Leadership strategies to improve employee well being

Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2021 Leadership Strategies to Improve Employee Well-Being Camille Black Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations Part of the Business Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral study by Camille Black has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made.

Review Committee Dr. Tim Truitt, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Matasha Murrelljones, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Christopher Beehner, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.

Walden University 2021 Abstract Leadership Strategies to Improve Employee Well-Being by Camille Black MS, California Lutheran University, 2016 BS, California Lutheran University, 2013 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University August 2021 Abstract Poor employee well-being because of a lack of job resources costs business leaders billions of dollars each year. Business leaders in the entertainment industry who fail to manifest strategies to increase employee well-being might decrease employee resources and increase the consequences of job demands, such as decreased organizational performance and profitability. Grounded in the job demands-resources model theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies entertainment leaders use to increase employee well-being. The participants included six entertainment executives employed at a large entertainment company in California who successfully implemented strategies that increased employees’ well-being.

Data were collected from semi-structured video conferencing interviews and analysis of publicly available organizational documentation. Data were analyzed using Yin’s five stages of data analysis. Four major themes emerged: (1) organizational leadership, (2) organizational culture, (3) barriers from job demands, and (4) job resources for employee well-being. The key recommendation for entertainment business leaders is to provide employees with job resources such as supportive supervision, promotion opportunities, essential office supplies and technology, extended healthcare benefits that include mental health services, and paid leave for employees to increase employee well-being and organizational performance.

The implications for positive social change include the possibility of improving employee health and reducing the healthcare costs for the business, employees, and their families, thus improving the health of their community. Leadership Strategies to Improve Employee Well-Being by Camille Black MS, California Lutheran University, 2016 BS, California Lutheran University, 2013 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University August 2021 APA 7 Dedication I dedicate this study to my family. My parents, Eddie and Shirley Black, have instilled the values and drive in me to accomplish my dreams. My husband, Branden Mayo, for the love, support, and understanding I needed to stay motivated.

Then, my brother Marcus Black and his children Madison, Taylor, and Carter for being my cheerleaders on this journey. Without my family, I would not have been able to accomplish my goals. The final push to complete this study was the news that my husband and I are expecting twins. I feel so blessed to have completed this journey in time to begin the journey of parenthood.

For my nieces, nephew, and the new twins, I want you all to remember that you can do anything and be anything with hard work and dedication. Acknowledgments I would first like to thank God for providing me with the strength and guidance I needed to fulfill my dreams of achieving a doctoral degree. Thank you to my parents, husband, brother, and brother’s children for the continuous love and support throughout my DBA journey. I want to thank my aunts, uncles, and cousins who served as sounding boards for my ideas and provided words of encouragement.

I would also like to thank the friends that I have made on this journey that have become my second family. I could not have gotten through this journey without your support. Thank you to Dr. Tim Truitt, Dr.

Matasha Murrell-Jones, and Dr. Christopher Beehner, who served as my committee members for my study. A special thank you to Dr. Tim Truitt, who served as my chair.

He provided me with invaluable feedback and guidance on my study that helped me progress through this process with ease. Thank you so much, Dr. Table of Contents List of Figures. iv Section 1: Foundation of the Study.1 Background of the Problem .2 Nature of the Study .6 Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations .8 Significance of the Study .8 A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature .10 Occupational Stress Models in the Workplace .10 Organizational Culture and Leadership .19 Types of Leadership Styles .24 Transformational Leadership and Employee Well-Being .29 i Employee Well-Being Strategies to Increase Retention .37 Section 2: The Project .39 Role of the Researcher .41 Research Method and Design .44 Population and Sampling .47 Data Collection Instruments .49 Data Collection Technique .51 Data Organization Technique .54 Reliability and Validity .57 Transition and Summary .59 Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change .61 Presentation of the Findings.61 ii Theme 1: Organizational Leadership .62 Theme 2: Organizational Culture.66 Theme 3: Barriers From Job Demands .71 Theme 4: Resources for Employee Well-Being .76 Applications to Professional Practice .81 Implications for Social Change .84 Recommendations for Action .85 Recommendations for Further Research .92 Appendix A: Interview Protocol .121 iii List of Figures Figure 1.

JD-R Model Diagram .15 iv 1 Section 1: Foundation of the Study Many business leaders struggle to find a balance between job demands and job resources to ensure their organization is performing optimally (Helzer & Kim, 2019). An understanding of the strategies that successful business leaders use to increase the well-being of their employees may help struggling business leaders foster environments that increase employee well-being and organizational performance, thus improving the profitability of the organization. This study explored the strategies that entertainment business leaders use to increase employee well-being in the workplace. This research will contribute to an improved understanding of the importance of devising and implementing leadership strategies that increase employee well-being, while discussing the role that job demands and resources play in creating an environment that increases employee well-being, thus improving organizational performance and profitability.

Background of the Problem The environment of the employee has a large impact on their physical and psychological well-being (Helzer & Kim, 2019). Job demands are a significant component in an employee’s work environment. Research has shown that job resources are needed to mitigate job demands to increase the overall well-being and performance of an employee, and many organizations are lacking the resources to mitigate job demands (Llorens et al., 2006; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004; Wieneke et al. Both job demands and resources can be physical, psychological, social, or organizational (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004).

Researchers have said that the well-being of an employee is the driver of organizational performance (Edwards & Marcus, 2018). Although leaders are working to promote employee well-being, some leaders are not creating work environments that promote employee engagement, motivation, and well-being (Wieneke et al. Leaders that focus on the well-being of their employees can begin to create programs and a work environment that will promote well-being and improve organizational performance (Somers et al. Problem Statement High job demands and a lack of job resources including, but not limited to, work value orientations, work flexibility, and work-life balance harm an employee’s well-being (Shevchuk et al.

Decreased physical and psychological employee well-being due to a lack of job resources has cost businesses in the United States about $300 billion a year in lost productivity (Helzer & Kim, 2019). The general business problem is that poor employee well-being costs business leaders billions of dollars each year. The specific business problem is that some business leaders in the entertainment industry lack strategies to increase employee well-being. Purpose Statement The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies that business leaders use to increase employee well-being in the entertainment industry.

The target population consisted of entertainment executives at the director and above levels at a large entertainment company in California who have been successful in improving employee well- being within their organization. The implications for positive social change included the possibility of leaders having a better understanding of effective strategies in increasing employee well-being. That, in turn, may lead to leaders taking actions that may result in positive outcomes for the organization, employees, and community. The actions that leaders take could include investment in corporate social responsibility programs that will support the community projects, such as at-risk youth programs, food pantries for the homeless, and parks and recreation areas.

3 Nature of the Study The methodology of this study was qualitative. Qualitative researchers use open-ended interview questions to conduct in-depth research inquiry and gain insight into phenomena from interviews (Yin, 2018). The qualitative method was an appropriate approach for this current study. I conducted semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions to collect data for my research to explore the strategies that business leaders use to increase employee well-being and employee productivity.

In contrast, a quantitative research method is suitable when the goal of the researcher is to test theories and examine relationships by using surveys or experiments (Brown, 2017). The mixed-methods approach is appropriate when the researcher aims to combine both qualitative and quantitative methods to answer complex research questions using interviews and surveys (McCusker & Gunaydin, 2015). The quantitative and mixed methods are inappropriate for this study because I did not test theories or examine relationships in this study. For this study, I considered the following qualitative research designs: ethnographic, narrative, and case study.

The researcher that uses the ethnographic design focuses on patterns within a culture (Comi & Whyte, 2018). In contrast, a researcher that uses a narrative design uses data that focuses on participants’ perceptions and interpretations of their lived experiences as they relate to the research topic (Alfakhri et al. These two designs were inappropriate for my study as I did not study patterns within cultures or obtain information based on the lived experiences of the participants. The case study design is suitable when the goal of the researcher is to use one or more cases to explore a phenomenon to focus on a real-world perspective (Yin, 2018).

The single case study was an appropriate design for this study because I was able to 4 conduct an in-depth analysis of the strategies that business leaders use to increase employee well-being and employee productivity. Research Question What strategies do business leaders in the entertainment industry use to increase employee well-being? Interview Questions 1. How do you define employee well-being? 2. What strategies do you use to foster a work environment that improves employee well-being? 3.

What barriers exist that hinder your ability to implement strategies that increase employee well-being in the workplace? 4. How did you overcome any challenges that arose from implementing strategies to increase employee well-being in the workplace? 5. How do you assess the overall effectiveness of the strategies for fostering a work environment that increase employee well-being? 6. What would you change in your organization’s approach to improving employee well-being? 7.

What additional information would you like to add regarding the strategies used to improving employee well-being? Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework for this study was the job demands-resources model (JD-R model). Demerouti et al. (2001) first created the JD-R model in 2001 to address how job 5 demands negatively impacted employees’ well-being, including employees’ reported stress levels. The JD-R model was later revised by Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) to show the dual process of how job demands and job resources interact to influence burnout and engagement.