Factors associated with innovative climate: what is the role of stress?

Innovation in Healthcare: A Systematic Review of Recent Research

Research on innovations in healthcare organizations published between 1994 and 2004 are here reviewed and summarized. The majority of the 31 identified studies dealt with the adoption of innovations and new practices and were cross-sectional designs applying quantitative methods, or multiple case studies applying qualitative methods. Five pathways for future research are recommended: (a) Multilevel approaches studying innovation simultaneously on individual, group, and organizational levels; (b) a combination of quantitative and qualitative data; (c) use of longitudinal designs (innovation both as the dependent and independent variable); (d) application of experimental designs in interventions; and (e) exploration of innovation generation and structural innovations.

The connection between organizational climate and well-being at work

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the connections between organizational climate and well-being at work.

Design/methodology/approach

– Connections between perceived organizational climate and well-being at work were studied through quantitative data gathered from 24 public day-care centers in Finland.

Findings

– The unit-level analyses revealed that different types of organizational climates were connected to different types of job well-being in the unit. Organizational climate types were differentially connected to stress and cynicism, but were not connected to work engagement. Employees in units where work climate was collectively evaluated as particularly weak reported significantly lower well-being than those in units with better work climate. The most positive climates – “relaxed and friendly” and “encouraging and supportive of new ideas” – seemed to be more strongly connected to well-being than negative climates.

Originality/value

– The study confirmed and clarified the link between organizational climate and job well-being and emphasized how different climate types have varying types of connection to well-being at work.

Well-being and innovativeness: motivational trigger points for mutual enhancement

Purpose

– This paper focuses on employees’ motivation to participate in innovation at the workplace. The best arguments to persuade employees to renew their work were searched. According to the expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964), a plausible link must be perceived for a motivational state to arise. The paper investigated the perceptions that employees, team-leaders and directors have about the relationships between innovativeness and well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data consisted of thematic interviews with 14 persons from knowledge- and labour-intensive organisations in the public service sector. Data included material from directors, team-leaders and front-line workers. The theoretical model of Huhtala and Parzefall (2007) was applied to analyse perceptions about links between well-being and innovativeness.

Findings

– Results indicated that all eight possible links between well-being and innovativeness were perceived as plausible. The most common views were that high innovativeness connects to high well-being and vice versa. Additionally, low well-being was seen to decrease innovativeness. All organisational levels of knowledge- and labour-intensive organisations shared these views. More specifically, the interviewees shared the view that participating in innovation activities gives the employee opportunities to influence one’s work, which in turn leads to well-being. Another commonly shared perception was that if employees were encouraged and praised for their efforts, innovativeness would increase. These provide plausible arguments for leaders to persuade employees to participate.

Practical implications

– Practical advice about effective arguments for motivating employees is given: tell them that innovativeness is desired for, time and space is allocated for innovations, the amount of change will be managed, and the innovation activities present an opportunity to have voice.

Originality/value

– This paper shows potential motivational trigger points for enhancing the interaction between well-being and innovation.

Psychosocial work characteristics and incidence of newly diagnosed depression: a prospective cohort study of three different models

This study explored the association between psychosocial work characteristics and incidence of depression as indicated in three complementary models (the Job Strain Model, the Team Climate Model, and the Procedural Justice Model). Participants were 4815 Finnish hospital personnel (4278 women and 537 men) free from diagnosed depression at entry into the study. A baseline survey in 1998 measured psychosocial work characteristics, health-related behaviours, psychological distress, and doctor-diagnosed depression. The factor analysis of pooled questionnaire items on psychosocial work characteristics supported a five-factor solution with the following distinct dimensions: team climate, relational justice, procedural justice, job control, and job demands. Items in these dimensions were used as scales and job strain was modelled as a combination of job demands and job control. A follow-up survey in 2000 identified 225 incident cases of depression. After adjustment for age, sex and income, poor team climate, low procedural justice, and low relational justice were associated with a higher risk of new depression, the odds ratios (ORs) 1.58 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.24), 1.45 (95% CI 1.03-2.04), and 1.39 (95% CI 1.00-1.96), respectively. After additional adjustment for lifestyle factors and exclusion of those with psychological distress at baseline, there was still an association between poor team climate and risk of depression (ORs 1.55 and 1.75, respectively). Job control, work demands, and job strain did not predict the 2-year incidence of depression, and the effects of all psychosocial work characteristics were attenuated when entered simultaneously in the model. In conclusion, work unit social factors seem to be predictive of subsequent doctor-diagnosed depression, but other aspects of psychosocial work environment may also be important.