Work and well-being in teams

This thesis examines work and well-being in relationship to teamwork in two organisations employing professionals; one organising work in Japanese style teams and one with self-managing work teams. It offers a critique of current research on employee well-being in teams and outlines some ways forward for filling in the gaps in existing research. Using two case studies, the working conditions may be in teamwork organisations are investigated. Second, the moderating effects of teamwork on the relationship between working conditions and employee well-being are investigated. Third, this thesis examines which aspects of teamwork may have a particularly strong moderating effect on the relationship between poor management and employee well-being, with a particular focus on the claim that social support is the main reason why working in teams may improve employee well-being. Finally, following on from the results of the moderating effects, the importance of opportunities for learning and innovation and supportive management for employee well-being are investigated in self-managing work teams. The conclusion of this thesis is that implementing teamwork in organisations may only have limited benefits for employee well-being. Where such effects are found they can be explained by sources of social support and team support for innovation. Finally, it was found that whilst working in self-managing work teams predicts opportunities for learning and innovation, the relationship between such opportunities and employee well-being are mediated by a supportive management. The results of this thesis are discussed in view of the importance of conducting detailed risk assessments and how teamwork should be best supported to achieve the potential benefits of working in teamwork organisations.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo