Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network
This study tests a central theoretical assumption of stress process and job strain models, namely that increases in employees’ control and support at work should promote well-being. To do so, we use a group-randomized field trial with longitudinal data from 867 information technology (IT) workers to...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Sage Publications
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111139 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2168-5611 |
| _version_ | 1826200853536571392 |
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| author | Moen, Phyllis Kelly, Erin L. Fan, Wen Lee, Shi-Rong Almeida, David Kossek, Ellen Ernst Buxton, Orfeu M. |
| author2 | Sloan School of Management |
| author_facet | Sloan School of Management Moen, Phyllis Kelly, Erin L. Fan, Wen Lee, Shi-Rong Almeida, David Kossek, Ellen Ernst Buxton, Orfeu M. |
| author_sort | Moen, Phyllis |
| collection | MIT |
| description | This study tests a central theoretical assumption of stress process and job strain models, namely that increases in employees’ control and support at work should promote well-being. To do so, we use a group-randomized field trial with longitudinal data from 867 information technology (IT) workers to investigate the well-being effects of STAR, an organizational intervention designed to promote greater employee control over work time and greater supervisor support for workers’ personal lives. We also offer a unique analysis of an unexpected field effect—a company merger—among workers surveyed earlier versus later in the study period, before or after the merger announcement. We find few STAR effects for the latter group, but over 12 months, STAR reduced burnout, perceived stress, and psychological distress, and increased job satisfaction, for the early survey group. STAR effects are partially mediated by increases in schedule control and declines in family-to-work conflict and burnout (an outcome and mediator) by six months. Moderating effects show that STAR benefits women in reducing psychological distress and perceived stress, and increases non-supervisory employees’ job satisfaction. This study demonstrates, with a rigorous design, that organizational-level initiatives can promote employee well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:42:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/111139 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:42:46Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Sage Publications |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1111392022-10-01T05:29:13Z Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network Moen, Phyllis Kelly, Erin L. Fan, Wen Lee, Shi-Rong Almeida, David Kossek, Ellen Ernst Buxton, Orfeu M. Sloan School of Management Kelly, Erin L. This study tests a central theoretical assumption of stress process and job strain models, namely that increases in employees’ control and support at work should promote well-being. To do so, we use a group-randomized field trial with longitudinal data from 867 information technology (IT) workers to investigate the well-being effects of STAR, an organizational intervention designed to promote greater employee control over work time and greater supervisor support for workers’ personal lives. We also offer a unique analysis of an unexpected field effect—a company merger—among workers surveyed earlier versus later in the study period, before or after the merger announcement. We find few STAR effects for the latter group, but over 12 months, STAR reduced burnout, perceived stress, and psychological distress, and increased job satisfaction, for the early survey group. STAR effects are partially mediated by increases in schedule control and declines in family-to-work conflict and burnout (an outcome and mediator) by six months. Moderating effects show that STAR benefits women in reducing psychological distress and perceived stress, and increases non-supervisory employees’ job satisfaction. This study demonstrates, with a rigorous design, that organizational-level initiatives can promote employee well-being. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant U01HD051217) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant U01HD051218) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant U01HD051256) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U.S.) (Grant U01HD051276) National Institute on Aging (Grant U01AG027669) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U01OH008788) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U01HD059773) 2017-09-06T19:48:10Z 2017-09-06T19:48:10Z 2016-01 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0003-1224 1939-8271 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111139 Moen, Phyllis et al. “Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network.” American Sociological Review 81, 1 (January 2016): 134–164 © 2016 American Sociological Association https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2168-5611 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0003122415622391 American Sociological Review Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ application/pdf Sage Publications Prof. Kelly via Shikha Sharma |
| spellingShingle | Moen, Phyllis Kelly, Erin L. Fan, Wen Lee, Shi-Rong Almeida, David Kossek, Ellen Ernst Buxton, Orfeu M. Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network |
| title | Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network |
| title_full | Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network |
| title_fullStr | Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network |
| title_short | Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network |
| title_sort | does a flexibility support organizational initiative improve high tech employees well being evidence from the work family and health network |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/111139 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2168-5611 |
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