Improving Performance and Quality of Working Life: A Model for Organizational Health Assessment in Emerging Enterprises

The organization of work has been addressed through numerous perspectives by a diverse set of disciplines. While job stress research has focused on the promotion of worker well-being, contem-porary business-improvement initiatives (e.g., lean manufacturing, six sigma) have sought to opti-mize effectiveness through work processes. However, these two aims, although traditionally viewed as contradictory, are actually interdependent variables in the determination of long-term profitabil-ity. The concept of organizational health blends the pursuit of individual wellness with organiza-tional effectiveness to yield a strategy for economic resilience. This article introduces a novel model for organizational health assessment using a systemic approach that addresses work factors at the individual, job, process, and organizational levels. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1