ABSTRACT
Few people today would dispute the connection between an organization's health and the health of its employees. If an organization's health is measured based on any number of financial indicators such as return on investment, revenue, and profitability, it is clear that the organization's health has implications for employees’ health and well-being. The organization's health determines, at least in part, the organization's side of the employee–organization relationship (EOR). That is, the health of the organization is a significant determinant of the investments that an organization can make in employees and the obligations it sets forth in the exchange relationship with employees, either individually or as a group through the policies and practices that can be implemented. These policies and practices affect employees’ experience of the work environment and can directly affect employees’ health. In addition, the investments and organizational obligations to employees establish a press to reciprocate as evidenced by employees’ felt obligations to the organization and the actual contributions that they make to the organization, which affect the organization's health in turn. The ability of employees to reciprocate depends, at least in part, on their individual health. This dynamic cycle of the EOR leads to their experience of positive or negative emotions. Therefore, the health of the organization and the health of employees are inextricably intertwined as shown in Figure 18.1.
