An organizational design perspective on the monthly self-scheduling process in nursing homes: A multiple case study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Nursing Home Operations

Background:

• Self-scheduling in nursing homes (NH) is under-researched.
• Organizational design significantly impacts healthcare processes.
• Understanding these dynamics is crucial for effective staff management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the monthly self-scheduling process in NH.
• To determine how organizational design influences self-scheduling.
• To examine the outcomes of self-scheduling on staff and the organization.

Main Methods:

• Multiple case study design.
• Organizational design perspective.
• Semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and observations in four Belgian NH.

Main Results:

• Decentralized NH with supportive leadership and resources showed positive outcomes with self-scheduling.
• NH with misaligned organizational design experienced less positive work attitudes despite self-scheduling.
• Motivating head nurses and adequate resources are key facilitators.

Conclusions:

• Self-scheduling success depends on organizational structure and culture alignment.
• Adaptive leadership and resource allocation are vital for employee mobilization.
• Future quantitative research is recommended to validate findings.