Abstract
Introduction
Despite growing organisational investment in workplace health and wellbeing practices (WHWPs), particularly in healthcare settings where worker wellbeing is critical for employee (e.g fatigue), patient (e.g quality of care) and organisational (e.g staff attrition) outcomes, evidence on WHWPs effectiveness is mixed.
Purpose
The aim of this research is to examine multi-level perceptions of WHWP implementation using HRM strength theory to identify organisational roadblocks.
Method
A qualitative case study collected data from three organisational levels: senior managers (n = 11), frontline managers (n = 15), and frontline employees (n = 59) in a healthcare organisation through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Questions about if and how the organisation cared for worker wellbeing were asked.
Results
Significant incongruences emerged across organisational levels regarding WHWP effectiveness and organisational support for wellbeing. Using HRM strength analysis, we identified specific implementation roadblocks: limited access to IT/HRM communication systems, high job demands and staff shortages preventing WHWP access, and a reinforcing cycle wherein low participation rates strengthened employee perceptions that WHWPs were not fit for purpose. These roadblocks were framed around HRM strength theory meta-features of distinctiveness, consistency and consensus; and occurred despite widespread agreement that the organisation and managers valued employee wellbeing, and the presence of valued resources such as pastoral care and peer social support.
Conclusions
Organisations can address these multi-level design and implementation barriers by improving communication infrastructure, ensuring adequate IT and temporal access for employees, designing contextually relevant WHWPs, and creating alignment between espoused values and enacted HRM systems to enhance HRM strength and signal genuine organisational commitment to worker wellbeing.