IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ariqol/v18y2023i6d10.1007_s11482-023-10217-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Worker Well-Being: A Continuous Improvement Framework

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa C. Walsh

    (University of California, Riverside)

  • Madison Montemayor-Dominguez

    (University of California, Riverside)

  • Calen Horton

    (University of California, Riverside)

  • S. Gokce Boz

    (University of California, Riverside)

  • Sonja Lyubomirsky

    (University of California, Riverside)

Abstract

Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental research demonstrates that subjective well-being (e.g., positive emotions, life satisfaction) relates to, precedes, and leads to employee success on numerous work-related outcomes. We extend these findings by considering how organizations might improve worker well-being. Accordingly, we propose the Worker Well-Being Continuous Improvement Framework with three phases: (1) an initial phase with a pretest assessment of worker well-being; (2) a test phase, where a specific positive change to improve worker well-being is implemented; and (3) a concluding phase that administers a posttest assessment to examine the effectiveness of the change. We also discuss three important considerations to address when implementing the framework: (1) measuring employee well-being, (2) building thriving work cultures, and (3) deploying positive activity interventions. Consequently, organizations can rapidly test evidence-based practices to select the most relevant and effective positive changes for their employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa C. Walsh & Madison Montemayor-Dominguez & Calen Horton & S. Gokce Boz & Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2023. "Worker Well-Being: A Continuous Improvement Framework," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(6), pages 2993-3017, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:18:y:2023:i:6:d:10.1007_s11482-023-10217-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11482-023-10217-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11482-023-10217-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11482-023-10217-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sonja Lyubomirsky & Heidi Lepper, 1999. "A Measure of Subjective Happiness: Preliminary Reliability and Construct Validation," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 137-155, February.
    2. Adrian Tomyn & Matthew Fuller Tyszkiewicz & Robert Cummins, 2013. "The Personal Wellbeing Index: Psychometric Equivalence for Adults and School Children," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 913-924, February.
    3. Oliver P. Hauser & Francesca Gino & Michael I. Norton, 2018. "Budging beliefs, nudging behaviour," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 17(1), pages 15-26, November.
    4. Joseph Chancellor & Kristin Layous & Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2015. "Recalling Positive Events at Work Makes Employees Feel Happier, Move More, but Interact Less: A 6-Week Randomized Controlled Intervention at a Japanese Workplace," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 871-887, August.
    5. Anne M. Foreman & Margaret K. Glenn & B. Jean Meade & Oliver Wirth, 2017. "Dogs in the Workplace: A Review of the Benefits and Potential Challenges," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-21, May.
    6. Lalin Anik & Lara B Aknin & Michael I Norton & Elizabeth W Dunn & Jordi Quoidbach, 2013. "Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-8, September.
    7. Dunigan Folk & Elizabeth Dunn, 2023. "A systematic review of the strength of evidence for the most commonly recommended happiness strategies in mainstream media," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(10), pages 1697-1707, October.
    8. Damon Jones & David Molitor & Julian Reif, 2019. "What do Workplace Wellness Programs do? Evidence from the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(4), pages 1747-1791.
    9. Fauver, Larry & McDonald, Michael B. & Taboada, Alvaro G., 2018. "Does it pay to treat employees well? International evidence on the value of employee-friendly culture," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 84-108.
    10. Amy L Bartels & Suzanne J Peterson & Christopher S Reina, 2019. "Understanding well-being at work: Development and validation of the eudaimonic workplace well-being scale," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-21, April.
    11. John Pencavel, 2015. "The Productivity of Working Hours," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 2052-2076, December.
    12. Arnaud Stimec & François Grima, 2019. "The impact of implementing continuous improvement upon stress within a Lean production framework," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(5), pages 1590-1605, March.
    13. Saari, Lise M. & Scherbaum, Charles A., 2011. "Identified Employee Surveys: Potential Promise, Perils, and Professional Practice Guidelines," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 435-448, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Selda Koydemir & Aslı Bugay Sökmez & Astrid Schütz, 2021. "A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Randomized Controlled Positive Psychological Interventions on Subjective and Psychological Well-Being," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(3), pages 1145-1185, June.
    2. Diane Pelly, 2022. "Worker well-being and quit intentions: is measuring job satisfaction enough?," Working Papers 202204, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    3. Dora Gicheva, 2020. "Occupational Social Value and Returns to Long Hours," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(347), pages 682-712, July.
    4. Kirsten Burkhardt & Pascal Nguyen & Evelyne Poincelot, 2020. "Agents of change: Women in top management and corporate environmental performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1591-1604, July.
    5. Helena Fornwagner & Oliver P. Hauser, 2022. "Climate Action for (My) Children," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(1), pages 95-130, January.
    6. Torshizian, Eilya & Mehrara, Mohsen, 2011. "The effects of Economy, Values and Health on Happiness In Iran: the case of the Kish Island," MPRA Paper 30085, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Apr 2011.
    7. Sahoo, Dukhabandhu & Mohanty, Pritisudha & Mishra, Surbhi & Behera, Manash & Mohapatra, Souryabrata, 2024. "Does climate-smart agriculture technology improve the subjective well-being of farmers? Evidence from micro-level data," MPRA Paper 123955, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Becker, Mary & Cardazzi, Alexander & McGurk, Zachary, 2022. "Employee satisfaction and stock returns during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C).
    9. Arouri, Mohamed & Gomes, Mathieu & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and M&A uncertainty," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 176-198.
    10. Syon P. Bhanot & Christina A. Roberto & Anjali Chainani & Charles Williamson & Mehra den Braven, 2019. "Testing effects of loss framing and checklists: evidence from a field experiment on wellness program participation in Philadelphia," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 5(2), pages 210-222, December.
    11. Mounu Prem & Juan F. Vargas & Olga Namen, 2023. "The Human Capital Peace Dividend," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 962-1002.
    12. Igor Martins & Hedibert Freitas Lopes, 2024. "What events matter for exchange rate volatility ?," Papers 2411.16244, arXiv.org.
    13. Rogie Royce Carandang & Akira Shibanuma & Edward Asis & Dominga Carolina Chavez & Maria Teresa Tuliao & Masamine Jimba, 2020. "“Are Filipinos Aging Well?”: Determinants of Subjective Well-Being among Senior Citizens of the Community-Based ENGAGE Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-13, October.
    14. Joey Man Yee KWOK & Douglas Kei Shing NG, 2016. "A Study of the Perceived Stress Level of University Students in Hong Kong," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(4), pages 1-91, December.
    15. Homonoff, Tatiana & Willage, Barton & Willén, Alexander, 2020. "Rebates as incentives: The effects of a gym membership reimbursement program," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    16. Ana Junça-Silva, 2022. "Friends with Benefits: The Positive Consequences of Pet-Friendly Practices for Workers’ Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-10, January.
    17. Lange, Florian & Dewitte, Siegfried, 2020. "Positive affect and pro-environmental behavior: A preregistered experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    18. Charness, Gary & Cobo-Reyes, Ramón & Sánchez, Ángela, 2016. "The effect of charitable giving on workers’ performance: Experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 131(PA), pages 61-74.
    19. Mostafa E. Shahen & Shibly Shahrier & Koji Kotani, 2019. "Happiness, Generativity and Social Preferences in a Developing Country: A Possibility of Future Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, September.
    20. Paola Manfredi, 2022. "Is This All COVID-19′s Fault? A Study on Trainees in One of the Most Affected Italian Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-18, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:18:y:2023:i:6:d:10.1007_s11482-023-10217-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.