager.

Sept. 8/10 Held world café (three hours): predefined table hosts, researcher

facilitated, audio/video taped, four tables decorated (table cloths,

centerpieces, handouts, crayons, paper, recorder, candies, toys, easel

paper, markers), music softly played.

Sept. 13/10 Conducted PAC team lead training (PAC, overview of research).

Sept. 9-30/10 Conducted world café data analysis: reviewed video and audio tapes,

transcribed final questions for PAC.

Sept. 17/10 Launched online pre-PAC survey: e-mail invite sent by office manager.

Sept. 24/10 Launched PAC (26 participants), pedometers provided, team leads and

questions introduced, pre-PAC survey closed, letters of consent

collected, survey draw prize drawn and awarded (23 participants).

Sept. 29/10 Visited branch: verified recorders, ensured system worked, supported

leads.

Oct. 1/10 Launched PAC week two, question two, e-mail sent to team leads, draw

prize drawn and awarded.

Oct. 8/10 Launched PAC week three, question three, e-mail sent to team leads,

draw prize drawn and awarded.


Oct. 15/10 Launched PAC week four, question four, e-mail sent to team leads, draw

prize drawn and awarded.

Oct. 22/10 Concluded PAC, launched online post-PAC survey, e-mail invite sent by

manager, draw prize drawn and awarded, final prize for winning team

awarded (made it to Anaheim first-PAC).

Oct. 29/10 Concluded online post-PAC survey (16 participants), draw prize drawn

and awarded, data analysis began: developed reports showing

differences between weekday and weekend responses, pre and post

comparison data, and PAC qualitative results which I transcribed from

recorders, themed, and summarized (see Appendix M), wordles created

from qualitative transcription.

Nov. 15/10 Meeting to present/verify/discuss themed data, wordles (AVP HR,

manager, team leads).

Data Analysis

In order to ensure credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability, I

conducted my research with triangulation in mind (Stringer, 2007). Triangulation involved

“looking for multiple data sources” (Palys & Atchison, 2008, p. 42) throughout my research. I

used my literature review, primary research, organizational data and my own professional

experience to create credible and dependable data. Two validation processes included

confirmation of the world café outcomes with the WC participants, and presentation of the final

results from the interviews and online surveys to the team leads and staff. Data included: a

literature review; pre and post-PAC survey results that measured well-being and physical

activity; testimonials about the PAC experience; and the qualitative research results which

included graphic wordle art.

The world café provided me with the four questions for the PAC which were validated

with the WC during a final facilitated segment of the café. I used Fluid Survey’s online service to

analyze the pre- and post-PAC survey. This provided me with the ability to present data


graphically in a way that clearly captured the results by converting results to easily understood

percentages and charts. Most of the questions in my pre-and post-PAC survey were quantitative,

allowing clear comparison data.

All research, with the exception of the online surveys, was tape recorded and I

transcribed the four interview questions myself being sure to accurately depict what was said.

Stringer (2007) stressed the importance of “using the respondent’s language, terms, and

concepts” (p. 72) to avoid researcher bias. The transcribed data from the PAC were themed by

grouping key ideas (see Appendix M) and then this was presented at a meeting with the office

manager, two of the team leads and the AVP HR to help them develop their own branch well-

being strategy. The data collected from the four interview questions were used to create symbolic

text graphics (Wordle, 2010)(see Figure 3) to assist in data analysis, to help generate discussion

around next steps and to create buy-in with branch staff for future work around well-being. I

wondered if the words that appeared larger would be fully representative of the results because

respondents typically recited the question before responding to it. I decided to strip the question

text from the transcript and then compared the resulting wordle art. I noticed that certain words

were larger and they were indeed quite different.

Bushe and Marshak (2009) affirmed that symbolism can be an important tool in making

meaning for organizations. Furthermore, they talked about “collective sensemaking” and how it

is important to allow groups to form their own way (p. 354) to create the commitment necessary

for change. The key is to see what emerges and not to be prescriptive in any system. Palys and

Atchison (2008) believed that “qualitative researcher’s theory isn’t something you start with; it’s

something you build” (p. 10) and I wanted to begin to build a culture of well-being based on

what they wanted. As Senge (2006) attested, “[p]eople don’t resist change. They resist being


changed” (p. 144). People need to be a part of the process and instrumental in defining the

change or it will not be as successful.

Each location within an organization has a unique culture. The results from the PAC were

specific to one office location of my sponsor. However, the model I used encouraged grass roots

involvement in establishing a unique well-being culture based on the people at that specific

branch, and can therefore be replicated at any location.

Ethical Issues

As an external consultant, I shared the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for

Research Involving Humans (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and

Engineering Council of Canada, and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada,

2005) and the Royal Roads Ethics Policy (Royal Roads University, 2007) with my sponsor as

policies I was bound to in this inquiry. Having worked with my sponsor in the past, I have

developed a relationship built on trust, ethics and confidentiality. As Solomon & Flores (2001)

so succinctly stated, “[t]he freedom provided by trust is the freedom to engage in projects that

one could not or would not undertake on one’s own” (p. 8).

The research ethics process included eight ethical considerations that were addressed:

respect for human dignity, respect for free and informed consent, respect for vulnerable persons,

respect for privacy and confidentiality, respect for justice and inclusiveness, balancing harms and

benefits, minimizing harm and maximizing benefit. To meet these criteria I encouraged

participants to speak freely regardless of their role within the organization and ensured that

people’s well-being was central. I ensured that I clearly communicated the objectives of the

research, the voluntary nature of participation, the right to withdraw at any time, my availability

for questions and how I could be reached and, lastly, how the results would be used and by


whom. Letters of consent were signed by all participants. No one under the age of 18 participated

in this research and consideration was given to those with physical disabilities by ensuring

accessibility for all. All data were collected anonymously, confidentiality was strictly

maintained, and all data were secure in a locked cabinet and/or password protected computer file

for use of this project only. I used Fluid Surveys because their server is housed in Canada which

complies with the Ethics Review Board of Royal Roads University requirements. All participants

were asked to preserve confidentiality after their participation in the research and a

confidentiality agreement was signed by my fellow student and editor. I was inclusive of all

members of the WC and the staff at the chosen research location and ensured maximum

participation through appropriate scheduling and communication.

The possible harms of this research were minimal. If the participants were not

accustomed to walking, they could experience muscle soreness from participating in the PAC

and people who did not like to partake in group activities could find the PAC intimidating. I

advised inactive participants, through the letter of consent that they would be wise to check with

a physician before engaging in activity. The benefits of this action research included more

engagement in the change process (Stringer, 2007) and a potential impact on all 1400

employees’ well-being. I acted with professionalism during all research and minimized my bias

by involving four team leads to lead the PAC and by having participants interview each other. I

also utilized my skills as a facilitator while ensuring that my bias towards well-being was

minimized and made myself easily available by phone and by e-mail to address complaints or

questions. This OLP had the potential to assist all employees to reach higher levels of well-

being, leading to higher levels of engagement among employees, and increased organizational

health and prosperity.


CHAPTER FOUR: ACTION INQUIRY PROJECT RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

In this chapter I have presented the research findings and observations based on my

analysis of data from a world café, two online surveys, and qualitative interview questions. The

reader will then find the study conclusions followed by the scope and limitations of the study.

The main question in this inquiry was: How can an organization enhance employee well-being to

support their business strategy? The subquestions were:

1. How can employees be supported to create a culture of employee well-being?

2. How can a culture of employee well-being support employee engagement?

3. How can culture and vision inform metrics and areas of focus for well-being?

Study Findings

World Café

Four guiding questions were discussed and tested by participants and then a final group

discussion was held to verify the questions developed for use as interview questions in the PAC.

Table 2

A Comparison of Questions Posed In and Resulting From the World Café

Guiding question Resulting question

What does employee well-being mean for

them?

What does employee well-being mean to you?

How does the environment at work contribute

to their well-being?

What positive factors in your workplace

contribute to your well-being? How do these


How does well-being affect their ability to

deliver excellent customer service?

How does your well-being enable you to

deliver excellent customer service’?

How has this physical activity challenge

impacted their work relationships?

How has the Pirates of the Caribbean

Challenge changed your work relationships?


The first question was thoroughly discussed and initially evolved into: “Within your daily

role (home and work) what does employee well-being mean to you, specifically thinking about

your physical, mental and social well-being?” Participants believed it was important that the

“whole” person was taken into account. There was dialogue about whether people might not

want to participate and answer this question as part of the PAC. One participant commented that

“some people might not like to talk about personal things” especially if they “struggled with their

weight” (WC1, 2010). Another stressed that the PAC was a good thing because “you are having

time with people you wouldn't normally have time to connect with” (WC2, 2010). The final

question reflected the group’s consensus that the question should not direct the answer. They felt

it was important to understand how each individual defined well-being and whether the physical,

social, mental and work life aspects surfaced on their own without the question directing the

answer. The WC’s final decision was: “What does employee well-being mean to you?”

The second question pertained to the work environment. The environment was described

as “constantly changing” and one participant emphasized that “environment and personal mood

really changes your well-being” (WC3, 2010), while several people made reference to how

relationships could positively or negatively affect a person’s well-being. One participant

affirmed that “how you work together or how you don’t work together definitely affects

customers” (WC4, 2010) and another commented that at their office “it’s surprising how some

little changes really changed the mood of a lot of people” (WC5, 2010). Another commented on

the “chain-reaction, when others are in a bad mood. It’s important to have a positive attitude, to

be proactive in your well-being; most of it you can just take charge of” (WC6, 2010). In our final

group discussion we talked about the positive and negative factors in the environment and


decided, using an “appreciative” lens, to focus on the positive factors: What positive factors in

your workplace contribute to your well-being? How do these positive factors affect you?

The conversations about the third question centered on a person’s mood and how that

might affect their ability to provide excellent service. This was well framed by one participant

who said that staff is “dealing with all kinds of personalities” (WC7, 2010). Well-being was

stressed by the following statement as a way to provide excellent service when dealing with

multiple personalities: “taking a pause and a fresh breath, putting a smile back on my face before

addressing the customer... a five second mental switch… I can control how I am” (WC8, 2010).

It was clear that the WC believed in the organization, took their roles seriously and enjoyed their

coworkers. One WC member exclaimed, “I love my customers. I am a little possessive” (WC 9,

2010) while another stated “I love what I do… it makes me happy… we’re like a big family” and

“it’s who we have working in the company that makes a difference” (WC10, 2010). There was

dialogue about whether the question should extract a customer service story as an example of

when well-being enabled them to excel in the service they provided. Final agreement framed the

question to determine how well-being assisted in providing excellent customer service: How

does your well-being enable you to deliver excellent customer service’?

The final question created a discussion about the benefits of a PAC, as well as the

benefits of corporate-supported physical activity, such as an onsite fitness centre, and

subsequently the importance of identifying change as a result of the PAC. The final resulting

question was further refined by the participants in the PAC to reflect the Pirates of the Caribbean

theme: How has the Pirates of the Caribbean Challenge changed your work relationships?


Pre-PAC and Post-PAC Survey

Of the 26 who participated in the PAC, 88% (23) participated in the pre-PAC survey and

61% (16) participated in the post-PAC survey. When I reviewed the differences between the

survey results, I found that respondents’ mean hours spent doing moderate PA and walking

increased after participating in the PAC (Table 3).

Table 3

Comparison of Mean Hours Spent Participating in Physical Activity (PA) as Reported by Pre-

and Post-PAC Survey Respondents over the Previous Seven Days

Vigorous PA Moderate PA Walking

Pre-PAC

Post-PAC

Pre-PAC

Post-PAC

Pre-PAC

Post-PAC

2.2

2.1

1.4

2.6

4.7

5.4 Note. Vigorous PA examples are heavy lifting, digging, aerobics, or fast bicycling. Moderate PA examples are

carrying light loads, bicycling at regular pace, and doubles tennis. Time spent for moderate PA and walking > 10

minutes.

While the PAC predominately showed positive change (Table 4), such as enjoyment

(77% vs. 87%), some aspects showed negative change including increased stress (45% vs. 53%),

increased physical pain (18% vs. 27%) and increased sadness (18% vs. 20%).

Table 4

Percentage of Respondents Reporting Specific Feelings on the Day Prior to the Survey

Feeling

Pre-PAC

N=22

Post-PAC

N=15

Stress

45 53

Physical pain

18 27

Sadness

18 20

Enjoyment

77 87

Worry

36 33

Anger 9 7


When compiling the pre-PAC survey data, I noticed that 16 or 69% of respondent

answers referred to a Sunday and seven or 31% of respondent answers referred to a weekday. I

was curious if this might have affected the increased stress reported in Table 4, and noticed the

mean hours spent working were much lower in the pre-PAC than the post-PAC (Table 5)

indicating that these responses could indeed be reflecting an effect to the data. Time spent

socializing for example was lower post-PAC, most likely indicating that respondents had less

time for this activity during a workday. While respondents were getting adequate sleep, it is

worthy to note that even though sitting decreased between pre- and post-PAC, it is still high.

Table 5

Mean Hours Respondents Spent on Activities the Day Prior to Survey

Mean hours per day

Pre-PAC Post-PAC Change

Sleeping

7.30 7.4 +0.10

Sitting

8.00 6.6 -1.40

Social: friends and family

6.70 3.9 -2.80

Working 3.75 6.9 +3.15

I discovered some interesting results as displayed in Table 6. For example, 21% more

respondents got their exercise on a Sunday as opposed to a workday while 27% more workday

respondents ate healthier perhaps indicating that they found it easier to stick to a healthy eating

regimen while at work. While respondents tended to feel more rested on the weekend, they learnt

and did more interesting things during the week and were treated more respectfully on a

workday. However, they worried more about money on a Sunday than a weekday. Worrying

about money is a cause for concern both in pre- and post-PAC data.


Table 6

Percentage Comparison of Pre- and Post-PAC survey Respondent Self-Reported Activities on

Day Prior to Survey

Survey respondents

Variable

Pre-PAC

Yes-Split

Pre-PAC

Yes-Total

Post-PAC

Yes-Total

Sunday

N=16

Weekday

N=7

Total

N=23

Total

N=16

Worried about money 50 43

48 44

Well rested

56 50 55 44

Treated with respect

62 71 65 69

Smiled/laughed a lot

69 71 70 81

Learnt/did something interesting

73 86 77 81

Exercised 20+ minutes

50 29 43 62

Ate healthily 44 71 52 75 Note. Pre-PAC measures include comparison between responses that were based on Sunday and weekday

experience. Post-PAC respondents all reported based on a weekday.

In summary, on the positive front, when both pre- and post-responses were averaged out,

86% were getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep, 82% experienced enjoyment, 76% had a positive

experience with family (Table 7), 76% smiled or laughed a lot, and 67% felt like they were

treated with respect. Worthy of note is that 51% sat between 6 and 10 hours a day, 46% were

specifically worried about money, 36% claimed low physical energy as a negative experience,

and 20% were sad. It should be noted, however, that even though work was rated by 29% of

weekday pre-PAC respondents as a positive experience, 29% also rated work as a negative

experience. Weekday pre-PAC respondents rated family as the most positive experience (57%)

and low physical energy as the most negative experience (57%). When pre and post-PAC

responses were averaged out, family (76%) and friends (46%) were rated highly as a positive


experience, while energy (36%), work (20%) and financial (15%) was rated highly as a negative

experience. While only 19% rated financial as negative post-PAC, I also found that an average of

46% of all respondents worried about money.

Table 7

Percentage Comparison of Survey Responses Based on Positive and Negative Experience

Reported for Day Prior to Pre- and Post-PAC survey

Survey respondents

Positive Negative

Respondent

Experience

Pre-PAC

Post-PAC

Pre-PAC

Post-PAC

Sunday

Weekday

Total

Total

Sunday

Weekday

Total

Total

Work

6 29 13 31 7 29 14 25

Family 75

57 70 81 57 — 38 6

Friends 38

29 35 56 — — — 6

Financial 6

14 9 12 14 — 10 19

Energy 19

— 13 6 21 57 33 38

Community 12

— 9 19 — — — —

Note. Pre-PAC responses include comparison between responses that were based on Sunday and weekday

experience. Post-PAC responses were all based on a weekday experience. Pre-PAC Sunday N=16 and Weekday

N=7 for a total of 23 Pre-PAC respondents. Post-PAC total respondents N=16. Dashes indicate a nil report by

respondents for specific experiences.

Interviews

Happiness unquestionably had a huge impact on the well-being of respondents.

Respondents were clear that having a high level of employee well-being meant being happy with

their mental, spiritual, financial, emotional, and physical health while simultaneously being

happy with their sense of balance between work and family and happy about their work

environment which included the people they work with. Positivity was a strong theme that


connected easily to happiness. When questioned about what employee well-being meant to them,

respondents seemed to focus on the mental and emotional aspects of “feeling good”, “being

positive”, and being “happy” (25) followed by being “physically fit” or “active” (19). Spiritual

well-being was also mentioned frequently (9). The connection between mental health, stress and

physical activity was clearly made. One participant commented, “I believe it is a great de-

stressor and for your emotional and mental well-being, it helps to release the stress in a positive

way and makes you a healthier person” (IR1, 2010) while another stated: “I think exercise keeps

our mental capacity intact” (IR2, 2010). The theme of positivity in relation to well-being was

clearly connected to happiness with comments about putting things in a positive light, being in a

good frame of mind, and generally feeling good about themselves. The themed responses to the

first qualitative question are reflected in Table 8.

Table 8

Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question One: What does employee well-being mean to

you?

Themes Responses Subthemes

Being a happy

healthy person

43 Mental, spiritual, financial, emotional and physical health;

healthy lifestyle; and positivity.

Enjoying work 32 Happy to come to work; happy to be at work; and being happy

with the environment and the people they worked with.

Work family

balance

14 Having a healthy, happy family; achieving a good balance;

having time for family, work and self.

Question two was: “What positive factors in your workplace contribute to your well-

being? How do these positive factors affect you?” Positive factors were themed into four areas:


people, positivity, environment and leadership (Table 9). The effect these had on respondents

were grouped into two categories: work-engagement effect and personal effect (Table 10).

Table 9

Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question two (part one): What positive factors in your

workplace contribute to your well-being?

Main themes

Responses

Subthemes

People 19 Positive energy, happy, caring, considerate, enthusiastic, good

relationships, and cheerful.

Positivity 17 Energy, feeling happy, feeling confident, laughter, and smiles.

Environment 16 Respect, positive, good atmosphere, windows, open

communication and positive morale.

Leadership 10 Teamwork, great communication, positive, approachable, and

supportive leadership.

When asked how these positive factors affected them, one respondent said “I just get

stronger and I love coming into work and I think my energy rubs off onto other people” (IR3,

2010). Another commented that “It’s contagious. When somebody is enthusiastic about their job

and happy about what they do, you can’t help but get that energy from them and you know, have

it in your own workday” (IR4, 2010). Well-being created more positive attitudes, happier and

more cheerful people, decreased stress levels, and elevated moods. A respondent said: “laughter

is good for the soul” (IR5, 2010). Another stated: “happy on the inside – happy on the outside”

(IR6, 2010).

Positivity was recognized by respondents and also in my research for its contagious

nature. One respondent, in fact, exclaimed that he or she would “try to focus [their] attention on

the staff members who have positive attributes and are energetic” (IR14, 2010) demonstrating

their eagerness to glean energy and positivity from others. Staff talked about positive factors at


work making them “stronger”, providing them with a “love” of their work, an enjoyment of their

colleagues, and that they “looked forward” to coming to work. They also talked about how these

positive factors spilled over to home. A respondent directly related the importance of positivity

to their role with this statement: “members see me as a positive person of the organization”

(IR15, 2010). Enthusiasm, happiness, and smiles were all commonly mentioned factors that

affected staffs ability to be engaged in their work.

Table 10

Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question two (part two): How do these positive factors

affect you?

Main themes

Responses

Subthemes

Work

engagement-

effect

26 Easier to enjoy work and trust others, positively impacts mood

and attitudes, high productivity, best possible customer service,

positivity spreads, effective team work, it feels good, empowered,

high morale.

Personal

effect

22 Positive energy, feel great, happy at work and at home, confident,

smile a lot, cheerful, less stressed, enthusiastic.

Question three was: “How does your well-being enable you to deliver excellent customer

service?” Respondents described those with high well-being as having more positive attitudes,

being happier and more cheerful, having decreased stress levels, and elevated moods.

Respondents felt that to deliver excellent customer service an employee had to love their job, be

willing to go the extra mile, want to do their best, have the energy to deliver more, want to

“wow” customers and be dedicated to their organization. One staff member commented that

“feeling confident and feeling good about what you do” was an important outcome of employee

well-being and they cited how this related to making it “easier to project those emotions to

customers and [their] ability to service those customers” (IR16, 2010). Another suggested that

when their well-being was high, they were more “open towards people and friendly” (IR17,


2010). Respondents believed that a person with high employee well-being displayed self

efficacy, reciprocity, a positive attitude, energy and health.

Two themes of engagement and positivity spillover emerged (Table 11). One respondent

said that “if you are unhealthy and unengaged: chances of you providing excellent service would

be severely limited” (IR7, 2010). Respondents felt that to deliver excellent customer service one

had to love their job, be willing to go the extra mile, wanted to do their best, had to have energy

to deliver more, and needed to be dedicated. A respondent said that well-being “enables us to be

more creative and come up with better solutions to any problems that might occur and just allows

customers to be in a better frame of mind when they are walking out. They can be WOWED!”

(IR8, 2010). From a positivity perspective, respondents felt that in order to deliver a high level of

customer service a person needed to display self efficacy, reciprocity, a positive attitude, energy

and health. A respondent said “if I am happy in my home life, I come to work happy” (IR9,

2010). Another said “when I believe in my organization, it will show as my dedication and

support” (IR10, 2010). Many commented on how positivity spreads to customers and staff to

create a positive environment and how a negative can spread even faster.

Table 11

Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question three: How does your well-being enable you to

deliver excellent customer service?

Main themes

Responses

Subthemes

Engagement

16 Empowered, trusted, feel good about myself,

organizational commitment, want to come to work,

enthusiastic, energetic, happy, more creative, love my

job.

Positivity spillover

13 Happy at home=happy at work, good mood, project my

positivity to customers, friendly, contagious, high

employee well-being=excellent customer service.


Question four was: “How has the Pirates of the Caribbean Challenge changed your work

relationships?” Many people commented on the “fun” aspect (Table 12) and one person stated

that “we have a couple of people on our team that I don’t work with every day. So it let me get to

know them a little bit better” (IR11, 2010). Relationship building was one of the most

communicated PAC outcomes. It gave people a reason to talk to others they wouldn’t necessarily

talk to during work, people got to know each other better, the PAC brought a cross-section of

different departments together, and it enhanced relationships. It was seen as a “friendly

competition” (IR12, 2010) allowing people to joke around and have fun with one another.

Increased communication was noted between divisions, in part because people were asking each

other how many steps and what activities they did as part of the PAC. One respondent

enthusiastically stated that “the neat thing is it has gotten us out walking together during coffee

breaks and lunch hours” (IR13, 2010).

Table 12

Themes and Subthemes Identified from Question four: How has the physical activity challenge

(PAC) changed your work relationships?

Main themes Responses Subthemes

Fun

10 More pleasant environment, people were happier, more

positive, and there were lots of smiles.

Relationship building

10 Engaged in light conversation, gave a reason to talk to

one another, got to know each other better.

Teamwork

10 Camaraderie, fun and friendly competition, walking

together during breaks, working towards a goal together

and being more aware of others.

Awareness 8 Importance of being active and healthy.

Increased communication 6 More people talked about well-being and with each other.


Figure 3 Wordles Selected to Represent Well-being


I created several versions of wordle graphics using two versions of interview data: one

with the question included and without. The sponsor selected two of these to represent well-

being at their branch (Figure 3). It was fascinating to note that both graphics selected were

created using the transcript stripped of the questions, making them more reflective of the actual

words from respondents. The top ten most used words were different between the original

transcription, which included the questions, and the transcription from which I stripped the

questions. The order of the most used words in the selected wordles and the number of times

each word was used were work (77), positive (76), good (68), well-being (62), think (56), happy

(44), factors (38), feel (37), people (33), and members (23).

I have reviewed the study findings from a world café, two online surveys, and qualitative

interview questions. These results lead to the next section which will reach conclusions based on

my action research, the literature and my experience as a well-being consultant.

Study Conclusions

This section describes the conclusions I reached based on the study findings as they relate

to my inquiry question and subquestions. I will report on my three subquestions followed by a

summary of results that pertain to my overall question.

How can employees be supported to create a culture of employee well-being?

Employees are keen to address employee well-being. While the staff I conducted my

research with improved many well-being dimensions through the PAC, it was clear from this

inquiry that the “whole” person view is necessary to positively impact employee well-being in a

way that addresses physical, psychological and social health. I was impressed by the willingness

of employees to participate in this research. In a merger environment, where time is so precious,

I was able to successfully convene 12 WC members for a world café and 26 staff for two online


surveys, interviews and a PAC. One important observation I made in this research, and that I

have seen in other PACs, is the importance of engaging champions or “change agents” as Lowe

(2010) calls them to encourage participation and the development of a culture of well-being. To

do this, it is important to focus on a fun, non-threatening way to engage participants. This was

evidenced in this inquiry as well. By offering a fun, easy and prepackaged PAC, the manager and

team leads felt supported to make a difference with minimal work on their part.

By determining the specific well-being needs, organizations can determine where best to

target interventions. In this research, for example, we learned that 51% of respondents sat

between 6 and 10 hours a day, 36% claimed low physical energy as a negative experience, 35%

were generally worried a lot with 46% being specifically worried about money, and 20% were

sad. We also learned that while at work they ate healthier, were treated more respectfully, and

learnt and did more interesting things than when not at work. Although healthy eating was not a

target in this intervention, it was positively impacted which leads one to believe in the power of

culture to set the tone for health. Twenty-two percent of respondents rated family as a negative

experience even though family and friends were cited as important positive experiences.

Relationships are crucial to well-being but can be stressful at the same time, pointing to a

universal issue whether at work or at home.

How can a culture of employee well-being support employee engagement?

These results clearly indicated the importance of balancing multiple aspects when

considering employee well-being. One respondent’s comment was reflective of many responses:

“wellness in balance, balance in my work life, my emotional life, my home life and being able to

have a strong sense of that balance in all the things that I do” (IR20, 2010). Other comments cast

perspective on what this means: “being healthy not only physically but mentally and emotionally


as well” (IR21, 2010); “being part of a successful team” (IR22, 2010); “open communication”

(IR23, 2010); “to be accepted” (IR24, 2010); and, “good balance between my home life, my

work life, my husband, my kids, my spirit” (IR24, 2010). Regardless of which environment

participants were in, whether it was home or work, well-being was consistently related to

physical, psychological and social health. It appeared that these three dimensions intersected and

created a platform for choices that impact well-being and the ability to be engaged at work.

A high sense of well-being enabled respondents to enjoy their work; be more productive;

trust others; enjoy good morale and teamwork; provide good service; and be happy, content and

empowered. The positive workplace factors identified as impacting the employee engagement

and employee well-being of respondents included people, positivity, environment, and

leadership. Towers Watson (2010) highlighted the people aspect of these findings with their

finding that having a friend at work was positively related to employee engagement. One

respondent pointed to positive factors creating a “good working environment where you are

engaged” (IR18, 2010). Another made the connection to productivity because positive factors

“make you more productive, they make you want to work, they make you want to achieve”

(IR19, 2010) and they affect a person’s ability to be engaged at work and attentive to their

personal well-being. Positivity was a strong subtheme identified in each of the four positive

factor themes. Mood was also frequently articulated as a condition that affected an employee’s

ability to provide excellent customer service. It was clearly stated that if someone was in a bad

mood, they just weren’t able to provide excellent customer service. Positive was mentioned 77

times in the results, as the second most commonly used word. The other most-used words

included “good” (68), “think” (56), happy (44), and feel (37).


How can culture and vision inform metrics and areas of focus for well-being?

I recommend that metrics focus on management’s ability to leverage respect and value to

“care” for employees. This would include helping to manage stress through workload assessment

and consultation, removing barriers and supporting habits that create resilience through PA,

healthy eating, and relationship building. Challenges that surfaced in my sponsor organization

that most likely ring true in many others included heavy workload, stress, lack of staff

consultation and undue bureaucracy. I recommend that employee engagement be measured and

linked to employee well-being and human resource costs such as retention, recruitment and

benefits.

In order to make a difference in the lives of others, one must first have taken care of

oneself. This inquiry has demonstrated the high impact employee well-being had on an

employee’s ability to be engaged. If staff is generally worried or in fact specifically worried

about money as indicated in this research, it becomes imperative that these worries are managed

if they hope to help others. Energy to go above and beyond, resilience to recover from setbacks,

and a high level of emotional and social intelligence are required to achieve in the fast-paced,

change oriented organizations so prevalent today. Creating a culture that centers on well-being

can support this focus.

How can organizations enhance employee well-being to support their business strategy?

The findings of this study clearly showed the important role that employee well-being

plays in supporting the business strategy. A focus on understanding the challenges around

workload and stress can start to leverage more consultation between leadership and staff while

utilizing the opportunity to develop systems that negate undue bureaucracy. By using a lens that

starts the conversations with a “we care” perspective, organizations can begin to explore how to


help their staff deal with life stress, financial worries, develop healthy habits and tap into their

individual potential to foster healthy relationships, realize lifelong learning and develop

resilience.

Scope and Limitations of the Inquiry

This section describes limitations on the application of the inquiry findings and

conclusions. The research done in this inquiry focused on one office location of a merger

environment and results may not be transferable due to the small sample size. In addition,

demographic information was not collected. Each location within an organization has its own

unique culture so generalizations to the entire population cannot be made with a study such as

this. The numbers are low in the comparison of Sunday respondents to weekday respondents

(Table 6 and 7), so caution should be exercised when viewing these results. Additionally, it

should be noted that there are many aspects of well-being and engagement that were not

measured as a part of this study due to the impact that access played.

The inquiry scope shifted over the course of this OLP. When this OLP began, a merger

had just occurred. Since that time a new senior management team, board, and CEO have been

put in place. The direction of well-being from the senior management level was unknown as was

the openness to seeing well-being as an important part of the business strategy. One paramount

goal of this OLP at the outset was to justify the existence of a business focus on employee well-

being. Due to other organizational time demands, employee well-being may not be generally

viewed as a business priority. As a result of this, a decision was made to explore how employee

well-being connected with employee engagement because employee engagement was an

accepted condition most organizations valued.


CHAPTER FIVE: RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS

Study Recommendations

In the preceding sections of this inquiry, evidence clearly demonstrated that employee

well-being creates the platform for sustained employee engagement. Today’s business strategies

focus on tapping into innovation which requires high levels of employee engagement. To be the

best they can be organizations require staff to have a high level of well-being. A high

performance culture requires a foundation of high performance people.

In this final section, I have outlined four recommendations based on the findings and

conclusions in Chapter Four that will enhance employee well-being at organizations and support

the business strategy. These include: developing a culture of well-being; involving staff in

decisions that affect them; coaching employees to be resilient; and, consistently measuring what

matters. These recommendations will be followed by suggested implementation strategies which

are analyzed in terms of the organizational change required and leadership implications. Finally,

I will recommend potential areas for further work and research.

Create a culture of well-being

This research defined employee well-being as being a happy, healthy, person; enjoying

work; and, having a balance between work and family. My research established that staff

perceived employee well-being as being intricately connected to their environments and the

quality of their relationships with people. Cotton and Hart (2003) found that “organizational

climate had the strongest influence” on employee well-being and that it included “employee

perceptions, leadership, structures and processes, clarity of goals, and goal alignment” (p. 122).

The outcomes of this research were also clear that in addressing employee well-being, you must


address the “whole” person. To do this effectively, establishing a culture of well-being is

essential.

Creating a culture of well-being isn’t as simple as just deciding to do it. It is an evolution

of choices made over time with well-being in mind. It is about setting the organization up for

success by helping to promote healthy environments. I recommend that organizations establish a

well-being policy that acts as a “filter for all other policies relating to workplace culture,

environment and practice” (Seymour & Dupre, 2008, p. 35). Seymour and Dupre (2008)

recommended the following to move from planning to sustained action:

ensure adherence of all staff to any policy derived from a health risk assessment; ensure staff

feel proposed changes are relevant and important; and create a road map to guide the

development of a strategic and an implementation plan. (p. 35)

A culture of well-being means that leaders consistently ask the question: How does this

decision affect the well-being of our staff, of our customers, and of our community? I

recommend that a community of practice (COP) (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2007;

Wheatley, 2002) be created to address employee wellbeing. A COP is defined as a “group of

people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as

they interact regularly” (Wenger, 2006, ¶ 3). A COP lends itself to the development of

friendships at work while building a culture of well-being. Rath and Harter (2010) found that if

an employee has a friend at work they are “seven times as likely to be engaged in their jobs, are

better at engaging customers, produce higher quality of work, have higher well-being, and are

less likely to get injured on the job” (p. 41). They also found that it is not necessarily what

people are doing that leads to their higher levels of well-being, “but who they are with” (Rath &

Harter, 2010, p. 41).


By establishing a COP, input and involvement can more easily be sought and ideas can

spread. For example, the COP could examine the culture, through fun, interactive action

research, enabling strengths to surface, and point to ways that employee well-being can be

strengthened holistically. Involvement is critical to creating awareness, participation, and

sustainability. Using an appreciative inquiry methodology, a strengths focus will create the

success necessary to engage and change the culture into a unique, competitive advantage that is

not easily replicated. Such a culture becomes a drawing card for recruitment of strong

candidates, retention of the best, and ultimately business success.

Involve staff in decisions that affect them

Ritchie Bros. (2010) articulated values that lend well to a focus on employee well-being:

“It's all about our customers; We do what is right; We are one team; and, We have fun” (Our

core values). I am struck by the opportunity to facilitate these priorities through a culture of high

employee well-being developed through a COP. There exists an opportunity for employee

involvement in creating a self-defined environment that supports well-being. Employee morale is

improved when there is a sense that staff input matters. This inquiry found that staff was

concerned with their well-being and keen to do something about it. Moreover, Adams (1965)

discovered that employees strive for equity between themselves and their fellow employees

suggesting that if the workplace tips more towards adopting healthier lifestyles, more staff will

follow. Gladwell (2000) demonstrated how this happens through small actions that brought about

big change in The Tipping Point and Block (2009) also affirmed that “large-scale transformation

occurs when enough small groups shift in harmony toward the larger change” (p. 180). Building

community among staff is an effective way to reach strategic priorities.


A culture audit creates an opportunity to consult staff to reveal culture strengths and staff

perceptions. The audit can open the door to increasing morale by working on amplifying

strengths and creating a start point for a COP. The employee’s level of morale can influence

perception of heavy workload among other things. If morale is high, achieving a heavy workload

is seen as a positive whereas if employees feel overworked, they immediately perceive it as

excessive (Armstrong, Hart, & Fisher, 2003; Cotton & Hart, 2002; Hart, Schembri, Bell &

Armstrong, 2003; Hart & Wearing, 1995; Hart, Wearing, & Headey, 1995).

Senge’s (2006) concept of a learning organization can be helpful in reducing and reframing

negative perceptions, and in creating structures within which a COP can work. Each physical

location within an organization will inevitably have unique strengths and challenges in regards to

employee well-being. The pre- and post-PAC survey data and the interview data I collected were

a snapshot in time that provided direction for one location within an organization as they moved

forward in determining their well-being strategy. Doing something similar at all locations would

enable the unique strengths at each to evolve in a grassroots manner that will set the stage for

conversations about well-being. The COP could act as a support network for each location and

leadership can act as a support for the COP. Although there are many areas to target for an

increase in employee well-being, a COP might wish to consider physical activity (PA) as it

appears to be the “trim tab” (Senge, 2006, p. 63) that has the highest leverage for change. This

was found in the PAC, where only physical activity was targeted but participant self-reports of

healthy eating were dramatically improved. I have also seen this in other physical activity

initiatives I have led.


Coach employees to be resilient

I recommend that resiliency coaching focus on physical activity and positivity.

Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) found that “the psychological broadening sparked by one positive

emotion increases the odds that an individual will find positive meaning in subsequent events

and experience additional positive emotions” (p. 175). While lack of physical activity is of major

concern (Penedo & Dahn, 2005; Statistics Canada, 2011), sedentary behavior has also raised

concerns (Sanchez-Villegas, 2009; Tremblay et al., 2010). Schwartz (2010) stressed the body’s

need for renewal and the negative impact of constant distraction and multi-tasking. He found that

we work most effectively in 90-minute segments and that the brain is the key to competitive

advantage. Refuelling through breaks, physical activity, healthy eating, hydration, meditation,

rest, sleep, and spiritual practice can feed our body’s need for renewal. In addition, evidence was

abundant that connected physical activity to brain health and emotional well-being (Ratey &

Hagerman, 2009; Penedo & Dahn, 2005; Sanchez-Villegas et al.). If we are able to restructure

our work in ways that encourage moving throughout the day, both the organization and the

individual win.

Managers have an important coaching role in creating an environment that fosters

resiliency and employee engagement. Rath and Harter (2010) found that managers who focused

on employee strengths decrease an employee’s likelihood of being actively disengaged to 1%

and that “people who have the opportunity to use their strengths are six times as likely to be

engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of

life” (p. 28). Moreover, evidence presented in this paper shows that an understanding of

emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and how to develop PsyCap is becoming central to

creating resilient environments. Many managers have a high emotional intelligence but a low


social intelligence which is crucial to coaching change. Goleman (2006) noted that “as

knowledge-based and intellectual capital become more central to corporations, improving the

way people work together will be a major way to leverage intellectual capital, making a critical

competitive difference" (p. 163).

A key outcome of this research was that positivity was central to employee well-being,

employee engagement, and the resilience necessary for providing excellent customer service and

dealing with change. My literature review pointed to the power of positivity and my research

strongly confirmed this. It is interesting to note that positivity lives in our mind and that mood

was also identified and linked to employee well-being and employee engagement. Fredrickson

(2009) provided evidence on how positivity is the key to recovery. Subjects who measured high

for positivity were more resilient bouncing back more quickly from stressful events “even at the

core physiological level” (p. 107). Schultz (2010) stated that a sustainable culture of performance

is only possible where people are valued and held to high standards. Leadership needs to

“challenge, push, stretch, exhort, inspire and embolden” their people while “celebrating,

appreciating, rewarding, recognizing and encouraging” (p. 161) their staff. He asserted that

“stress is the means by which we expand capacity, as long as it is balanced by intermittent

renewal” (p. 162) and that “no factor influences productivity more than people’s capacity for

absorbed attention” (p. 232).

While emotional intelligence is all about self-mastery, social intelligence is about a

person’s ability to “influence, develop and motivate others” (Goleman, 2008). Goleman (2007)

talks of how we need to develop our “social brain” which allows us to have full attention in

brain-to-brain connections with others where we feel more comfortable and can more easily

develop rapport. My research identified 20% of the PAC participants as sad. Additionally, stress


and depression were the top reasons for employee leaves. Throughout my research a focus on the

healthy brain kept floating to the surface as a necessary means to maximize both organizational

and individual capacity. I recommend that organizations investigate training that will develop the

social intelligence or the social brain of managers to help create psychologically healthy

environments and the skills necessary to coach staff to be resilient not only for life at work but

for life overall.

Measure what matters and be consistent across brands

Wright and Cropanzano (2002) studied well-being indicators and found that a focus on

employee emotions, specifically morale, was much more effective than a focus on job

satisfaction. Moreover, they found data over the past three decades on the satisfaction-

productivity correlation to be low. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale 9-item version (see

Appendix M) (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003) measured emotions and was found to have good

construct validity when measuring the work engagement factors of vigor, dedication and

absorption. It is also recommended for future research on occupational well-being (Seppälä et al.,

2009). This scale measures how employees feel about the following on a scale of 0 – 6 with “0”

being “never” to “6” being “always”:

At my work, I feel that I am bursting with energy.

At my job, I feel strong and vigorous.

I am enthusiastic about my job.

My job inspires me.

When I get up in the morning, I feel like going to work.

I feel happy when I am working intensely.

I am proud of the work that I do.

I am immersed in my work.

I get carried away when I’m working. (p. 479)


Cisco conducts an annual company-wide “pulse survey” with a focus on employee

engagement and added the following measures in 2009: “respect for people, development,

recognition, collaboration, organizational alignment, innovation and excellence, and

communication” (Cisco, 2009). The firm added an item to assess employee’s perception of “how

much the company’s management emphasizes employee well-being”. They follow up these

annual surveys with “additional surveys, focus groups, structured review sessions between

managers and their employees, targeted action and improvement plans, and coaching”. I believe

it is imperative for organizations to: clearly define what is important to measure (linked to

strategic measures); determine a baseline so that comparisons can be made; determine focus

areas; engage employees; determine action; communicate results; and, measure impact to

determine future action. Additionally, using an AI lens, it will be important to understand what

an organizations wishes to increase. As Goodrich (2010) coached, we get what we focus on and

we tend to focus on what we don’t want, which sets us up for failure. Instead, staying positive

about goals and the factors that we will measure will give us more of what we focus on.

Measuring the sense of community is also considered a strong indicator of the strength of

relationships and resiliency. Purkiss and Rossi (2007) found that a strong sense of community

was associated with increased well-being and workplace attachment leading to lower

absenteeism and turnover. Short (1998) pointed to how our relationships and interactions with

people create the “DNA” (p. 16) of an organization or the sense of community. It is through this

sense of community that people take ownership as they define the issues and solutions together

(Weisbord, 2004). Wenger (2001) advised, however, that the word “community” can be

mistakenly romanticized and that “organizations have to recognize them, understand their


potential and limitations, and leverage their value” (p. 42). Supporting change agents, for

example, through tools and recognition was critical to the PAC. I have seen this several times in

other successful well-being initiatives. A COP needs to be supported, especially when barriers

are encountered and, therefore, a COP will need leadership commitment.

I recommend that employee demographic measures be examined for consistency across

organizations so that further measures in regards to well-being can be consistent. I strongly

advise organizations to promote health risk assessments (HRA) for all employees as a way to not

only measure results of initiatives in a consistent way but to provide a tool for individual

employees to understand their health better and take more ownership for their health. A COP

may be able to assist in getting organizational feedback regarding other employee well-being

metrics for the organization.

A culture audit provides a strong basis for moving forward in a merger environment. One

outcome that surfaced in my sponsor organization was that staff in both organizations did not

believe there were severe consequences if someone didn’t deliver on their commitments. This led

me to consider Collins’ (2009) six characteristics for putting the right people in the key seats of

the organization:

1. The right people fit with the company’s core values

2. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed.

3. The right people understand that they do not have “jobs”; they have

responsibilities.

4. The right people fulfill their commitments.

5. The right people are passionate about the company and its work.

6. The right people display “window and mirror” maturity giving credit where it is

due and taking responsibility for setbacks and failures. (p. 160)


Additionally, I further note that organizations have clarity around how to support the different

demographic groups within their employee population as there are cultural differences to be

considered.

I have provided four recommendations as a result of this inquiry: developing a culture of

well-being; involving staff in decisions that affect them; coaching employees to be resilient; and,

measuring what matters. Lowe’s (2010) five principles for healthy change align well with my

recommendations:

1. Understand your organization’s readiness to change.

2. Align structure and culture.

3. Link people initiatives to the business strategy.

4. Widen the circle of involvement.

5. Make time for learning and innovation. (p. 150)

Organizational Implications

In order to maximize the use of results from this inquiry, it is imperative that leadership

embrace their roles as coaches and models of well-being. If leadership isn’t modeling the

behavior, it will not be successfully adopted by the organization. Learning the importance of

renewal, developing healthy habits and dealing with conflict are three areas I recommend.

Furthermore, if leadership (including managers) is unfamiliar with coaching, specific social brain

education needs to take place which will help leadership develop strong coaching skills.

Measures need to be clearly defined to ensure that targeted interventions are making a

difference. I recommend that the human resources team conduct health risk assessments system-

wide. Accountability measures should also be tied to leadership performance, to ensure manager

social intelligence skills are utilized with staff. Senior leaders would benefit from exploring ways

to establish baselines before initiatives are implemented so that change can be measured. In


addition, employee well-being measures need to be established that link directly to the business

plan. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale 9-item version could easily be incorporated into

employee surveys. It will be important to minimize measures by employing the most efficient

and effective measures. Moreover, staff needs clarity around why specific metrics are important

and how they can improve the business as well as their own health by participating in employee

well-being initiatives.

Participants in my research defined employee well-being as being a happy healthy

person, enjoying work and having a balance between work and family. Using the Aked et al.,

(2010) definition of well-being, I suggest that leadership look for ways to specifically coach and

encourage people to connect, be active, take notice, keep learning, and give. Additionally,

engaging staff would be most successful if a COP was tasked with finding ways to connect

employee well-being strategically to organizational goals. The establishment of a COP would

ensure that two-way communication takes place between staff and leadership. Although all staff

may not participate initially in well-being initiatives, some will step forward because well-being

is a passion for them. These people will serve as COP members and leaders of employee well-

being initiatives throughout the organization. These champions of well-being should be well

supported by leadership as these change agents will be critical in the adoption of a culture of

well-being.

The positive factors that evolved from this research as affecting employee well-being

were people, positivity, environment, and leadership. Defining initiatives that use fun,

symbolism, recognition, community giving and social capital will help to create strong

relationships are necessary. There are probably existing initiatives at every organization that can


be supported to create a culture of employee well-being. I would encourage a search to explore

what exists and celebrate it as this is a great way to start the well-being conversation.

If leadership encourages these types of initiatives, the grassroots element will grow and

evolve. Communications is an important element and should be investigated to create

opportunities for staff to share stories that evoke dimensions of well-being. Moreover,

communication strategies, social marketing campaigns and social media could be developed to

encourage and educate staff in regards to physical activity, healthy eating, tobacco reduction,

building resiliency, brain health (instead of mental health), relationship building and more.

Decisions on what to target could be made by the COP and linked directly back to the

organizational goals. With recent evidence pointing to sedentary behavior being hazardous to our

health, even for people achieving adequate levels of physical activity, perhaps that would be a

good place to start. Launching a campaign that encourages people to stand up and/or move for a

short period of time after being seated for more than 90-minutes could bring attention to how

sedentary we are. Pedometers are also very effective tools to educate people on how little they

move. Physical activity has been demonstrated to positively impact both physical and emotional

health. Using physical activity as a method to increase participation in staff breaks is a great way

to get everyone involved, and encourage the refueling so necessary for the human body. The

important thing is that the well-being conversation gets started, everyone has a mechanism to get

involved, and it has to be FUN!

An organizations CEO may wish to consider reporting on well-being measures in the

annual report, on the website and elsewhere. This will establish the organization as an employer

who cares – an employer of choice. If an organization decides not to implement the

recommendations provided, the organization risks creating a culture where turnover is high and


resiliency and staff referrals are low. In addition, if clear metrics are not put in place, a culture of

well-being will not last as it will be one of the first things to go with budget cuts.

Implications for Future Inquiry

I believe the case has been made that employee well-being is important to business

results. This inquiry identified some key themes that characterize environments that are

conducive to creating employee well-being. How these environments are nurtured and measured

in terms of their impact on the business are aspects that warrant further study. Learning from

others and examining the best of practice in relation to supporting employees to move, eat better,

hydrate, sleep well, manage their finances and their relationships would assist in defining what

has worked for others. It would also be helpful to explore ways that organizations build

flexibility into their work environment that allow employees to better manage the multiple

aspects of their lives – including caring for oneself with a goal to ensuring that periods of

recovery are built into their days.

It was interesting to note in this research that 50% of staff worry about money. This

warrants further exploration to see if there are ways that organizations can assist employees in

this area as it is a key component of well-being. I believe there is strong potential to help

employees be more successful in their work as well as their personal lives. Further to this, it is

just as important for employers to know their employees as well as they know their customers

and the communities in which they serve. Creating a COP is one way to begin an organizational

well-being conversation, as is making decisions based on employee demographics and input.

Further work needs to be done to explore which demographics and metrics should be established

and how these can be incorporated into other business measures. There are discrepancies in

measurement related to employee engagement, and employee well-being is so new that


measurement standards have not been established. The best measure I discovered was the

Utrecht Work Engagement Scale 9-item version (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003) but further study

may uncover others. A thorough study of the measures that exist in the field, with an

understanding of what an organization needs to measure to show where efforts are successful, is

recommended. This will need to be consistent across all business done by the organization, so

that future decisions can be made soundly based on the data they produce.

I recommend that organizations consider the psychologically healthy workplace program

award that promotes the importance of creating “programs and policies that foster employee

health and well-being while enhancing organizational performance” (“Psychologically Healthy

Workplace Program”, 2011, ¶1). Shain (2010) wrote about the “perfect legal storm” pointing to

legal pressures that have begun to present themselves to Canadian employers in terms of a duty

“to avoid reasonably foreseeable injury to the mental health of employees” (p. 1). Moreover,

Wright and Cropanzano (2000) found that “psychological well-being was related to job

performance ratings” (p. 91) and that it contributed more positively than job satisfaction. There is

a proven link between mental health and employee well-being (Page & Vella-Brodrick, 2008)

that cannot be ignored. With mental health issues on the rise, organizations have an opportunity

to avoid this liability and be rewarded for creating a culture of well-being.

I recommend further academic study into the paradox uncovered in my literature review

that points to how mental health issues have risen dramatically with our GDP and that the costs

associated with alleviating this crisis paradoxically raised our GDP even more. I suggest that it is

time to seek the cause of this paradox so that undue suffering can be minimized and workplace

engagement can be maximized. It is curious to me that we separate mental and physical health

when the brain is a muscle of the body. Unfortunately, I believe this separation, along with lack


of understanding, has caused stigma associated with mental health. It is time to consider the

importance of the brain as the central control system of our lives. It is the “trim tab” of our body

and is a new area of discovery for science. The study of neuroplasticity has provided us with

evidence, for example, to indicate that we can build connections within our brains to strengthen

the way we perceive and interact with the world (Goleman, 2007). Much of the brain’s recent

development has taken place in the pre-frontal cortex where hope, optimism, efficacy, creativity

and resilience are built. Being mindful, having difficult conversations (Stone, Patton & Heen,

2000), social intelligence and being a “learner” instead of a “judger” (Adams, 2009) all rely on

our ability to build new connections in the brain. Research has pointed to the value of meditation

(Goleman, 2007; Schwartz, 2010) as one method to employ to rewire our brains and release

stress. More research needs to be done to provide evidence that connects the importance of brain

function as a way to enhance business results.

Finally, I end my paper with a quote that struck me during my literature search. I hope it

leaves the reader to ponder the paradox of what we measure and what we value when we

quantify business success. Further work on how the GDP can incorporate more of what we value

as human beings would help us all:

Too much and too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community

values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product {GDP}… - if

we should judge America by that - … counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and

ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the

jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of

our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and

armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities…. Yet the gross national product

does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their

play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the

intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our

wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our

devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life

worthwhile. (Kennedy, 1968)


REFERENCES

Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in

experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press.

Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C., & Thompson, S. (2008). Five ways to well-being. Retrieved

from http://www.neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/Five_Ways_to_Well-

being_Evidence_1.pdf .

Amabile, T. M., Barsade, S. J., Mueller, J. S., & Staw, B. M. (2005). Affect and creativity at

work. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50, 367-403.

Anderson, C., & Thompson, L. L. (2004). Affect from the top down: How powerful individuals’

positive affect shapes negotiations. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision

Processes, 95, 125-139.

Anielski, M. (2007). The economics of happiness. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

Armstrong, K. Hart, P.M., & Fisher, P. (2003). Integrating climate, emotions, and contextual and

task performance into a coherent managerial framework. Paper submitted to the 2003

Academy of Management Meeting, Seattle, Washington.

Attridge, Mark. (2009). Measuring and managing employee work engagement: A review of the

research and business Literature, Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 24(4), 383-

398. DOI: 10.1080/15555240903188398.

Avey, J.B., Wernsing, T.S., Luthans, F. (2008). Can positive employees help positive

organizational change? Impact of psychological capital and emotions on relevant

attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 44:1, 48-70.

Baker, W. (2003). Building collaborative relationships. Leader to Leader, (28), 11-15.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press.

http://www.neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/Five_Ways_to_Wellbeing_Evidence_1.pdf

http://www.neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/Five_Ways_to_Wellbeing_Evidence_1.pdf


Bass, B.M. and Avolio, B.J. (1993). Transformational leadership and organizational culture,

Public Administration Quarterly, 17(1): 112–17.

Bass, B. M., and Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Bass, B. M., Avolio, B. J., Jung, D. I., & Berson, Y. (2003). Predicting unit performance by

assessing transformational and transactional leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology,

88(2), 207-218. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.207

BlessingWhite Inc. (2008). The state of employee engagement 2008: North American overview.

Princeton, NJ: Author.

Block, P. (2009). Community: The structure of belonging. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

Bolino, M. C., Turnley,W. H., & Bloodgood, J. M. (2002). Citizenship behavior and the creation

of social capital in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 27, 505-522.

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership

(2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brown, J., Isaacs, D., Wheatley, M. (2005). The world cafe: Shaping our futures through

conversations that matter. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler

Buckingham, Marcus & Coffman, Curt. (1999). First, break all the rules: What the world's

greatest managers do differently. Retrieved from

http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/book/id_15501/book.asp

Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and complexity theories: Back to the future? Journal of Change

Management. 4(4) 309-325.


Burud, Sandra & Tumolo, Marie. (2004). Leveraging the new human capital: Adaptive

strategies, results achieved, and stories of transformation. Retrieved from

http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/book/id_9264/book.asp.

Bushe, G.,R. (2007). Appreciative inquiry is not (just) about the positive, OD Practitioner, 39, 4,

30-35.

Bushe, G. & Marshak, R. (2009). Revisioning organization development. The Journal of Applied

Behavioural Science, 45(3), 348-368.

Bycio, P., Hackett, R.D. and Allen, J.S. (1995). Further assessments of Bass’s (1985)

conceptualization of transactional and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied

Psychology, 80(4): 468–78.

Cameron, K. (2008). Paradox in positive organizational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral

Science, 44(1), 7-24. doi:10.1177/0021886308314703.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of

Canada, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (2005). Tri-

council policy statement: Ethical conduct for research involving humans

Cisco. (2009). 2009 Corporate social responsibility report. Retrieved from

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/csr2009/pdfs/CSR_09_Employees_PulseSurvey.

pdf

Coghlan, D. & Brannick, T. (2007). Doing action research in your organization. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Collins, J. (2001). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve. Harvard

Business Review, 79(1), 66-76.

http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/book/id_9264/book.asp

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/csr2009/pdfs/CSR_09_Employees_PulseSurvey.pdf

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/csr2009/pdfs/CSR_09_Employees_PulseSurvey.pdf


Collins, J., (2009). How the mighty fall. New York, NY: Harper-Collins

Cooperrider, D.L., Sorensen, P.F., Whitney, D., and Yaeger, T.F. (2000). Appreciative inquiry:

Rethinking organization toward a positive theory of change. Champaign, IL: Stipes.

Cooperrider, D., & Whitney, D. (2000). A positive revolution in change: Appreciative inquiry.

Retrieved from http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/whatisai.pdf .

Cooperrider, D.L., Whitney, D. and Stavros, J. (2003). Appreciative inquiry handbook. Bedford

Heights, OH: Lakeshore Communications.

Cotton, P., & Hart, P.M. (2002). The management of work demands in Victorian schools.

Melbourne, AU: Department of Education, Employment and Training.

Cotton, P., & Hart, P. (2003). Occupational well-being and performance: A review of

organisational health research. Australian Psychologist, 38(2), 118-127.

doi:10.1080/00050060310001707117.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper &

Row.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). Good business. New York: Harper-Collins.

Deal, T.E. & Kennedy, A.A. (1999). Chapter 8: Corporate cultures after the deluge. The new

corporate cultures. 169-187. Redaing, MA: Perseus Books.

Defra. (2009). Sustainable development indicators in your pocket 2009. Retrieved from

http://www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/progress/documents/SDIYP2009_a9.pd

f

Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542-575. Retrieved from

EBSCOhost.

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/whatisai.pdf

http://www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/progress/documents/SDIYP2009_a9.pdf

http://www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/progress/documents/SDIYP2009_a9.pdf


Diener, E. (Ed.). (2009a). Assessing well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. New York,

NY US: Springer Science + Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4

Diener, E. (Ed.). (2009b). Culture and well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. New York,

NY US: Springer Science + Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2352-0.

Diener, E. (2009). The science of well-being: The collected works of Ed Diener. New York, NY:

Springer Science + Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-2350-6

Dimmock, H. & R. Kass. (2007). How to observe your group. (4th ed). Concord, ON: Cactus

Press.

Duxbury, L. and C. Higgins. (2009). Key findings and conclusions from the 2001 national work-

life conflict study. Ottawa, ON: Health Canada. Retrieved from http://www.hc-

sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/occup-travail/balancing_six-equilibre_six/index-eng.php

Ereaut, G., Whiting, R., (2008). What do we mean by ‘well-being’? And why might it matter?

Retrieved from http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-

RW073%20v2.pdf

Fluid Surveys. (2010). Canada. Retrieved from http://fluidsurveys.com/canada/

Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2002). Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward

emotional well-being. Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 13(2), 172. Retrieved

from EBSCOhost.

http://sprott.carleton.ca/faculty_and_research/lduxbury.html

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/occup-travail/balancing_six-equilibre_six/index-eng.php

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/occup-travail/balancing_six-equilibre_six/index-eng.php

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RW073%20v2.pdf

http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RW073%20v2.pdf

http://fluidsurveys.com/canada/


Fredrickson, B.L. (2009). Positivity: Groundbreaking research reveals how to embrace the

hidden strength of positive emotions, overcome negativity, and thrive. New York, NY:

Crown Publishers.

Gadman, L. and Cooper, C. (2009). Open source leadership. New York, NY: Palgrave

Macmillan.

Gage. (1997). Gage Canadian Dictionary. Canada: Gage Educational Publishing Company

Gillespie, N.A. and Mann, L. (2004). Transformational leadership and shared values: The

building blocks of trust. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 19(6), 588-607. DOI

10.1108/02683940410551507

Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. New York,

NY: Little, Brown and Company.

Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introducation (3rd ed.). New York:

Longman.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of

emotional intelligence. Retrieved from


Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. New York,

NY: Bantam Dell.

Goleman, D. (2007). Authors @ Google: Daniel Goleman. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k .

Goleman, D. (2008). Social intelligence and leadership. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qv0o1oh9f4&NR=1&feature=fvwp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qv0o1oh9f4&NR=1&feature=fvwp


Golembiewski, R. (1998). Appreciating appreciative inquiry: Diagnosis and perspectives on how

to do better, In R. Woodman and W. Pasmore (Eds), Research in organizational change

and development, 11, 1-45. Greenwich, CT: JAI.

Goodrich, S. (2010). Seeing red cars. Retrieved January 28, 2011 from

http://www.seeingredcars.com/

Hamel, G., Valikangas, L. (2009). The quest for resilience. In Burke, W.W., Lake, D.G., Paine,

J.W. (Eds.), Organizational change. A comprehensive reader, 512-532. San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass.

Handy, C. (1989). The Age of Unreason. London: Arrow.

Hart, P.M., & Wearing, A.J. (1995). Occupational stress and well-being: A systematic approach

to research, policy and practice. In P. Cotton (Ed.), Psychological health in the

workplace: Understanding and managing occupational stress. 185-216. Melbourne, AU:

Australian Psychological Society Press.

Hart, P.M., Wearing, A.J., & Headey, B. (1995). Police stress and well-being: Integrating

personality, coping and daily work experiences. Journal of Occupational and

Organisational Psychology, 68, 133-156.

Hart, P.M., Schembri, C., Bell, C., & Armstrong, K. (2003). Leadership, climate, work attitudes

and commitment: Is generation X really that different? Paper submitted to the

2003 Academy of Management Meeting, Seattle, Washington.

Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between

employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis.

Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268-279. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.2.268

http://www.seeingredcars.com/


Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L., & Keyes, C.L.M. (2003). Well-being in the workplace and its

relationship to business outcomes: A review of the Gallup studies. In C.L.M. Keyes & J.

Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived (p.205-224).

Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Retrieved from

http://media.gallup.com/DOCUMENTS/whitePaper--Well-beingInTheWorkplace.pdf

Harter, James K., Schmidt, Frank L., Killham, Emily A., Agrawal, Sangeeta. (2009). Q12

®

meta-

analysis: The relationship between engagement at work and organizational outcomes.

Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/consulting/126806/q12-meta-analysis.aspx

Harter, J., Schmidt, F., Asplund, J., Killham, E., & Agrawal, S. (2010). Causal impact of

employee work perceptions on the bottom line of organizations. Perspectives on

Psychological Science, 5(4), 378-389. doi:10.1177/1745691610374589

Hewitt (2009a). Point of view: What makes a company a best employer? Retrieved from

http://was2.hewitt.com/bestemployers/pdfs/BestEmployer.pdf

Hewitt (2009b). Engagement and employer health and well-being: Theories and realities

webcast, June 17, 2009. Retrieved from http://sas-

origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/infiniteconferencing/Web%20Recordings/DatedRecord

ings/093010/Hewitt061709/061709Hewitt.html

International Physical Activity Questionnaire. (2010). Retrieved from

http://www.ipaq.ki.se/questionnaires/IPAQ_S7S_FINAL_MAY_01.pdf

Judge, T.A., Thoresen, C.J., Bono, J.E., & Patton, G.K. (2001). The job satisfaction–job

performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin,

127, 376–407.

http://media.gallup.com/DOCUMENTS/whitePaper--WellBeingInTheWorkplace.pdf

http://www.gallup.com/consulting/126806/q12-meta-analysis.aspx

http://was2.hewitt.com/bestemployers/pdfs/BestEmployer.pdf

http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/infiniteconferencing/Web%20Recordings/DatedRecordings/093010/Hewitt061709/061709Hewitt.html





Kahn, W.A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at

work. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 692-724.

Kearns, Robin A., and Gavin J. Andrews. (2009). Geographies of Well-being. The SAGE

Handbook of Social Geographies. SAGE Publications. Retrieved from http://www.sage-

ereference.com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/hdbk_socialgeo/Article_n13.html

Kennedy, R. (1968). Speech presented at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Kirby, S. & McKenna, K. (1989). Experience, research, social change: Methods from the

margins. Toronto: Garamond Press.

Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. S. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change

their organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-

Bass/Wiley.

Krell, E. (2001). Merging corporate cultures. Training, 38(5), 68-74.

Lencioni, Patrick. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team: A field guide. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lewin, K. (1939). When facing danger. In: G.W. Lewin (Ed.) (1948) Resolving social conflict.

London: Harper & Row.

Lewin, K. (1943). Psychological ecology. In D. Cartwright (Ed.) (1952) Field theory in social

science. London: Social Science Paperbacks.

Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. In: G.W. Lewin (Ed) (1948)

Resolving social conflict. London: Harper & Row.


Lewin, K. (1947a). Frontiers in group dynamics. In D. Cartwright (Ed.) (1952): Field theory in

social science. London: Social Science Paperbacks.

Lewin, K. (1947b). Group decisions and social change. In: T.M. Newcomb and E.L. Hartley

(Eds.) (1959). Reading in social psychology. New York: Henry Holt.

Losada, M., & Heaphy, E. (2004). The role of positivity and connectivity in the performance of

business teams—A nonlinear dynamics model. American Behavioral Scientist, 47, 740-

765.

Lowe, G. (2002). High-quality health care workplaces: A vision and action plan. Hospital

Quarterly, (5), 49-56.

Lowe, G. (2010). Creating healthy organizations: How vibrant workplaces inspire employees to

achieve sustainable success. Toronto, ON: Rotman/UTP Publishing.

Ludema, J., Cooperrider, D.L. and Barrett, F. (2001). Appreciative inquiry: The power of the

unconditional positive question. In P. Reason and H. Bradbury (Eds.). Handbook of

action research. 189-199. London: Sage.

Ludema, J., Whitney, D., Mohr, B. and Griffin, T. (2003). The appreciative inquiry summit. San

Francisco, CA: Berrett-Kohler.

Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. M. (2007). Emerging positive organizational behavior. Journal of

Management, 33, 321-349.

Luthans, F., Youssef, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2007). Psychological capital. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. (2008). Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. Journal of

Applied Psychology, 93(3), 498-512. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.498


Maslow, A. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd

ed.). New York: Harper & Row.

Masters, J. (2000). The history of action research. Action Research E-Reports, 3. Retrieved from

http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow//arer/003.htm

Mikkonen, J., & Raphael, D. (2010). Social determinants of health. The Canadian facts.

Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianfacts.org/The_Canadian_Facts.pdf .

Mintzberg, H. (1999). Managing quietly. Leader to Leader, (12), 24-30. Retrieved from

https://ezproxy.royalroads.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ltl.40619991206

Muller, N. J. (2006). Mergers and managers: What's needed for both to work? Reflections on a

merger of two higher education libraries of KwaZula-Natal. South African Journal of

Libraries & Information Science, 72(3), 198-207.

Murphy, S., Duxbury, L., & Higgins, C. (2006). The individual and organizational consequences

of stress, anxiety, and depression in the workplace: A case study. Canadian Journal of

Community Mental Health, 25(2), 143-157.

New Economics Foundation, (2009). National accounts of well-being. Retrieved from

http://www.neweconomics.org/projects/national-accounts-well-being.

Norman, S.M, Avey, J.B., Nimnicht, J.L., Pigeon, N.G. (2010). The interactive effects of

psychological capital and organizational identity on employee organizational citizenship

and deviance behaviors. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies November 2010

Vol. 17, No. 4. 380-391.

Ogbonna, L.C. and Harris, L.C. (2000). Leadership style, organizational culture

and performance: empirical evidence from UK companies. International Journal of

Human Resource Management. 11(4). 766–788.

http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/003.htm

http://www.thecanadianfacts.org/The_Canadian_Facts.pdf

https://ezproxy.royalroads.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ltl.40619991206

http://www.neweconomics.org/projects/national-accounts-well-being


Page, K., & Vella-Brodrick, D. (2009). The ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of employee well-being: A

new model. Social Indicators Research, 90(3), 441-458.

Palys, T. & Atchison, C. (2008). Research decisions: Quantitative and qualitative perspectives

(4th ed.). Toronto: Nelson.

Penedo, F., & Dahn, J. (2005). Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health

benefits associated with physical activity. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 18(2), 189-193.

Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Peters, T. (1989). Thriving on chaos. London: Pan.

Peters, T. (1993). Liberation management. London: Pan.

Peters, T. (1997) The circle of innovation: You can't shrink your way to greatness. New York:

Alfred A. Knopf.

Pollard, T.M. (2001). Changes in mental well-being, blood pressure and total cholesterol levels

during workplace reorganization: the impact of uncertainty. Work & stress, 15(1), 14-28.

Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.phwa.org/ .

Purkiss, R. B., & Rossi, R. J. (2007). Sense of community: A vital link between leadership and

well-being in the workplace. In A. Glendon, B. M., Thompson, B., Myors, A., Glendon,

B. M. Thompson, B. Myors (Eds.). Advances in organisational psychology (pp. 281-

300). Bowen Hills, QLD Australia: Australian Academic Press. Retrieved from

EBSCOhost.

Ratey, J. & Hagerman, E. (2009). Spark! How exercise will improve the performance of your

brain. London: Quercus.

http://www.phwa.org/


Rath, T., Harter, J. (2010). Well-being: The five essential elements. New York, NY: Gallup

Press.

Rhee, S. Y., Dutton, J. E., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2006). Making sense of organizational actions with

virtue frames and its links to organizational attachment. Journal of Management,

Spirituality, and Religion, 3, 34-49.

Rhoades, L, & Eisenberger, R. (2002). Perceived organizational support: A review of the

literature. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 698-714.

Ritchie Bros. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.rbauction.com/web/rba/careers/why-work-at-

ritchie-bros

Royal Roads University. (2007). Research ethics policy. Retrieved from

http://www.royalroads.ca/research/policies/ethics-policy.htm.

Sanchez-Villegas, A., Ara, I., Guillen-Grima, F., Bes-Rastrollo, M., Varo-Cenarruzabeitia, J., &

Martinez-Gonzalez, M. (2008). Physical activity, sedentary index, and mental disorders

in the SUN cohort Study. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 40(5), 827-834.


Schaufeli, W., & Bakker, A. (2003). UWES Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Preliminary

Manual [Version 1]. Utrecht University: Occupational Health Psychology Unit.

Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., Gonza´lez-Roma´, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The

measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic

approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71–92. doi:10.1023/A:1015630930326

http://www.rbauction.com/web/rba/careers/why-work-at-ritchie-bros

http://www.rbauction.com/web/rba/careers/why-work-at-ritchie-bros


Schaufeli, W., & Salanova, M. (2007). Work engagement: An emerging psychological concept

and its implications for organizations. In S. W. Gilliland, D. D. Steiner, & D. P. Skarlicki

(Eds.), Research in social issues in management (Vol. 5): Managing social and ethical

issues in organizations (pp. 135–177). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishers.

Schein, Edgar H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership (3rd

ed.). Retrieved from


Schmidt, F. (2004). Workplace well-being in the public sector – a review of the literature and the

road ahead. Public service human resources management agency of Canada. Ottawa, ON:

PSHRMA. Retrieved from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/05/09111348/5

Schroeder-Saulnier, D. (2009). Employee engagement: Leading the way to an engagement

culture. Retrieved from http://www.right.com/thought-leadership/e-newsletter/leading-

the-way-to-an-engagement-culture.pdf .

Schwartz, T. (2010). The way we’re working isn’t working. New York, NY: Free Press.

Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction.

American Psychologist, 55, 5–14. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5

Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy. In C.

R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 3–9). New York,

NY: Oxford University Press.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2003). Positive psychology: Fundamental assumptions. The Psychologist,

16, 126–127.

Senge, P. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art & practice of the learning organization. Toronto,

ON: Currency Doubleday.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/05/09111348/5

http://www.right.com/thought-leadership/e-newsletter/leading-the-way-to-an-engagement-culture.pdf

http://www.right.com/thought-leadership/e-newsletter/leading-the-way-to-an-engagement-culture.pdf


Seppälä, P., Mauno, S., Feldt, T., Hakanen, J., Kinnunen, U., Schaufeli, W., & Tolvanen, A.

(2009). The construct validity of the Utrecht work engagement scale: Multisample and

longitudinal evidence. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10(4), 459-481.

doi:10.1007/s10902-008-9100-y

Seymour, A., & Dupré, K. (2008). Advancing employee engagement through a healthy

workplace strategy. Journal Of Health Services Research & Policy, 13 Suppl 135-40.


Shain, M. (2010). Tracking the perfect legal storm: Converging systems create mounting

pressure to create the psychologically safe workplace. Retrieved from

http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/workplace/Perfect%20

Legal%20Storm%20FINAL%20EN%20wc.pdf

Short, R. R. (1998). Learning in relationship: Foundation for personal and professional success.

Seattle, WA: Learning in Action Technologies.

Shuck, B., & Wollard, K. (2010). Employee engagement and HRD: A seminal review of the

foundations. Human Resource Development Review, 9(1), 89-110.

doi:10.1177/1534484309353560

Solomon, R. C. & Flores, F. (2001). Building trust in business, politics, relationships and life.

London, UK: Oxford University Press.

Statistics Canada. (2011). Summary of key findings: Physical activity of Canadian adults:

Accelerometer results from the 2007-2009 Canadian health measures survey. Retrieved

from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2011001/article/11396/summary-sommaire-

eng.htm

http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/workplace/Perfect%20Legal%20Storm%20FINAL%20EN%20wc.pdf

http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/workplace/Perfect%20Legal%20Storm%20FINAL%20EN%20wc.pdf

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2011001/article/11396/summary-sommaire-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2011001/article/11396/summary-sommaire-eng.htm


Stone, D., Patton, B., and Heen, S. (1999). Difficult conversations: How to discuss what matters

most. New York, NY: Penguin Books.

Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

The Conference Board. (2006). Employee engagement: A review of current research and its

implications. ISBN 0-8237-0891-8

The Conference Board of Canada. (2008). Healthy people, healthy performance, healthy profits.

The case for business action on the socio-economic determinants of health. Retrieved

from http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=2818

The Conference Board of Canada. (2009). New economics of workplace health and well-being.

Retrieved from http://webcast.conferenceboard.ca/EPRO_3064/index.asp

Towers Perrin. (2008). Closing the engagement gap: A road map for driving superior business

performance. Retrieved from

http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=HRS/USA/2008/200803/GWS_

Global_Report20072008_31208.pdf

Towers Perrin. (2009). Towers Perrin global workforce study 2007-2008. Closing the

engagement gap: A road map for driving superior business performance. Retrieved from

http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=HRS/USA/2008/200803/GWS_

Global_Report20072008_31208.pdf

Towers Watson. (2010). Employee Well-being. Retrieved from:

http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=USA/2009/200910/Perspectives

_EmplyeeWell-being-FINAL.pdf

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=2818

http://webcast.conferenceboard.ca/EPRO_3064/index.asp

http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=HRS/USA/2008/200803/GWS_Global_Report20072008_31208.pdf




http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=USA/2009/200910/Perspectives_EmplyeeWellBeing-FINAL.pdf

http://www.towersperrin.com/tp/getwebcachedoc?webc=USA/2009/200910/Perspectives_EmplyeeWellBeing-FINAL.pdf


Tremblay, M., Colley, R., Saunders, T., Healy, G., & Owen, N. (2010). Physiological and health

implications of a sedentary lifestyle. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 35(6),

725-740. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Turner, N., Barling, J., & Zacharatos, A. (2002). Positive psychology at work. In C. R. Snyder &

S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 715–728). New York: Oxford

University Press.

Twenge, J. M. (2000). The age of anxiety? The birth cohort change in anxiety and neuroticism,

1952–1993. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 1007-1021.

doi:10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.1007

Useem, M. (2010). Four lessons in adaptive leadership. Harvard Business Review, 88(11), 86-90.

Warr, P. (1990). The measurement of well-being and other aspects of mental health. Journal of

Occupational Psychology, 63, 193–210.

Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). Managing the unexpected. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

World Health Organization, (2010). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from

http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/ .

Weisbord, M. (2004). Productive workplaces revisited: Dignity, meaning and community in the

21st century. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Wenger, E. (2001). Organically grown. T+D, 55(6), 40. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice. Retrieved from

http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm .

http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/

http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm


Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2007). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide

to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

Wheatley, M. J. (2002). Supporting pioneering leaders as communities of practice: How to

rapidly develop new leaders in great numbers. Retrieved from

http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/supportingpioneerleaders.html

Wordle. (2009). Retrieved from www.wordle.net

Wright, T. A., & Cropanzano, R. (2000). Psychological well-being and job satisfaction as

predictors of job performance. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 84–94.

Zhou, J., Shin, S.J., and Cannella, A.A. Jr. (2008). Employee self-perceived creativity after

mergers and acquisitions: Interactive effects of threat—opportunity perception, access

to resources, and support for creativity. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science.

44: 397-421, doi:10.1177/0021886308328010

http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/supportingpioneerleaders.html

http://www.wordle.net/


APPENDIX A: CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS

Confidentiality Agreement – Research Team Member

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for a Master of Arts in Leadership Degree at

Royal Roads University, Wendy Creelman (the Researcher) will be conducting an action

research study at [sponsor] to discover how [sponsor] can enhance employee well-being to

support the new people strategy. The Researcher’s credentials with Royal Roads University can

be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe, Acting Director, School of Leadership Studies, at

[telephone number].

Research Team Member Role Description:

As a volunteer Research Team Member assisting the Researcher with this project, your

role may include one or more of the following: providing advice on the relevance and wording of

questions and letters of invitation, supporting the logistics of the data-gathering methods,

including observing, assisting, or facilitating an interview or world café, taking notes,

transcribing, or analyzing data, to assist the Researcher and the [sponsor] organizational change

process. In the course of this activity, you may be privy to confidential research data.

Confidentiality of Research Data:

In compliance with the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy, under which this

research project is being conducted, all personal identifiers and any other confidential

information generated or accessed by the research team advisor will only be used in the

performance of the functions of this project, and must not be disclosed to anyone other than

persons authorized to receive it, both during the research period and beyond it. Recorded

information in all formats is covered by this agreement. Personal identifiers include participant

names, contact information, personally identifying turns of phrase or comments, and any other

personally identifying information.

Bridging Researcher’s Potential or Actual Ethical Conflict

In situations where potential participants in a work setting report directly to the

Researcher, you, as a neutral third party with no supervisory relationship with either the

researcher or potential participants, may be asked to work closely with the Researcher to bridge

this potential or actual conflict of interest in this study. Such requests may include asking the

Research Team Advisor to: send out the letter of invitation to potential participants, receive

letters/emails of interest in participation from potential participants, independently make a

selection of received participant requests based on criteria you and the researcher will have

worked out previously, formalize the logistics for the data-gather method, including contacting

the participants about the time and location of the interview or world café, conduct the interviews

(usually three to five maximum) or world café (usually no more than one) with the selected

participants (without the Researcher’s presence or knowledge of which participants were chosen)

using the protocol and questions worked out previously with the Researcher, and producing

written transcripts of the interviews or world café with all personal identifiers removed before

the transcripts are brought back to the researcher for the data analysis phase of the study.


This strategy means that potential participants with a direct reporting relationship will be

assured they can confidentially turn down the participation request from their supervisor (the

Researcher), as this process conceals from the Researcher which potential participants chose not

to participate or simply were not selected by you, the third party, because they were out of the

selection criteria range (they might have been a participant request coming after the number of

participants sought, for example, interview request number six when only five participants are

sought, or world café request number 10 when up to nine participants would be selected for a

world café). Research Team members asked to take on such third party duties in this study will

be under the direction of the Researcher and will be fully briefed by the Researcher as to how

this process will work, including specific expectations, and the methods to be employed in

conducting the elements of the research with the Researcher’s direct reports, and will be given

every support possible by the Researcher, except where such support would reveal the identities

of the actual participants.

Personal information will be collected, recorded, corrected, accessed, altered, used,

disclosed, retained, secured and destroyed as directed by the Researcher, under direction of the

Royal Roads Academic Supervisor.

Action Research Team Members who are uncertain whether any information they may

wish to share about the project they are working on is personal or confidential will verify this

with Wendy Creelman, the Researcher.

Statement of Informed Consent:

I have read and understand this agreement.

________________________ _________________________ _____________

Name (Please Print) Signature Date


Confidentiality Agreement - Editor

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for a Master of Arts in Leadership Degree at

Royal Roads University, Wendy Creelman (the Researcher) will be conducting an action

research study at [sponsor] to discover how [sponsor] can enhance employee well-being to

support the business strategy. The Researcher’s credentials with Royal Roads University can be

established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe, Acting Director, School of Leadership Studies, at

[telephone number].

Editor Role Description:

As an Editor assisting the Researcher with this project, your role includes: editing for

APA compliance to assist the Researcher and the [sponsor] organizational change process. In the

course of this activity, you may be privy to confidential research data.

Confidentiality of Research Data:

In compliance with the Royal Roads University Research Ethics Policy, under which this

research project is being conducted, all personal identifiers and any other confidential

information generated or accessed by the editor will only be used in the performance of the

functions of this project, and must not be disclosed to anyone other than persons authorized to

receive it, both during the research period and beyond it. Recorded information in all formats is

covered by this agreement. Personal identifiers include participant names, contact information,

personally identifying turns of phrase or comments, and any other personally identifying

information. After you have performed the edit and provided the file to the researcher, you are

requested to delete it from your hard drive. This should be done only when the researcher has

verified that she has received the file and has stored it safely on her computer.

Statement of Informed Consent:

I have read and understand this agreement.

________________________ _________________________ _____________

Name (Please Print) Signature Date


APPENDIX B: QUESTIONS FOR SURVEYS ADMINISTERED BEFORE AND AFTER THE

THE PERSONAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGE

My name is Wendy Creelman and this research project, Supporting the [sponsor]

Business Strategy through Employee Well-being, is part of the requirement for a Master of Arts

in Leadership degree at Royal Roads University. My credentials with Royal Roads University

can be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe, Acting Director, School of Leadership Studies,

at [telephone number].

Part of the research will consist of this survey and is foreseen to take 10 minutes to

complete. The foreseen questions will refer to how employee well-being can support the

[sponsor] people strategy. In addition to submitting my final report to Royal Roads University in

partial fulfillment for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree, I will also be sharing my research

findings with [sponsor]. [sponsor] may then use the research to inform decisions around

employee well-being programming.

A copy of the final report will be provided to Royal Roads University and [sponsor]. This

report will not be publicly accessible.

The information you provide will be summarized, in anonymous format, in the body of

the final report. At no time will any specific comments be attributed to any individual unless

your specific agreement has been obtained beforehand. All documentation will be kept strictly

confidential.

You are not compelled to participate in this research project. If you do choose to

participate, you are free to withdraw at any time without prejudice. Similarly, if you choose not

to participate in this research project, this information will also be maintained in confidence.

Your completion of this survey will constitute your informed consent.


Please answer each question even if you do not consider yourself to be an active

person.

In answering the following questions, vigorous physical activities refer to activities that

take hard physical effort and make you breathe much harder than normal. Moderate activities

refer to activities that take moderate physical effort and make you breathe somewhat harder than

normal.

This survey includes the “SHORT LAST 7 DAYS SELF-ADMINISTERED” version of

IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) (Retrieved from

http://www.ipaq.ki.se/questionnaires/IPAQ_S7S_FINAL_MAY_01.pdf )

1a. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do vigorous physical activities like

heavy lifting, digging, aerobics, or fast bicycling?

Think about only those physical activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at a time.

________ days per week or • none

2a. Again, think only about those physical activities that you did for at least 10 minutes at

a time. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you do moderate physical activities like

carrying light loads, bicycling at a regular pace, or doubles tennis? Do not include walking.


3a. During the last 7 days, on how many days did you walk for at least 10 minutes at a

time? This includes walking at work and at home, walking to travel from place to place, and any

other walking that you did solely for recreation, sport, exercise or leisure.




This question is about the time you spent sitting on weekdays while at work, at

home, while doing course work and during leisure time. This includes time spent sitting at

a desk, visiting friends, reading traveling on a bus or sitting or lying down to watch

television.

4. During the last 7 days, how much time in total did you usually spend sitting on a week

day?

____ hours ______ minutes

5. Now, please think about yesterday, from the morning until the end of the day.

Think about where you were, what you were doing, who you were with, and how

you felt.

a. Did you feel well-rested yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

a. Were you treated with respect all day yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

b. Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

c. Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

d. Did you exercise for 20 minutes or more yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

e. Did you eat healthy yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

f. Did you worry about money yesterday? Yes, No, Don’t know

6. Did you experience the following feelings during A LOT OF THE DAY yesterday?

(check all that apply)Enjoyment

a. Physical pain

b. Worry

c. Sadness

d. Stress


e. Anger

7. Approximately, how many hours did you spend working yesterday? (drop down box)

8. Approximately, how many hours did you spend socially, with friends or family

yesterday?

9. Approximately, how many hours did you spend sleeping? (drop down box)

10. Was there a specific moment or experience that had a positive impact on your well-

being yesterday? (select all the apply)

a. No memorable positive experience

b. Positive experience at work

c. Positive experience with family

d. Positive experience with friends

e. Positive experience financially

f. High physical energy yesterday

g. Positive experience with your community

h. Other positive experience

11. Was there a specific moment or experience that had a negative impact on your well-

being yesterday? (select all the apply)

a. No memorable negative experience

b. Negative experience at work

c. Negative experience with family

d. Negative experience with friends

e. Negative experience financially

f. High physical energy yesterday


g. Negative experience with your community

h. Other negative experience

12. Please provide your comments on the physical activity challenge: (This question

was asked of post-PAC respondents only).


APPENDIX C: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGE SUPPORT MATERIAL

September 17,

2010

9:00 a.m. Online Activity Challenge pre-PAC survey

Sent out by branch manager

September 24,

2010

9- 9:30

a.m.

Activity Challenge launch – pedometers, prizes announced,

question one introduced: What does well-being mean to

you?

Demonstrate pedometer and handheld recorder/sign out

sheet/draw entries

October 1, 2010 9-9:30

a.m.

Activity Challenge – week two

Question two introduced: What positive factors in your

workplace contribute to your well-being? How do these


Online survey prize and question one respondent draw prize

awarded

October 8, 2010 9-9:30

a.m.

Activity Challenge – week three

Question three introduced: How does your well-being enable

you to deliver "over the top member service"?

Question two respondent draw prize awarded

October 15, 2010 9-9:30

a.m.

Activity Challenge – week four

Question four: How has the physical activity challenge

changed your relationships?

Question three respondent draw prize awarded

October 22, 2010 9-9:30

a.m.

Online Activity Challenge post-PAC survey launched.

Branch manager to send out.

Question four respondent draw prize and winning team prize

awarded.

VF VP HR will attend.

Oct. 25-28, 2010 Activity Challenge transcription and theming/wordle

Nov. 15, 2010 Meeting to present results


APPENDIX D: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN CHALLENGE


APPENDIX E: LETTER OF INVITATION – WORLD CAFÉ

September 3, 2010

Dear World Café Participant,

My name is Wendy Creelman and I am pleased to invite you to be part of a research

project I am conducting at [sponsor]. I am a Master of Arts in Leadership student at Royal Roads

University and this project will fulfill my requirements for this degree. My credentials with

Royal Roads University can be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe, Acting Director, School

of Leadership Studies, at [telephone number].

The objective of my research project is to research how employee well-being can support

the [sponsor] business strategy. My final report will be shared with [sponsor] and Royal Roads

University in partial fulfillment for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree. [sponsor] may use this

report to inform decisions around well-being programming at [sponsor].

Part of my research project, which you are being invited to participate in, will consist of a

world café that will take place on September 8, 2010 during your Well-being Council meeting

being held from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. at the [sponsor] regional office at [address]. The world

café will last for approximately two hours and will include discussion around the linkages

between employee well-being, employee engagement measures and business results. The

purpose of the world café is to define four questions that will be used in research that will be

conducted at one [sponsor] branch. The objective of this subsequent research will be to explore

linkages between employee well-being and business results and to define what well-being means

to staff at this branch.

Your name was chosen as a prospective participant because you are a member of the

Well-being Council or the Human Resources Department.


Information will be recorded in a digital format (audio and video) and, where appropriate

summarized, in anonymous format, in the body of the final report. At no time will any specific

comments be attributed to any individual unless your specific agreement has been obtained

beforehand. All documentation will be kept strictly confidential and a summary of research

findings will be provided to you upon completion of my research.

Please feel free to contact me at any time should you have additional questions regarding

the project and its outcomes.




Name: Wendy Creelman

Email: [e-mail address]

Telephone: [telephone number]

Sincerely,Wendy Creelman


APPENDIX F: LETTER OF CONSENT – WORLD CAFÉ

September 8, 2010

Dear World Café Participant,

My name is Wendy Creelman and I would like to invite you to participate in my research.

This research project, Supporting the [sponsor] Business Strategy through Employee Well-being,

is part of the requirement for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree at Royal Roads University.

My credentials with Royal Roads University can be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe,

Acting Director, School of Leadership Studies, at [telephone number].

Part of the research will consist of this world café and is foreseen to take 2 hours to


[sponsor] business strategy. In addition to submitting my final report to Royal Roads University

in partial fulfillment for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree, I will also be sharing my research




report will not be publicly accessible. A summary of the report will be e-mailed to all who

participate in the research.

Information will be recorded in a digital format (audio and video) and, where appropriate



beforehand. All documentation will be kept strictly confidential.

Your participation in this world café will constitute your informed consent. You are not

compelled to participate in this research project. If you do choose to participate, you are free to


withdraw at any time without prejudice. Similarly, if you choose not to participate in this

research project, this information will also be maintained in confidence.

Please feel free to contact me [telephone number] at any time should you have additional

questions regarding the project and its outcomes. By signing this letter, you give free and

informed consent to participate in this project and you agree to be audio and video taped.

Name: (Please Print): __________________________________________________

Signed: _____________________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

E-mail address: (for final report summary): _________________________________

APPENDIX G: WORLD CAFÉ AGENDA

[sponsor] World Café

September 8, 2010 – 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

DETAILED AGENDA ______________________________________________________

9:00 Welcome, introductions, agenda review XXXXX

9:05 Well-being update – 2008-2010-future XXXXX

9:10 Plan-it-health review XXXXX

9:45 Introductions and signing of informed consent XXXXX/Wendy

9:50 Background on new direction, engagement XXXXX

metrics and culture audit outcomes


10:00 Research overview and world café process Wendy/XXXXX

10:10 Round 1 of world café

10:22 Round 2 of world café & report out of previous group

10:36 Round 3 of world café & report out of previous groups

10:50 Round 4 of world café & report out of previous groups

11:04 Lunch/bio break (eat during group discussion)

11:15 Report out of table 1 – group discussion




11:55 Wrap up and thank you


APPENDIX H: WORLD CAFÉ EQUIPMENT

Items Required for World Café 08-Sep-10 [sponsor] Head Office Item Quantity Who

Coloured markers 4 sets XXX

Crayons 4 sets XXX

Pens 20 XXX

Flipchart paper 4 pads XXX

Easels for flipcharts 4 XXX

Recorders 6-8 XXX

Video recorder 1 XXX

Tape 1 roll XXX

LCD for PowerPoint 1 XXX

Screen for projection 1 XXX

Handheld PP advancer 1 XXX

Tables 4 XXX

Chairs 24 XXX

The Art of Powerful Questions 20 XXX

Agenda's & PP Handouts 20 XXX

CD Player 1 XXX

CD with soft background music 1 Wendy

Tablecloths 4 Wendy

Centrepieces 4 Wendy

Laptop 1 Wendy

Extra Batteries for recorders 10 XXX

Letters of Consent 20 Wendy

Flipchart markers 3 XXX

Food and beverage for 22 XXX

Classroom toys


APPENDIX I: GUIDING QUESTIONS – WORLD CAFÉ

To generate discussion and provide participants with background data, a presentation

was made providing a summary of the research plan, briefly what appreciative inquiry was,

and action research was defined. In addition, the newly defined organizational values and

metrics that have potential to connect with well-being were presented by the [sponsor] Vice

President Human Resources. This will provided a context for the data we hoped to uncover

with the questions developed during the world café.

Explanation was given to create the setting within which the questions would be

asked. Participants were informed that the staff would be participating in a four week

physical activity challenge. During this challenge, staff would be asked to interview their co-

workers as they are out for a walk during their lunch or break. They would be given hand

held recording devices to collect this data. The guiding questions were:

1. What question would best extract a person’s definition of employee well-being?

2. What question would best extract what it is that their branch does that creates employee

well-being?

3. What question would best extract “the dream” for the highest sense of employee well-

being at their branch? What would this look like?

4. What question would best extract how employee well-being connects to their

engagement at work?


APPENDIX J: LETTER OF INVITATION: PAC, INTERVIEWS, ONLINE SURVEYS

September 17, 2010

Dear Staff Member,

My name is Wendy Creelman and I am pleased to invite you to be part of a research

project I am conducting at [sponsor]. I am a Master of Arts in Leadership student at Royal Roads

University and this project will fulfill my requirements for this degree. My credentials with

Royal Roads University can be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe, Acting Director, School

of Leadership Studies, at [telephone number].

The objective of my research project is to research how employee well-being can support

the [sponsor] business strategy. My final report will be shared with [sponsor] and Royal Roads

University in partial fulfillment for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree. [sponsor] may use this

report to inform decisions around well-being programming.

Part of my research project that I am inviting you to participate in, will consist of a four

week physical activity (walking) challenge and an online pre- and post-PAC survey. The walking

challenge will involve the use of pedometers and logging your steps online to your team’s total.

Please check with your physician before engaging in activity if you consider yourself inactive.

This challenge is meant to be fun and will include prizes. During the times you walk, you will be

invited to interview a co-worker, who will also interview you, using a hand held recorder. The

four questions, one per week, will explore linkages between employee well-being and business

results. In addition, you will be asked what employee well-being means to you. Prior to and

following the challenge, you will be sent a link to complete a short online survey establishing

pre- and post-measures to determine if the challenge makes a difference in your level of physical


activity and well-being. All research; that you are being invited to participate in, will take place

between September 17, 2010 and October 29, 2010 at your branch.

Your name was chosen as a prospective participant because you are a staff member of

this branch. You are not compelled to participate in this research project. If you do choose to



Information will be recorded in a digital audio format and, where appropriate



beforehand. All documentation will be kept strictly confidential.

Please feel free to contact me at any time should you have additional questions regarding

the project and its outcomes.

Contact Information:

Name: Wendy Creelman E-mail: [e-mail address] Telephone: [telephone number]

Sincerely,

Wendy Creelman

APPENDIX K: LETTER OF CONSENT - PRE- AND POST-PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

CHALLENGE ONLINE SURVEY

Supporting the [sponsor] Business Strategy through Employee Well-being

My name is Wendy Creelman and this research project, Supporting the [sponsor]

Business Strategy through Employee Well-being, is part of the requirement for a Master of Arts

in Leadership degree at Royal Roads University. My credentials with Royal Roads University

can be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe, Acting Director, School of Leadership Studies,

at [telephone number].


Part of the research will consist of this survey and is foreseen to take 10 minutes to


[sponsor] business strategy. In addition to submitting my final report to Royal Roads University

in partial fulfillment for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree, I will also be sharing my research




report will not be publicly accessible. The information you provide will be summarized, in

anonymous format, in the body of the final report. At no time will any specific comments be

attributed to any individual unless your specific agreement has been obtained beforehand. All

documentation will be kept strictly confidential.




Your completion of this survey will constitute your informed consent.


APPENDIX L: LETTER OF CONSENT – PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHALLENGE

September 14, 2010

Dear Research Participant,

My name is Wendy Creelman and I would like to invite you to participate in my research.

This research project, Supporting the [sponsor] Business Strategy through Employee Well-being,

is part of the requirement for a Master of Arts in Leadership degree at Royal Roads University.

My credentials with Royal Roads University can be established by calling Dr. Wendy Rowe,

Acting Director, School of Leadership Studies, at [telephone number].

Part of the research will consist of a physical activity challenge involving four interview

questions and is foreseen to take four weeks with one question per week. You will have an

opportunity to win prizes and will be given a pedometer to assist in the research. The foreseen

questions will refer to how employee well-being can support the [sponsor] business strategy. In

addition to submitting my final report to Royal Roads University in partial fulfillment for a

Master of Arts in Leadership degree, I will also be sharing my research findings with [sponsor].

[sponsor] may then use the research to inform decisions around employee well-being

programming.


report will not be publicly accessible. A summary of the research findings will be provided to all

who participate in the research.

The information you provide will be summarized, in anonymous format, in the body of

the final report. At no time will any specific comments be attributed to any individual unless

your specific agreement has been obtained beforehand. All documentation will be kept strictly

confidential.


Your participation in this physical activity challenge and in answering four interview

questions will constitute your informed consent. You are not compelled to participate in this

research project. If you do choose to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time without

prejudice. Similarly, if you choose not to participate in this research project, this information will

also be maintained in confidence.

Please feel free to contact me [telephone number] at any time should you have additional

questions regarding the project and its outcomes. By signing this letter, you give free and

informed consent to participate in this physical activity challenge and interviews.


APPENDIX M: INTERVIEW RESULTS REPORT

Pirates of the Caribbean Research Questions

Question One: What does employee well-being mean to you?

43 unique comments centered on being a happy health person:

Health encompasses mental, spiritual, financial, emotional, physical

Taking care of oneself – eating healthy, exercise, sleep

Enjoying life – being happy with oneself/one’s life

Being positive – feeling good

32 unique comments centered on work:

Happy to come to work – look forward to it – enjoy your job

Respectful, positive, engaging environment

14 unique comments centered on work-life balance:

A healthy balance between work and family

Question Two-a: What positive factors in your workplace contribute to your well-

being?

Positive factors themed into four areas:

Leadership: supportive, positive, approachable leadership/teamwork/great

communication

Positivity: the word positive shows up as the 2nd

highest used word in all

responses/energy/feeling happy/feeling confident/laughter/smiles

People: positive energy/happy/caring/considerate/enthusiastic/good

relationships/cheerful

Environment: respect/positive/good atmosphere/windows/open

communication/morale

Question two-b: How do these positive factors affect you?

Two themes emerged for positive well-being affect when these positive factors are present:

Work engagement affect: enjoy work, trust, good morale, good service,

teamwork, higher productivity, happy and content, empowered/engaged staff

Personal affect: positive attitudes, happy cheerful people, decreased stress,

elevated mood


Question three: How does your well-being enable you to deliver “over the top

member service”?

Two themes emerged:

Engagement: I love my job, willing to go extra mile, want to do my best, have

energy to deliver more, want to WOW members, and dedication.

Positivity spillover: self efficacy, reciprocity, positive attitude shows and spreads

to members/staff creating a positive environment, have more energy/health to

deal with members/staff

Question four: How has the Pirates of the Caribbean Challenge changed your work

relationships?

Five themes emerged:

Teamwork: camaraderie, fun/friendly competition, walking together during

breaks, working towards a goal together, more aware of others

Relationship building: gave us a reason to talk to people we wouldn’t necessarily

talk to during work, got to know people better, brought a cross section of different

departments together, enhanced relationships

Increased communication: more open communication between divisions, asking

each other how many steps/what activities they did, got us talking about well-

being, joking with each other

Fun: more pleasant/happier/positive atmosphere, lots of smiles, lots of fun!

Other: a good experience, more aware of importance of getting active/health and

wellness, more aware of how we treat each other


APPENDIX N: WORK AND WELL-BEING SURVEY (UWES)

Work and Well-being Survey (UWES) ©

The following 17 statements are about how you feel at work. Please read each statement

carefully and decide if you ever feel this way about your job. If you have never had this feeling,

write “0” (zero) in the space preceding the statement. If you have had this feeling, indicate how

often you feel it by writing the number (from 1 to 6) that best describes how frequently you feel

that way.

0 Never 1 Almost never - few times a year or less 2 Rarely - Once a month or less 3 Sometimes

- A few times a month 4 Often - Once a week 5 Very often - A few times a week 6 Always -

Every day

1. At my work, I feel that I am bursting with energy (VI1)*

2. I find the work that I do full of meaning and purpose (DE1)

3. Time flies when I'm working (AB1)

4. At my job, I feel strong and vigorous (VI2)*

5. I am enthusiastic about my job (DE2)*

6. When I am working, I forget everything else around me (AB2)

7. My job inspires me (DE3)*

8. When I get up in the morning, I feel like going to work (VI3)*

9. I feel happy when I am working intensely (AB3)*

10. I am proud of the work that I do (DE4)*

11. I am immersed in my work (AB4)*

12. I can continue working for very long periods at a time (VI4)

13. To me, my job is challenging (DE5)

14. I get carried away when I’m working (AB5)*

15. At my job, I am very resilient, mentally (VI5)

16. It is difficult to detach myself from my job (AB6)

17. At my work I always persevere, even when things do not go well (VI6)

* Shortened version (UWES-9); VI = Vigor; DE = Dedication; AB = Absorption

© Schaufeli & Bakker (2003). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale is free for use for

noncommercial scientific research. Commercial and/or non-scientific use is prohibited, unless

previous written permission is granted by the authors.

Schaufeli, W., & Bakker, A. (2003). UWES Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Preliminary

Manual [Version 1, November 2003]. Utrecht University: Occupational Health Psychology Unit.

Supporting Business Strategy Through Employee Well Being

Documents

Transcript of Supporting Business Strategy Through Employee Well Being