Worker well-being and the role of trade unions, workers and employers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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Date
2022
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Massey University
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Abstract
Union benefits extend beyond members to all of society by boosting wages, improving conditions, facilitating democratic participation, and providing opportunities for socialisation. The decline in union coverage in recent decades combined with unions’ preference for representing workers’ terms, conditions, and political interests with persistent ideological opposition to unions may impede revitalisation. This qualitative research uses thematic content analysis to explore the employment relationship to understand how unions, employers, and employees interact to determine participants’ views on the meaning of well-being related to work. The study also asks how employees assess the effectiveness of well-being initiatives offered by employers. The study sits within the context of a unionised work environment, a university in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), to explore these questions with participants who are employed in professional roles to explore their thoughts, knowledge, and feelings about the roles of the parties to the employment relationship in a unionised work environment. Prior research concerning unions and well-being has focused on job satisfaction as a domain of overall well-being, with union members thought to be more unsatisfied with their work than non-union members. However, recent scholarship has found positive well-being associations with unionisation that reach beyond members to all of society. Furthermore, extant research suggests that the work environment as set by employers also plays a significant role in influencing employee well-being. It shows that career progression and job security are priorities for workers, and some scholars have proposed that to aid union revitalisation, unions should work to address these workplace issues. Employee well-being combines subjective positive feelings with feelings of satisfaction with work. This study asks employees in professional roles in a NZ university how they describe the contributors to their well-being at work while exploring the roles of the employee, the union, and the employer. Following a pilot interview, empirical material was gathered via 10 semi-structured interviews with Professional staff in a university who were recruited via a purposive snowball sampling technique. Participants described work-related well-being as a range of positively experienced factors within an enabling organisational environment. These factors included job satisfaction, expectations for career progression, physical and psychological health and safety, job satisfaction, and hauora (Māori philosophy of health and well-being unique to New Zealand). Generally, participants did not view well-being initiatives favourably, except where they serve a specific purpose. Rather than well-being initiatives, participants would prefer their employer facilitate a healthy work environment that embeds collaborative relationships, supportive management structures, fair reward and recognition, and opportunities for career progression. While the union was appreciated for having achieved favourable terms and conditions, it was not directly linked to participant stories of work-related well-being. In keeping with the literature, participants attributed the employer with setting the environment that impacts work-related well-being. The findings have important implications for employee and work-related well-being theories because they use a qualitative methodological approach by considering the breadth and depth of employee experiences in the context of a unique social and environmental context. The findings also provide insight into possible policy paths for governments aiming to improve citizen well-being by promoting pro-union policies. Furthermore, the findings imply that organisations might increase performance and productivity by cultivating trusting relationships with employees and co-designing well-being initiatives.