The Potential of a Business - Essay Example

To what extent is a well-being programme a good investment for an organisation to make? Table of contents 0 Introduction 3 2.0 BGL Group’s wellbeing programme 4 2.1 Advantages of the programme 5 2.1.1 Advantages for employees 5 2.1.2 How employer is benefited from the particular programme? 6 2.2 Disadvantages of the programme 6 2.2.1 Disadvantages for employees 6 2.2.2 Negative implications of the programme for the employer 7 2.3 Why does the BGL group invest so much in its well-being programme? 7 3.0 Recommendations 8 4.0 Conclusion 12 5.0 References 14 6.0 Appendices 15 1.0 Introduction The potential of a business to secure the engagement of its employees is considered as a key criterion for its growth. In practice it has been proved that keeping employees motivated and engaged can be a quite difficult target, especially in businesses with an extended workforce. The use of a well-being programme can help businesses to develop a proactive and engaged workforce, a fact that positively affects employee performance. From this point of view, a well-being programme is an excellent investment for modern organisations. Still, these programmes have specific requirements while they can also result to implications, both for employees and the employer. The value of well-being programmes as an organisational investment is explored in this study. Reference is made, as an example, to the case of BGL Group. The specific firm is well established in the UK market, being involved in the provision of insurance and legal services. The firm has emphasized on the well-being of its employees so that their motivation and commitment to the organisation are secured. The review of the elements and the effects of this programme can hep to understand whether such programmes could be a good investment for organisations in the modern market. The well-being programme of BGL Group will be checked and evaluated using the concepts of work psychology as included in relevant literature, with particular reference to the work of Anna Sutton. As a theoretical framework work psychology is rather wide, being able to incorporate different themes, such as ‘psychopathology and organisational development’ (Sutton, 2014: 6-7). Various approaches have been used for describing work psychology. According to one of these views, the work psychology ‘facilitates change towards improved work and working conditions’ (Milward, 2005: 1). From another point of view, work psychology aims to provide to managers necessary information in regard to ‘the application of psychological principles to running a business’ (Hodson, 2014: 6). In any case, work psychology has to support organisational development. This fact indicates the close relationship between work psychology and organisational change (Sutton, 2014). It should be noted that work psychology can be related to different priorities, depending on the geographical area involved: in USA the limitation of costs is of primary importance while for firms based in UK work psychology would be most related to the increase of firms’ profitability (Sutton, 2014: 10). The second approach will be employed in this study, since reference is made to a firm based in UK. At this point, emphasis should be given to the following fact: well-being, as a condition/ status, has been explained using different approaches. In this study well-being is perceived as mostly related to ‘the eudaimonic tradition, which highlights positive psychological functioning and human development’ (Dodge et al., 2012: 323). 2.0 BGL Group’s wellbeing programme In its initial form, as in 2010, the wellbeing programme of BGL Group was entitled as ‘My Wellbeing’ and focused on four aspects of employees’ needs in the workplace, such as ‘Health, Fitness, Happiness and Relaxation’ (case study: 1). In 2012, after gathering feedback as of employees’ views on the programme, the managers of BGL decided to update the Programme: the new wellbeing programme of BGL had two categories, entitled as ‘My Workplace’ and ‘My Health’ (case study: 3). The updated programme aimed to decrease the inefficiencies of the programme, as identified in regard to its initial form. The performance of the wellbeing programme is analysed below by referring to both editions of the programme. The advantages and disadvantages of the programme are presented separately for employees and the employer, so that the overall effectiveness of the programme for each one of these categories is made clear. 2.1 Advantages of the programme 2.1.1 Advantages for employees Through the wellbeing programme of BGL the firm’s employees have access to a series of benefits. These benefits cover various fields so that employee satisfaction in the workplace is secured, as possible. More specifically, in the context of the firm’s initial well-being programme, as of 2010, employees were offered extensive support as of their health and wellbeing: vouchers, an appropriately customized health care scheme, an on site gum and a lunchtime club were among the supportive facilities/ schemes available to the firm’s employees since 2010. At the same time, employees had the chance to use short breaks for relaxing, even for sleeping, in order to respond to their daily obligations in the workplace (case study: 1). In addition, for any issue related to compensation or legal rights, employees were able to use the support service provided by the firm (case study: 1). In this way, employees would feel relaxed, being fully informed as of their key concerns, such as terms of compensation and rights in the workplace. Through the updated wellbeing programme, from 2012 onwards, the benefits available to employees were enriched: emphasis was given to the conditions of work, as of physical environment, and the schedule of daily work. The ‘cycle-to-work scheme’ (case study: 3) was introduced in order to increase flexibility in working hours/ swifts. The ‘My Health’ (case study: 3) part of the new programme included all relevant features of the previous one plus support related to healthy eating and increase of sport-related facilities. The establishment of restaurants in the workplace was among the initiatives introduced through the updated version of the firm’s well-being programme aiming to secure employee satisfaction in the workplace. 2.1.2 How employer is benefited from the particular programme? The potential benefits of the programme for the employer could be identified if checking the reasons for which managers in BGL have decided to introduce the particular programme. As also analysed in the section 2.3 of this study the specific programme was considered by the firm both as a moral obligation and as a tool for securing the payback of their investment. It is clear from the benefits that this programme provides to employees, as explained in section 2.1.1, that through the particular programme employee motivation would be highly increased. This would result to improvement of employee productivity, i.e. to increase of the firm’s profits. In addition, the programme would lead to the improvement of employer-employees relationship. This means that communication and trust between the employer and the employees would be highly increased a fact that would lead to the long term growth of the business. 2.2 Disadvantages of the programme 2.2.1 Disadvantages for employees The well-being programme of BGL can be characterized as quite effective. In this context, the programme’s disadvantages for employees are difficult to be identified. Reference could be possibly made only to the following phenomenon: the programme, as in its latest form, introduces several schemes that create pressures against employees as of their choices: employees feel as obliged to adopt healthy practices as of their food and life-style; the responses of employees towards such practice may not be quite positive. For certain employees such tight control on personal issues, such as food preferences or outdoor activities, could be considered even as opposed to their rights. In other words, the well-being programme of the firm could lead employees to feel as facing barriers as of their private life. 2.2.2 Negative implications of the programme for the employer As for the employer, the well-being could be related to the following implication: the design and the implementation of the programme are related to certain costs. The employer has decided to make the relevant investment having in mind that the payback will be higher, as possible. If the programme is proved ineffective, i.e. if the increase in organisational profits is not the one expected, then the employer would be exposed to failures which, depended on the level of the investment made, could be severe. These risks could be significantly reduced if the employer would introduce certain measures in advance. In section 3.0 of this study a series of such measures are suggested using the theories developed in the field of work psychology. 2.3 Why does the BGL group invest so much in its well-being programme? According to the case study, BGL group emphasises on the well-being programme mostly because of two reasons: at the first level, treating employees with fairness and understanding is a practice aligned with the culture of the organisation. More specifically, for BGL employees are considered as the most important element of the business, having key role in all business operations. In addition, the business has to care for its employees since they are those who hold all responsibility for the successful realisation of business strategy. In other words, providing fair rewarding and support to employees is a reflection of BGL’s culture but also an indication of the firm’s willingness to act ethically, respecting its moral obligations (case study: 1). From another point of view, the provision of appropriate support to employees has been related to another aspect of the business: the high profitability. Indeed, by reviewing business data and employees’ feedback the managers of BGL have come to the assumption that an appropriately structured well-being programme can lead to the decrease of absenteeism and the attraction of highly skilled candidates (case study: 1). The above two benefits result to high payback potentials of a well-being programme, as a mode of investment. 3.0 Recommendations In the context of work psychology there are certain theories that highly help to understand the behaviour of people in the workplace: ‘abnormal psychology, individual differences and cognitive psychology’ (Sutton, 2014: 4-5). The responses of people to the events of their environment may be out of the expected framework. Such responses cannot be expected to appear and can be the result of other events, intermediary events, that can affect the behaviour of people even in the long term (Muchinski, 2006). The above phenomenon is often described by referring to the concept of abnormal psychology (Muchinski, 2006). The well-being programme of BGL does not refer to measures/ schemes that can be applied in case of unexpected events/ failures. For example, if an employee makes extensive use of the programme’s features or if he decides to transfer his rights as derived from the programme to third persons, a mechanism should exist from protecting the firm from the losses/ risks involved. The concept of individual differences or, else, individual needs, can be also used for evaluating the performance of BGL’s well-being programme. The specific concept is based on the following fact: the needs of people in the workplace are not identical; differences can be identified using different criteria (Chmiel, 2008). McClelland (1961) promoted the idea that employees’ needs are highly differentiated especially as of the following fields: ‘achievement, affiliation and power’ (Chmiel, 2008: 31). More specifically, for employees who highly value achievement the completion of difficult tasks is of highly importance while employees who value affiliation would be attracted from tasks based on team work (Chmiel, 2008). In the same context, employees who prefer power would be highly motivated if they were given the chance to test their leadership skills, being able to give orders and to take critical decisions (Chmiel, 2008). Based on the McClelland theory, as presented above, the well-being programme of BGL should be alternated, incorporating schemes for addressing the different needs of employees in regard to the three fields highlighted above. It should be noted that people can be differentiated not just by their needs but also by their engagement to their role (Kahn, 1990). This phenomenon is clear if reviewing the behaviour of employees both as individuals and as members of a team (Seibert et al., 2011, Figure 1). The above issues should be taken into consideration by managers in BGL when updating the well-being programme of the organisation. The value of individual differences for securing employee motivation is highlighted in the Hierarchy of Needs theory of Maslow. This theory is based on the following view: the needs of people in the workplace can be set in a hierarchy, beginning from ‘basic needs, at lowest level, up to the need for self-actualization, at the top point of the hierarchy’ (Blustein, 2013: 205). Based on this theory, a firm that is interested in keeping its employees highly motivated should emphasise on their needs, as represented in Maslow’s model (Figure 2, Appendices). Particular attention should be paid at this point: before addressing the needs employees at one of the layers, a firm should ensure that the needs of previous layers have been appropriately covered (Blustein, 2013). According to the above, employees in BGL would be more motivated if provisions would be included in the firm’s well-being programme in regard to employees’ different needs, as described by Maslow. Still, reference should be made to the following fact: the increase of employees’ compensation has been found to result to ‘the limitation of the free choice of an activity’ (Sutton, 2014: 60). Particular reference should be also made to ‘the cognitive theory of motivation, as introduced by Adams’ (Hodson, 2014: 111). This theory is based on the following view: money cannot be the only criterion for achieving employee motivation. Indeed, providing high amount of compensation or rewards to employees does not guarantee that employees will be highly motivated (Hodson, 2014). Instead, the issue of fair compensation is mostly valued by employees in regard to their motivation (Hodson, 2014). Using this theory the well-being programme of BGL would be alternated as follows: a scheme for ensuring equality and fairness for employees in all organisational departments should be introduced. Because of this scheme employees in BGL would feel as fairly treated a fact that would make them to become more motivated. In addition, the belief of the firm’s employees that they have the power to control their role’s aspects, being able to take initiatives as of the methods used for resolving problems could further enhance their motivation. The above suggestion is based on the Ownership theory that emphasises on the value of the sense of ownership as a requirement for employee motivation (Avey et al., 2009). The Ownership theory, as presented above, is similar to the ‘Self Determination theory’ (Baard et al., 2004: 2047) which accepts that people are likely to be more motivated when they work in ‘autonomy-supported contexts’ (Baard et al, 2004: 2048). On the other hand, using the scientific management theory of Taylor the existing well-being programme of BGL could be evaluated as follows: the specific programme is effective but certain improvements would be made. More specifically, the theory of Taylor focuses on the importance of ‘appropriate methods of rewarding and of supervision for the high performance in the workplace’ (Hodson, 2014: 7). Particular reference is made to ‘piece rewarding’ (Hodson, 2014: 7) instead of rewarding using general terms. Also, it has been proved that for employees rewarding is considered as an indication of their competence; this view is promoted by the ‘Cognitive Evaluation Theory of Deci and Ryan’ (Sutton, 2014: 61). The specific theory is aligned with the ‘planned behaviour theory of Azjen’ (Sutton, 2014: 70); this theory notes that human beahaviour is influenced by two attitudes: ‘the attitudes towards the object and the expected outcome’ (Sutton, 2014: 70). In the wellbeing programme of BGL rewarding is not incorporated, at least not clearly, as a method for enhancing employee motivation. In fact, in its initial form the programme included a section entitled as ‘My Happiness’ where the various issues of employees’ compensation and rewarding were incorporated. However, in that part no rule exists as of the exact conditions under which an employee will be rewarded and how the level of this reward would be decided (case study: 1). In its later edition, the programme continued to lack of rules referring to the terms of rewarding: in ‘My Workplace’ scheme of the programme, as of 2012 onwards, emphasis is given to structural elements of the work areas, such as natural light and colours (case study: 3). In regard to the second element of Taylor’s theory, supervision, no relevant rule is included in the wellbeing programme of BGL, either in its initial or its later form. In this context, based on Taylor’s scientific theory the wellbeing programme of BGL would be enriched with a rule defining the terms of employees’ rewarding, preferably based on piece-production, and a rule setting the context of supervision of employees’ performance. In any case, the well-being programme of BGL could be improved, as of its potentials to enhance employee motivation, in the following way: emphasis could be given on the participation of employees in teams. Offering to employees the chance to experience the team membership would result to the acquisition by employees of a social identity in the workplace: this perspective could make the employees much more motivated, as the social identity theory accepts (Haslam et al., 2014). 4.0 Conclusion The review of the well-being programme of BGL Group has helped to understand the role of such programmes in increasing business value; in this context, it could be judged whether a well-being programme can be a good investment for a business. As of its structure and content the particular programme can be characterized as of high quality, addressing several needs of employees in the workplace. Indeed, the above programme incorporates various schemes referring not only to the employees’ health but also to their need for an inspiring and proactive work environment: in such environment, work is combined with relax so that employees do not feel over-stressed, a fact that would affect the quality of their work. For the employer also, the well-being programme has resulted to key benefits: primarily, the performance of the firm is kept at high levels enhancing business profits. Also, due to its well-being programme the firm has increased its attractiveness as an employer; in this way, the chances for high-skilled candidates to enter the firm are significant. An important characteristic of the well-being programme of BGL is the following: the programme does not include provisions for continuous changes, i.e. regular changes, in the workplace. This trend is quite important since it ensures the limitation of fatigue caused to employees who have to deal with important changes related to their role on a frequent basis (Gross et al., 2011). On the other hand, the implications of the above well-being programme would not be ignored. These implications could be effectively addressed using policies based on work psychology theories, as presented in the Recommendations sector of this study. By following these recommendations the firm could limit risks as of its well-being programme; as a result, the programme’s contribution in the enhancement of business growth would become higher. In any case, the example of BGL’s Group well-being programme has verified the value of well-being programmes as organisational investments. Also, this value could be secured at high levels if these programmes are designed and implemented using the rules of work psychology, in the context explained in this study. 5.0 References Avey, J., Avolio, B., Crossley, C. and Luthans, F. (2009) Psychological Ownership: Theoretical Extensions, Measurement, and Relation to Work Outcomes. Journal in Organisational Behavior. 30. p.173-191. Baard, P., Deci, E. and Ryan, R. (2004) Intrinsic Need Satisfaction: a Motivational Basis of Performance and Well-Being in Two Work Settings. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 34 (10). p.2045-2068. Blustein, D. (2013) The Oxford Handbook of the Psychology of Working. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chmiel, N. (2008) An Introduction to Work and Organisational Psychology: A European Perspective. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J. and Sanders, L. (2012) The challenge of defining wellbeing. Journal of Wellbeing. 2 (3). p.222-235. Gross, S., Semmer, N. K., Meier, L. L., Kδlin, W., Jacobshagen, N. and Tschan, F. (2011) The Effect of Positive Events at Work on After-Work Fatigue: They Matter Most in Face of Adversity. Journal of Applied Psychology. p.1-12. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0022992 Haslam, A., Van Knippenberg, D., Platow, M. and Ellemers, N. (2014) Social Identity at Work: Developing Theory for Organisational Practice. New York: Psychology Press. Hodson, C. (2014) Psychology and Work. London: Routledge. Kahn, W. (1990) Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work. Academy of Management Journal. 33 4). p.692-724. Lifework Transitions (2014) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Available from http://www.lifeworktransitions.com/exercises/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs/ [Accessed: 4 December 2014] Milward, L. (2005) Understanding Occupational & Organisational Psychology. London: SAGE. Muchinsky, P. (2006) Psychology Applied to Work. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Seibert, S., Wang, G. and Courtright, S. (2011) Antecedents and Consequences of Psychological and Team Empowerment in Organisations: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of Applied Psychology. 96 5). p.981-1003. Sutton, A. (2014) Work Psychology in Action. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Wolff, D., Drenth, P. and Henk, T. (2013) A Handbook of Work and Organisational Psychology: Volume 4: Organisational Psychology. Oxon: Psychology Press. 6.0 Appendices Figure 1 – Modes of individual empowerment and team empowerment in the workplace (Seibert et al., 2011: 982) Figure 2 – Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs pyramid (Lifework transitions, 2014) Read More