AbstractsBusiness Management & Administration

Employee perceptions of high involvement work practices and burnout in health care: a conservation of resources theory perspective

by Steven Kilroy




Institution: Dublin City University
Department: DCU Business School
Year: 2015
Keywords: Personnel management; High Involvement Work Practices (HIWP); Healthcare professionals
Record ID: 1180979
Full text PDF: http://doras.dcu.ie/20417/


Abstract

The impact of high involvement work practices (HIWPs) on employee well-being outcomes is unclear as the research evidence records both positive and negative effects. However, the majority of research studies have examined the impact of HIWPs on positive well-being outcomes with scant research dedicated to examining their influence on employees health related outcomes such as burnout. Another major research gap concerns the lack of theorising and empirical work dedicated to understanding the relationship between HIWPs and well-being. This thesis introduces the very relevant and timely Conservation of Resources (COR) theory from the occupational health psychology literature to the research on HIWPs in order to explain the underlying mechanisms through which HIWPs influences a critical well-being outcome i.e. burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation). Specifically, using data from Canadian hospitals, the author tested the HIWPs-burnout link and possible mediators in three research studies. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional design in a Canadian hospital and showed that perceived HIWPs are directly and indirectly associated with lower burnout via job demands (role conflict and role overload). Study 2 employed a time lagged research design and demonstrated that perceived HIWPs do not directly impact burnout three years later. Rather, the effect of HIWPs on burnout is fully mediated by person-organisation fit. Finally, Study 3 which sampled nurses, investigated and found support for the simultaneous mediating role of a job resource (procedural justice) and job demand (role overload) in the HIWPs-burnout relationship. Further, colleague support moderated the effects of these mediators on emotional exhaustion but not depersonalisation. Overall, the three presented studies demonstrate support for the positive effects of HIWPs in the health care context while theoretically and empirically depicting the underlying mechanisms for this relationship. The implications for research and practice are illustrated by highlighting the importance of HIWPs as a critical resource for employees.