“Learning wellness”: A case study of a wellbeing initiative through the lens of organisational learning

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Author
Manalang, Rameses
Date
2019Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cardiff Metropolitan University
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Research and practice on wellbeing programmes have been growing and
evolving over the years. Nevertheless, the challenges in designing, implementing and
sustaining these initiatives in organisations are also predominant in extant literature,
where the Human Resource Management (HRM) practice has taken an important role
and responsibility in promoting these initiatives. This study helps bridge HRM and
wellness, which have traditionally been separate strands of activity and research. It
investigates how a wellbeing initiative is learnt and embedded within an organisation
using the lens of organisational learning. It also aims to examine the dynamic
relationship between the learning of wellness with a number of factors including
general happiness and attitudes towards the wellness dimensions. It is a single case
study of a global manufacturing company with a strong presence in the Philippines
which spearheaded a wellness programme to its employees. Using a mixed methods
research design (QUAL & QUAN), a model of wellness learning in the organisation was
developed. This is an integrative model utilising the existing frameworks and models on
wellbeing and organisational learning. This study shows the viability of an
organisational learning lens to wellbeing programmes as an alternative or a
complementary approach to existing frameworks and models on workplace wellbeing.
Five factors in the organisational learning of wellbeing emerged. In the end, three
dominant themes also surfaced about the wellness programme in the said
organisation, namely: a social element to wellness, a work-wellness conflict and a
wellness lag. This wellness lag is driven by a structural element built-in within the
organisation, which is further compounded by the financial constraints which may come
upon certain actors, delimiting their participation in the programme. This study
endeavours to contribute to our understanding about wellbeing programmes in the
context of a developing country like the Philippines, where these initiatives are already
being identified as one of the mechanisms in nation building. This extension of
knowledge is especially useful in theory building as well as in practice in effectively
implementing these initiatives in organisations. Future researchers on wellness
programmes could further look into the learning of wellbeing in other organisational
contexts. Focus could also be made specifically on the structural, cultural, financial and
institutional elements which may impinge on these wellness programmes, using higher
order quantitative analysis methods like confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) or structural
equation modelling (SEM).
Description
PhD Thesis - School of Management
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