Case study of a municipal workplace wellness initiative : 1991-1996
Date
1997
Authors
O'Sullivan, Tracey Lynn
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Abstract
This paper describes the evolution of a municipal workplace wellness initiative over the five year time period from its inception in 1991 until 1996. The purpose of the study was to determine how the initiative evolved with respect to the development of its employee discount program to the recreation centres, employee awareness of the initiative, municipal participation in a Healthy Workplace Project, and key outcomes reported for this time period.
Qualitative content analysis was used to describe the evolution of the initiative based on 14 in-depth interviews with employees from all levels of involvement with the initiative, including committee members, senior managers and municipal councillors. Data from the interviews was triangulated with available documents pertaining to the wellness initiative, such as committee meeting minutes, agenda items, and proposals prepared for council. The qualitative data was interpreted according to predominant themes emerging from the interviews and documents, as well as researcher field notes.
A survey was used to determine the current level of awareness of the initiative and a Chi Square analysis was performed on the results. The employee awareness survey indicated that overall, the employee awareness of the initiative was low, however, more respondents were aware of programs at the municipal hall after 5 months of implementation of the walking group, wellness newsletter, bulletin board, and lunchtime seminars.
The conceptual framework used for this study was based on Bolman and Deal's (1991) framework for organizational analysis. Themes corresponding to various components of the wellness initiative were labelled according to one of four frames: structural, human resource, political, or symbolic. Each frame was associated with underlying assumptions regarding organizational behaviour.
The results indicated that the development of the Corporate Wellness Pass was dominated by the political framework as the discussion at council focused on a concern for public scrutiny regarding the use of public funds for employee benefit. Symbolically, a lack of internal marketing of the program was perceived by the employees as reluctance by the organization to offer the employees a discount. Employee awareness of the initiative was found to be low, particularly with reference to the available discount to the recreation centres.
Municipal involvement in the Healthy Workplace Project was found to have had little influence on the overall initiative and was not dominated by any one framework. Themes pertaining to the project were related to a need for leadership which was facilitative, rather than dependent for the employee-based committee, and the necessity of immediate feedback and action based on the results of an administered needs assessment survey. Identified outcomes of the initiative included the administration of the needs assessment survey, low participation in the wellness programs and a lack of employee awareness of the components of the wellness movement in the municipality. It was concluded that in order for programs to be successful, an extensive plan for internal marketing of the program within the municipality needs to be employed.
Other findings included the need for establishing management support for the initiative and the importance of employee input through the use of employee-based committees. It was also determined that flexibility needs to be employed when external consultants are used to advise wellness committees, to ensure that the needs of the organization are being met.
Finally, it was concluded that Bolman and Deal's (1991) framework for organizational analysis was useful in identifying many perspectives which may be apparent within a wellness initiative. This was perceived as relevant for wellness coordinators who must plan for circumstances where there may be multiple viewpoints.