Characteristics of healthy work organizations.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lim Y ; Murphy, Lawrence R.
• Description:
  The results of a study investigating associations between worker stress and coping, management practices, teamwork, work organization culture, and job performance and effectiveness were summarized. The purpose of the study was to test a conceptual model of organizational health which postulated that worker wellbeing, job performance, and organizational effectiveness are interrelated. More than 7,000 workers at a northeastern United States manufacturing company completed a questionnaire to report on demographic characteristics and to rate perceived stress and coping, management practices, teamwork, organizational culture, the work environment, and their perceived job performance and effectiveness. Approximately 62% of the workers were male and most were 25 to 45 years (yr) old. Their average job tenure with the company was 15yr. By occupational category, 62% of the subjects were production line workers, 20% were administrators, and 24% were professional workers and managers. Univariate analysis of the questionnaire responses indicated that 33% of the subjects reported high levels of stress, 25% were unable to cope with stress at work, and 35% reported frequent problems in trying to balance their work and family lives. A series of hierarchical, multiple regression analyses identified several important organizational variables that were associated with low employee stress and high levels of job performance. Based on these results, NIOSH developed a model of a healthy work organization, one that promotes low employee stress and high job performance. The model suggested that healthy work organizations have a set of company values that is characterized by integrity and honesty in communication, treating individual workers as a valuable human resource, and a commitment to employee growth and development. Healthy work organizations create a culture and climate in which workers feel personally valued, have the authority to take actions to solve problems, are encouraged by management to express opinions and become involve in decision making, and in which group conflicts can be resolved effectively. Healthy organizations also provide for management being actively involved in leadership and strategic planning, recognizing and rewarding workers for doing quality work, and having first line supervisors who provide support and resources in helping workers plan their future. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Coping Skills Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace
• Keywords:
  Job-stress; Work-environment; Questionnaires; Statistical-analysis; Coping-behavior; Worker-motivation; Human-factors-engineering;
• ISBN:
  9789518021882
• Publisher:
  Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00241763
• Citation:
  From Experience to Innovation. IEA'97, Vol. 1, Organizational Design and Management, Proceedings of the 13th Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, Tampere, Finland, June 29-July 4, 1997. Seppala P, Luopajarvi T, Nygard H, Mattila M, eds. Helsinki, Finland: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, 1997 Jun; 1:513-515
• Editor(s):
  Seppala P; Luopajarvi T; Nygard C-H; Mattila M
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  From Experience to Innovation. IEA'97, Vol. 1, Organizational Design and Management, Proceedings of the 13th Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, Tampere, Finland, June 29-July 4, 1997
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/243650/cdc_243650_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]