Business and Management Dissertation: How Work Environment Influences Employee Wellbeing and Performance

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Business and Management Dissertation: How Work Environment Influences Employee Wellbeing and Performance













Business and Management Dissertation







A) Introduction

The title of the proposal is: “How could work environment influence employee’s wellbeing that can influence their performance in business"- A case study of Morrisons”.

The title clearly identifies the topic area, which is importance of effective work environment on the wellbeing of employees and their performance within the context of the business. It has been seen within the contemporary contexts of businesses that in order to acquire sustainability within modern competitive markets, it is important to form a proper work force. In order to form such work environment, it is important for the management of the organization to take care of different issues within the environment and stakeholder management process is needed to be appropriate. The research study will be based on this are and on Morrisons as it has been seen in recent years that the organisation is facing hard times because of inappropriate performance of the employees within the organisation. This research will focus on whether employees are facing certain issues or not within the contemporary working environment.

The researcher will focus on existing literature in order to acquire basic knowledge regarding well being of employees and factors within the working environment that influence the well being and performance of employees. Through primary research, the researcher will acquire data from the targeted sample, collected data will be analysed properly, and in conclusion, it will be seen whether these data will justify the objective of the research.

B) Theoretical background and research focus

Concept of work environment

A work environment is mainly the setting, physical conditions and social features where employees perform their daily scheduled works. The work environment is influenced by different factors such as well being of employees, relationship within the workplace, collaboration, health of employees and efficiency. According to Pawirosumarto et al. (2017), there are different types of work environments, which are considered as the amalgamation of physical components, condition of the work in the organisation and culture of the company. According to the theory of Personality and Job Compatibility, different environments match different specific personalities therefore, it is the duty of the management of the organisation to find out compatible personalities for the specific work field. And according to this aspect there are mainly six types of environments. The realistic work environment mainly promotes physical activities which is suitable for employees who are considered as “doers”. People who are skilled with their hands and tools mainly prefer such working environment. Along with that the investigate environment is suitable for the employees who are considered as the critical thinkers who investigates and invest times within problem solving tasks. Employees who are considered as thinkers can thrive in such environment.

The artistic environment is suitable for people with innovative minds and it also encourages experimentations within the processes of business. People who are considered as creator can work best within such environment. On the other hand, Chandra (2016) opined that social environment mainly promotes communication, education and help between employees and managers must include employees who prefer to work in such environment. Enterprising environment is almost similar to social environment however, the communication is done in order to achieve goals effectively in this environment. The conventional environment is based on conventional environment of work.

Factors influencing work environment

There are certain factors that determine a workforce is whether a good working environment or not. One of the main aspects of that is the formal approach of the company, which includes working hours, workloads, location, holidays and permits. One of the main aspects is the working hour as employees often look for flexibility within working hour and organisations that can adapt the need of employees can perform better in such organisations. Location of the office is also an important factor, which influences the availability of employees within the organisation. Along with that, flexibility of taking holidays are also key factors which are needed to be considered by the organisation by which a better work environment can be established by the organisation. Motivation is also one of the key factors, which influence the environment within the organisation, as it is important for organisation to take care of motivation within company level and department level. It has been seen within organisations such as Amazon or Google where employees feel proud about their brands, which are the result of department level motivation and satisfaction of employees within the organisation.

Kristanti and Pangastuti (2019) mentioned that Internal Communication is also one of the most important factors as it is seen within contemporary context of business culture that organisations focus more on external communication rather than internal communication. In order to achieve a better environment for employees, employees must consider different factors such as information regarding internal meetings and email management processes within the organisation.

Importance of work life balance

The work-life balance within organisations is one of the main factors that influence the performance and well-being of employees within the organisation. This is mainly seen within contemporary workforce because of the dominating presence of millennial within the modern workforce. Within the healthy workforce, proper work life balance is important as it helps to reduce the stress of employees. Such approach effectively helps to prevent from burning out within the workplace. It is seen within modern workplace that the chronic stress is considered as one of the most common health issues within the workplace. According to Pradhan and Jena (2017), if such issues are not treated appropriately then critical consequences such as digestive issues, hypertension, heart problems and chronic aches could be seen.

It is seen within modern corporate world that too much stress within the workplace for a longer period is the main reason behind burnout of the energy of employees. Employees, who prefer to huge number of over time, face high risks of burnout within the workplace. Such issues can introduce further issue such as mood swings, fatigue, decrease in the performance, irritability. If an organisation can effectively form an environment that can prioritise the work-life balance within organisations, the management can save money and introduce a more productive environment. The meaning of work-life balance is different among different people as differences within approaches of different people could be seen which is needed to be considered by the organisation.

Creating a proper and flexible balance of work-life, is the most important task where the employer can satisfy most of the employees regardless their generation. Such approach can effectively boost the job satisfaction of employees.

Employee well being and influence on performance

Within contemporary contexts of business, it has been seen that companies are claiming that they are providing high priorities regarding the wellbeing and welfare of the workers considering the performance of the workers within the organisation. It has been seen that organisations, which are considering employee well-being more, are availing better performance from employees. Hanaysha (2016) opined that employee satisfaction has positive correlation with the customer loyalty and employee retention. Such aspect effectively shows that the performance of employees is improved if they are treated well and their well being is considered by the organisation. Communication and dealing with the consumers are also developed through such approach and reputation of the organisation is also developed with such approach. It is seen within such organisations that employee productivity, staff turnover and customer loyalty is increased which is most effective within retail and finance industries.

According to the Human relations theory, it is seen that wellbeing of employees are effectively associated with the higher morale of employees and that has positive connection with the productivity of such employees. Along with that, Inuwa (2016) opined that the expectancy theory of motivation also effectively highlights that employees perform better if they expect reward and recognition of their performances.

Theoretical perspective of employee well being and satisfaction

The Expectancy theory of motivation effectively states that motivation of employees is mainly an outcome of the need and want of rewards and recognition and the assessment of the efforts that leads to the expected performance. The valance within expectancy theory mainly signifies the expected outcome from an individual. This is mainly an expected satisfaction not the actual satisfaction expected by employees within the organisation after achieving their goals within the organisation. On the other hand, Lloyd and Mertens (2018) opined that the expectancy is mainly considered as the faith of employees that better and effective efforts will introduce better performance by displaying effective skills of employees. In such approach, availability of crucial information to the employees is the key aspect as it influences the success of an employee within the organisation.

There are certain advantages and limitations of this theory. The theory is based on the self-interest of individual who wants to achieve maximum satisfaction within the work environment. Along with that, the theory also emphasise on rewards and recognition, which are considered as the most effective approaches to satisfy employees within the organisation. Barakat and Moussa (2017) mentioned that if employees within the organisation are properly satisfied and their works are recognised properly then their performance is automatically improved within given organisational contexts. However, there are certain disadvantages of this theory as there are certain limitations to apply this theory within contemporary working environment. The approach is related to different factors such as effort, positions, education of employees along with their responsibilities.

The best possible approach to apply this theory within modern organisational context is that managers must ensure that employees of the organisation achieve the performance level which is they are aiming for.

Literature gap

Considering the existing literature on employee satisfaction and well being of employees, it is seen that organisational examples are rarely introduced. Therefore, the main aim of this research will be to identify the influence of employee well being on the performance of employees in context of Morrisons.

Research aim, objectives and questions

Aim: The aim of this research is to identify how could work environment influence employee’s wellbeing that can influence their performance in business in context of Morrisons

Questions:

  1. What is employee environment in general term?

  2. How employee environment reflect performance of potential workforce?

  3. Why maintaining positive employee environment is significant for wellbeing of employee and their productivity?

Objectives:

  • To assess the working environment of Morrisons to enhance employee wellbeing under marketing department

  • To measure relationship between business working environment and employee’s wellbeing

  • To evaluate impact of employee environment over business performance



C) Justification and contextualisation

Why is your research important?

This research has huge importance as it is mainly focusing on the contemporary issues within the workplace. In modern workplaces, it has been seen that retention of employees within the organisation is directly connected with the performance and reputation of the organisation. With the help of this research, the researcher will effectively highlight key factors of work environment which are influencing the well being and performance of employees. Along with that, the researcher will also focus on the work-life balance of employees within the context of Morrisons by which well being of employees will be effectively identified by the researcher. With the help of collected data, the organisation can effectively evaluate the contemporary internal condition within the organisation, and new strategies could be effectively introduced by the management of the organisation.

Why is it important to find what you are trying to find?

The researcher will mainly focus on the perception of employees and managers regarding the well being of employees and factors which are influencing their well being. Along with that, factors which are influencing their performance will also be evaluated through this research which is essentially important for the managers of the organisation. One of the main issues that is influencing Morrisons in recent years is the employee retention which was directly influencing the consumer loyalty. Because of inappropriate performance, the number of satisfied consumers was decreasing. This research will identify the issues that the employees are facing regarding well-being within the workplace.

How will it build on the existing body of evidence?

The researcher had introduced objectives and the main motive of this research will be to satisfy the research objectives. In past few years especially in the second half of 2019, it has been seen that the organisation had achieved negative growth minus two percent (statista.com, 2020). Based on such evidence, the researcher will effectively focus on the well being of employees within the organisation in order to find out the factors which are influencing them. Effective first hand data will be collected from the existing employees and managers of the organisation will be collected in order to fulfil the objectives of the research work.

Is it timely? Does it respond to an existing need? What makes it so?

The research will be done considering the contemporary crisis of the organisation as the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020, the sales of the organisation has declined which shows that performance of employees in this period is declined. Therefore, it is important for the organisation to identify the actual issues that the employees of the organisation is facing and based on such data, the management of the company can introduce effective strategies through which better position within the competitive market could be achieved by the organisation. Along with that, retaining skilful employees will also be easier through this approach.

D) Methodology

Research methodology

Research Philosophy

A research philosophy is mainly a belief where data regarding a phenomenon is effectively gathered by a researcher and such data is properly analysed and used by the researchers (Lucas, 2016). Among different types of philosophies, the researcher will focus on Positivism Philosophy, as it will effectively introduce opportunities to collect data from natural phenomenon. Such approach helps to conduct primary research effectively.

Research Approach

The research approach is mainly considered as the plan consisting an effective and detailed approach of data collection and interpretation of data (Da Veiga, 2016). The researcher will follow the Deductive approach within the research as it helps to explore the known theory and gather data in order to support or deny the known theory. With this approach, the researcher will gather data through primary data collection process in order to acquire first hand data for the research work.

Research Design

There are different types of research designs which are formally followed by researchers in order to gather data accordingly. Researchers according to the demand of the research follow different types of research designs such as Exploratory and Conclusive designs and data collection processes (Dougherty et al., 2019). Researchers follow exploratory designs when numeric data are not collected and data is based on explanation and experience. For this particular research work, the researcher will follow descriptive design, which is the part of the conclusive research design by which; the researcher will be able to collect numeric data from the selected sample for the research work.

Data collection Process

There are different processes through which a researcher can acquire data in order to satisfy the objectives of the research work. One of the processes is known as Primary data collection process where the researcher mainly collects first hand data from the target sample (Schoonenboom and Johnson, 2017). There are mainly two types of primary data collection approaches which are Primary qualitative and Primary quantitative. Within Primary qualitative process, the researcher mainly focuses on the interview process to collect data in order to acquire conceptual data from the target population of the research work (Vermaas and Vial, 2018). Along with that, the researcher in order to collect numeric data and introduce more structured results to the research questions also acquires Primary Quantitative data collection process. Within this contemporary research work, the researcher will follow both Qualitative and Quantitative data collection approach by which better and effective results could be acquired by the researcher for the research.

Sample Size and techniques

For a research work, sample size holds huge importance as it highlights the time which will be needed for the research work. Along with that, availability of more data also reduces the chances to acquire biased data however such research takes more resources. For this research work, the researcher will consider 2 managers of the organisation for qualitative data collection approach and along with that 20 employees will be acquired for the quantitative data collection process. Online survey tools will be used in order to collect data from the survey. Along with that, the researcher with the help of telephonic interview will collect qualitative data. For the quantitative data collection process, the researcher will use simple random sampling technique.

Data analysis equipments

For the quantitative data, the researcher will use numeric method to calculate the percentage and the data will be introduced according to the percentage. Along with the, interview data will be analysed after analysing the information acquired through telephonic interview.

Alternative approach of data collection

The researcher had considered alternative methods of data collection method as initially, the researcher had though including secondary research too and removing the qualitative data collection process. However, considering the objectives and the research questions of the research, it will be more prolific to acquire only first hand data and knowing the perspective of both employers and employees will be beneficial to avoid biased answers.

Access and Ethics

Within the ongoing pandemic situation, accessibility is one of the key issues especially within the primary research. In order to mitigate such issue, the researcher will ask permission for the interview and survey by stating the purpose of the data collection process from the HR department of the organisation. Online survey tool will be used for the online survey process and telephonic interview will be done with the managers of the organisation in order to acquire appropriate data for the research work.

The researcher will follow appropriate ethical approach for the research work as data protection rules introduced by GDPR will be followed by the researcher (Schneider et al., 2016). Any personal information of participants will not be disclosed and data will be used only for research purpose. Data will be stored within personal laptops which will be protected with encrypted passwords.

Limitations

The main limitation of the research is the limited sample size, as the researcher will use small number of samples for the research work. Along with that, the researcher will not follow secondary research method.

Time Line

Figure 1: Gantt chart



E) Bibliography

Barakat, A. and Moussa, F., 2017. Using the expectancy theory framework to explain the motivation to participate in a consumer boycott. Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness11(3).

Chandra, T., 2016. The Influence of Leadership Styles, Work Environment and Job Satisfaction of Employee Performance--Studies in the School of SMPN 10 Surabaya. International Education Studies9(1), pp.131-140.

Da Veiga, A., 2016, July. A cybersecurity culture research philosophy and approach to develop a valid and reliable measuring instrument. In 2016 SAI Computing Conference (SAI) (pp. 1006-1015). IEEE.

Dougherty, M.R., Slevc, L.R. and Grand, J.A., 2019. Making research evaluation more transparent: Aligning research philosophy, institutional values, and reporting. Perspectives on Psychological Science14(3), pp.361-375.

Ghauri, P., Grønhaug, K. and Strange, R., 2020. Research methods in business studies. Cambridge University Press.

Hanaysha, J., 2016. Testing the effects of employee engagement, work environment, and organizational learning on organizational commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences229(8), pp.289-297.

Inuwa, M., 2016. Job satisfaction and employee performance: An empirical approach. The Millennium University Journal1(1), pp.90-103.

Kristanti, D. and Pangastuti, R.L., 2019. EFFECT OF WORK STRESS, WORK MOTIVATION, AND WORK ENVIRONMENT TO EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE PRODUCTION PART. Business and Finance Journal4(2), pp.105-114.

Lloyd, R. and Mertens, D., 2018. Expecting more out of Expectancy Theory: History urges inclusion of the social context. International Management Review14(1), pp.28-43.

Lucas, R., 2016. Research methods for architecture. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Pawirosumarto, S., Sarjana, P.K. and Gunawan, R., 2017. The effect of work environment, leadership style, and organizational culture towards job satisfaction and its implication towards employee performance in Parador Hotels and Resorts, Indonesia. International Journal of Law and Management.

Pradhan, R.K. and Jena, L.K., 2017. Employee performance at workplace: Conceptual model and empirical validation. Business Perspectives and Research5(1), pp.69-85.

Schneider, Z., Whitehead, D., LoBiondo-Wood, G., Faan, P.R., Haber, J. and Faan, P.R., 2016. Nursing and midwifery research: Methods and appraisal for evidence based practice. Elsevier.

Schoonenboom, J. and Johnson, R.B., 2017. How to construct a mixed methods research design. KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie69(2), pp.107-131.

statista.com 2020 Morrisons sales growth year-on-year in Great Britain 2015-2020 [Online] Available At: https://www.statista.com/statistics/386745/morrisons-sales-percentage-change-great-britain-uk/#:~:text=Morrisons%20operates%20491%20stores%20across,in%20the%20same%20financial%20year. [Accessed 2nd January 2020]

Vermaas, P.E. and Vial, S. eds., 2018. Advancements in the Philosophy of Design. Springer International Publishing.



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