Consequences of direct involvement in change for employee well-being

Abstract

Decades of research e.g. of the demandcontrol model indicates that control in work has positive effects on employees’ well-being. However, there is less research into the consequences of employee involvement in change processes for the employees working environment and well-being. It is widely recognized that change processes may have negative health effects, however, less is known about the possible positive consequences of employee involvement. The paper builds on a literature review of the last 15 years scientific research articles related to the consequences of formalized, direct employee influence and involvement during major change processes for the employees’ working environment and well-being with a particular focus on the public sector. The conclusion is that relatively little can be said about the well-being effects of employee involvement in change from a strong evidence based viewpoint. This may in parts be attributed to the complexity of such studies. However, the review indicates that formal, direct influence under the right conditions may have a positive effect on employee well-being. These conditions include a positive managerial environment with well-defined goals, clear communication, willingness to involve employees and trust; competent middle managers; trained and interested employees; and constructive labor-management collaboration. Furthermore, concrete methods for involvement are described in some of the articles.