Demand for Research on Workplace Satisfaction - Coursework Example

DEMAND FOR RESEARCH ON WORKPLACE SATISFACTION By Student’s Name Code + Name of Course Professor/Tutor Institution City/State Date Introduction There has been augmented need for determining happiness derived from working in any organization. This has led to an increase in theoretical and quantitative studies of positive, negative and happiness effects on the wellbeing and the quality of life that leads to satisfaction of employees. Current research increasingly combines economics with different other field like sociology and psychology in determining the wellbeing of employees. Happiness-related metrics, rather than income, profit or wealth are considered in these analyses. Research needs to be well developed in the highly dynamic business environment in order to assist in the development of surveys, indices, and methods for measuring happiness (Hatch & Cunliffe 2006, pg. 4). This will provide businesses with the tools and knowledge for building positive relationships of employees and in establishing a positive environment for working. This essay analyzes the application of values and identities and the systems approach theories in the financial review article on the necessity for research in order to establish individual wellbeing and organization performance. Additionally, the essay looks at the delays within systems and the factors causing the delays in research on workplace well-being. Theory 1: Values and Identities The financial article on the need for studies on the wellbeing of a business highlights that there are many worldwide trends, which correspond with the increasing need for research (Lebihan 2011, pg. 27). This research should focus on the association between individual wellbeing, organization well-being, and performance of organizations. Values, which influence employee attitudes, loyalty, burnout tendencies, passion factors, competitive intelligence, and workplace climate, are major indicators of employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention (Harter, Frank & Corey 2003, pg. 205). Research should focus on developing and reinforcing the satisfaction of employees in order to derive the most from the existing human capital. The latest research is likely to depict that the well-being of employees is a good predictor of individual’s productivity rather than their job satisfaction. This has been established as a key organizational performance determinant and the major driver of engagement of employees. The wellbeing of employees is a subjective condition, which assumes the social, emotional, physical, developmental, and occupational concerns in the context of a workplace (Diener 2009, pg. 6). Studies by Diener (2009, pg. 13), reveal that this satisfaction greatly varies between different sectors and workforce. Usually, this satisfaction cannot be established by mere observation or management intuition. For this reason, there are many positive psychology programs, workshops, and courses rising up globally and this research field is growing enormously (Lebihan 2011, pg. 27). By developing metrics on individual’s wellbeing comprehensively and directly across all significant levels, businesses can be able to provide a strong approach, which is based on priorities, facts, and needs. Obtaining material objects by individuals provides social meanings, but they also act as functional symbols of self-expression and identity. By establishing individual’s well-being comprehension and directly, organizations can develop a positive corporate culture, which lays the basis for a helpful work culture. All these require a cultural basis of performance and are based on the foundations of trust, engagement, and commitment in any organization (Feather& Katrin 2004, pg. 81). Furthermore, managers also display behavior, which reflects these principles. Managers affect the ways that individuals behave towards one another and if the conduct is based on engagement, commitment, and trust, employees react by feeling psychologically better and functioning at their highest performance peak. However, there are great delays in research in coming up with independent metrics, which determine the associations between worker’s well-being and their performance indicators. According to Schappe (1998, pg. 279), management teams merely employ the findings to generate evidence-based, individual strategies, which deal with the primary challenges that impair organizational performance. Thus, there is a great delay in this approach because of the challenge of using proven scientific methodologies on research on workplace productivity (Lebihan 2011, pg. 27). For instance, the Gross Domestic Product has always been used as a traditional outcome measure of developmental economics and has been widely used to benchmark fruitful public policy creativities (Park, Christopher & Seligman 2004, pg. 603). Furthermore, GDP indicates the key objective of decisions of major global economic organizations. However, the GDP measure is a biased metric of global growth because it fails to depict the information required on individual well-being. The metric registers positive success of several economic activities, which are damaging to individual well-being (Lebihan 2011, pg. 27). GDP measures additions in economic activities, which occur in a nation, but it never reflects how much that particular economic gain endures within that state. The measure also emphasizes on the expansion of per capita income, but fails to consider the spread of the economic welfares within that state. Therefore, the need for more research on satisfaction in the workplace is imminent. Another significant aspect is work-life stability. Whereas some Scandinavian countries occasionally boast of high GDPs, the mean workweek is usually no more than 36 hours every week. This is quite different in America where most employees may be the hardest occupied workers in Western nations, working for extra hours than in other states. This represents a negative net rise in the standards of living. Studies by Feather and Katrin (2004, pg. 87) of individuals is important in determining the average of happiness of individuals. This is established through a combination of personal wealth, optimism, and possessions. It has been discovered that increasing income levels does not necessarily generate into increased happiness, but is dependent on employees being positive, not being over ambitious, and the typical individual being able to meet their expenses. Therefore, income is important. The impact of the delay in research has led to inaccurate measures of ascertaining different levels of happiness and employee satisfaction. Apparently, most individuals customarily grow wealthier in their lifetime, but they do not show satisfaction. These individuals do not get happier. Instead, they obtain their happiness from social, community, and family networks to improve their bring joy to their personal lives (Neuman 201, pg. 19). For this reason, people are demanding for evidence that employees or higher levels of wellbeing or the employees are more fruitful and that streams through to a business that is more profitable or more functional. This has led to the need of more research on the business and well-being of employees. With this evidence, there will be more confidence in the analysis of issues. Nevertheless, it is argued that the measure of productivity for this theory does not depict the real situation on the ground (Lebihan 2011, pg. 27). This is because, in some countries, the per capita income does not connect directly with the individual’s sense of well- being. The effect of this is limited interventions over the evidence or scientific approaches for depicting the benefits of values and identities. Theory 2: Systems Dynamics This theory purports that there is increasing demand in different fields related to research on the science of happiness, positive psychology, and confident organizational scholarship. In the systems method, (positive psychology), the reflection of what constitutes good and better life is considered (Lebihan 2011, pg. 27). Employers of the organizations best describe Corporate and workplace wellbeing programs. Sponsored services are designed to maintain or promote good employee health. This approach considers different organizational dynamics in the provision of organizational intervention, assessment, and development services in order to augment the overall efficiency of individuals within their workplaces. Great changes come about with an increasing demand in evidence-based research on individual wellbeing and improved job satisfaction (Luthans 2002, pg. 695). Maani and Cavana (2007, pg. 12) suggest that happiness is different from the absence of misery and more than the nonexistence of debilitation and disease. Successful organizations with phenomenal unified teams are better and with positive environment are delightfully different from working within organizations that are spiraling downwards and with dispirited teams. Apparently, organizations, with the phenomenal team, which experience upward cycles experience greater abilities; they are more likely to coalesce together and manage the situation. Thus, it is imperative that institutions develop mechanisms for laying the ground for scholarly studies of the positive eccentricity of successful businesses in order to come up with principles for administrations to implement (Wright 2003, pg. 438). This will ensure that these organizations attain success in all tenets of the organizational well being. It is poised that with randomized, and careful longitudinal researches, many effective ways of establishing satisfaction and happiness will be achieved. For instance, for a positive psychological ability and positive organizational scholarship to succeed additional, there must be constructive and extensive research foundations, valid measures, and sufficient theories to support them. Additionally, it has to be home made in order to render it open for development and convenient for performance development (Linley, Harrington, & Meagan 2006, pg. 3). Lastly, institutions within Australia should primarily conduct research on developing, measuring, and managing happiness at the individual, micro level. A nation-like criterion would differentiate positive organizational scholarship from other helpful approaches, which focus on positive elements, while its eminence on individual-level theories separates it from positive standpoints that look at positive administrations as well as their associated macro metrics and variables (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn 2003, pg. 5). Positive psychology as a branch of science deals with positive human functioning. Whereas traditional psychology focuses on eliminating the suffering from diseases such as anxiety and depression, positive psychology establishes methods of assisting healthy individuals, communities, and organizations to grow and excel. Research on applied positive psychology will assist in finding solutions on what it takes organizations to prosper. The research will also establish what successful individuals or organizations do well as well as how individuals can become more fulfilled and engaged at work and in their lives (Lebihan 2011, pg. 30). Research will also establish how to attain the experiences of greater satisfaction in different undertakings, and how to make lasting positive performance changes. As positive performance, involvements become entrenched within the individual improvement business, the amalgamation of organizational coaching and scientific vigor has to be adopted. This entails the development of research-based methodologies that can gain traction within conventional organizational programs or courses. In future, attention should turn to examining research on the science of happiness, positive psychology, and confident organizational scholarship. The need for extra research is significant because there is more emphasis being placed tactical management in organizations because of globalization, the integration of economies, and financial crises. The delay in coming up with substantial research bodies on demonstrating the individual and organizational experience generate into less personal fulfillment as well as limiting the way organizations can exploit healthier, and more engaged employees (Lebihan 2011, pg. 30). This is usually referred to as Positive Psychology or the Science of Happiness (Ostroff 1992, pg. 963). The impact of not realizing this delay is that it is unlikely that very little will be known about the impact this growing science on individuals, communities, and organizations in the near future. The field has great potential of open space. However, the micro answers are considered insufficient in fixing gaps in research. Thus, there is a necessity of looking at the problem from all perspectives. Limited research on positive psychology has occurred, hence less people in the mainstream have been able to access information on individual wellbeing and workplace satisfaction. Many organizations are opting for establishing research bodies to respond to the query on bringing sustainable well-being to their organizations. This demonstrates a negative impact on people due to inadequate information in tackling questions about performance and flourishing of humans (Luthans 2002, pg. 695). Thus, there is a need for more familiarization by research-authenticated inferences that develop maintainable organizational performance and wellbeing. Delays in effecting these mechanisms lead to the problem of low productivity because of limited resources in Australia. Nevertheless, there is a need for better and more innovative ways of gaining efficiencies in the workplace and these are associated with wellbeing of employees and engagement with these issues. The problem with addressing wellbeing in organizations is that people consider this as a soft issue (Lebihan 2011, pg. 30). Furthermore, there is the challenge of walking on the masculine ends of an organization or the masculine cultures or the male dominated business ends in order for issues of wellbeing to be taken seriously. Research in this field will be appropriate in order to conduct preliminary analyses for determining the emphasis on the challenges of organizations, which may associate with communication, change management, conflict issues as well as strategies for development and planning. In conclusion, there has been a rise in theoretical and quantitative research studies of positive, negative and happiness effects on the quality of life and individual wellbeing that leads to satisfaction of employees. The studies will offer businesses with the tools and knowledge for building positive relationships of employees and in establishing a positive environment for working. The values and identities on the wellbeing of organizations highlight that there are many worldwide trends in values and cultures. These correspond with the increasing need of research. The Systems dynamic approach provides that there is increasing demand in different fields related to research on positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, and the science of happiness. However, there is need for better and more innovative ways of gaining efficiencies at the workplace and these are associated with wellbeing of employees and engagement on these issues through new research in order to addressing wellbeing in organizations as a solid issue. Bibliography Cameron, K, Dutton, J & Quinn, R 2003. Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Diener, E 2009. Culture and well-being. Dordrecht, NL: Springer. 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