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Related Experiment Videos

When workplace interventions lead to negative effects: learning from failures.

Birgit Aust¹, Reiner Rugulies, Annett Finken

¹National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. bma@nrcwe.dk

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health

|December 22, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Workplace interventions aimed at improving the psychosocial work environment unexpectedly worsened conditions for employees. A process evaluation revealed implementation failures, highlighting potential harm from unmet expectations.

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Area of Science:

Occupational Health
Organizational Psychology
Workplace Interventions

Background:

The psychosocial work environment significantly impacts employee well-being and organizational effectiveness.
Previous research suggests workplace interventions can improve working conditions.
A comprehensive understanding requires evaluating both outcomes and implementation processes.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the impact of workplace interventions on the psychosocial work environment.
To conduct a process evaluation to understand intervention implementation and its effect on results.

Main Methods:

A quasi-experimental study involving seven intervention and seven reference hospital units.
Interventions included discussion days, working groups, leader coaching, and communication activities.
The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ I) measured the psychosocial work environment before and after 16 months.

Main Results:

Intervention units experienced a statistically significant worsening in six of 13 psychosocial work environment scales.
Negative changes were most prominent in interpersonal relations, leadership, work organization, and job content.
Reference units showed minimal significant changes in only two scales, with implementation largely failing.

Conclusions:

Process evaluation was crucial for understanding the negative outcomes of the workplace intervention.
Failed implementation and unmet expectations may lead to more harm than not conducting an intervention.
This study underscores the importance of thoroughly evaluating intervention processes alongside outcomes.