ABSTRACT

This book brings together a number of experts in the field of organizational interventions for stress and well-being, and discusses the importance of process and context issues to the success or failure of such interventions. The book explores how context and process can be incorporated into program evaluation, providing examples of how this can be done, and offers insights that aim to improve working life.

Although there is a substantial body of research supporting a causal relationship between working conditions and employee stress and well-being, information on how to develop effective strategies to reduce or eliminate psychosocial risks in the workplace is much more scarce, ambiguous and inconclusive. Indeed, researchers in this field have so far attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational interventions to improve workers’ health and well-being, but little attention has been paid to the strategies and processes likely to enhance or undermine interventions. The focus of this volume will help to overcome this qualitative-quantitative divide.

This book discusses conceptual developments, practical applications, and methodological issues in the field. As such it is suitable for students, practitioners and researchers in the fields of organizational psychology and clinical psychology, as well as human resources management, health & safety, medicine, occupational health, risk management and public health.

chapter 1|17 pages

Organizational interventions for stress and well-being – an overview

ByCaroline Biron, Maria Karanika-Murray, Cary L. Cooper

part 1|165 pages

Challenges and methodological issues in organizational-level interventions

chapter 2|18 pages

Intervention development and implementation

Understanding and addressing barriers to organizational-level interventions
ByAnthony D. LaMontagne, Andrew J. Noblet, Paul A. Landsbergis

chapter 3|20 pages

Taking a multi-faceted, multilevel, and integrated perspective for addressing psychosocial issues at the workplace

ByNadine Mellor, Maria Karanika-Murray, Eleanor Waite

chapter 4|18 pages

Research in organizational interventions to improve well-being

Perspectives on organizational change and development
ByLois E. Tetrick, James Campbell Quick, Phillip L. Gilmore

chapter 5|25 pages

Psychosocial safety climate

A lead indicator of workplace psychological health and engagement and a precursor to intervention success
ByMaureen F. Dollard

chapter 6|18 pages

Perspectives on the intervention process as a special case of organizational change

BySturle D. Tvedt, Per Øysten Saksvik

chapter 7|15 pages

Does the intervention fit?

An explanatory model of intervention success and failure in complex organizational environments
ByRaymond Randall, Karina M. Nielsen

chapter 9|21 pages

What works, for whom, in which context?

Researching organizational interventions on stress and well-being using realistic evaluation principles
ByCaroline Biron

part 2|98 pages

Addressing process and context in practice

chapter 10|29 pages

Evaluation of an intervention to prevent mental health problems among correctional officers

ByRenée Bourbonnais, Nathalie Jauvin, Julie Dussault, Michel Vézina

chapter 11|22 pages

The vital role of line managers in managing psychosocial risks

ByRachel Lewis, Joanna Yarker, Emma Donaldson-Feilder

chapter 12|20 pages

The impact of process issues on stress interventions in the emergency services

ByViv Brunsden, Rowena Hill, Kevin Maguire

chapter 13|25 pages

The development of smart and practical small group interventions for work stress

ByJohn Klein Hesselink, Noortje Wiezer, Heleen den Besten, Erna de Kleijn

part 3|68 pages

Policy implications

chapter 14|28 pages

Implementation of the Management Standards for work-related stress in Great Britain1

ByColin Mackay, David Palferman, Hannah Saul, Simon Webster, Claire Packham

chapter 15|20 pages

Moving policy and practice forward

Beyond prescriptions for job characteristics
ByKevin Daniels, Maria Karanika-Murray, Nadine Mellor, Marc van Veldhoven

part 4|11 pages

Conclusions

chapter 17|9 pages

Concluding comments

Distilling the elements of successful organizational intervention implementation
ByMaria Karanika-Murray, Caroline Biron, Cary L. Cooper