A review of the current understanding of wellbeing in work, and the impact of remote management within a Charity Retail environment on the management of wellbeing

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine the current understanding of the concept of “wellbeing” with literature, and review how the wellbeing of employees is accounted for by managers within a charity retail network where teams are remotely placed. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was undertaken involving semi-structured interviews with 6 Area Sales Managers who were selected through convenience sampling. The majority of interviews took place face to face however some were performed over the phone. Results – Line Managers had an understanding of some areas of wellbeing however they had little confidence in their knowledge. There were varying levels of knowledge and opinion on the degree to which the organisation took action to account for wellbeing with a more predominant view that it was individual line managers that had the biggest impact on wellbeing. Remote line management did have a negative effect on the management relationship however this did not impact on the manager’s ability to detect changes in wellbeing. Managers gained their knowledge on wellbeing from previous experiences and observing their own line manager. Conclusions - There were areas for development for line managers in relation to wellbeing, with agreement that formal training was not the best way for this to happen. It was suggested that sharing of real experiences may be a more effective and witnessing positive action from their line manager was key. Line Managers should be supported to continue with the frequency of face to face visits as these are viewed as vital to the management relationship. Contribution to theory and limitations – The study contributes to the understanding of how managers gain their wellbeing skills by showing that in order for them to manage wellbeing in a successful way they must receive a positive wellbeing experience from their line manager and also share experiences and learning with each other. The study was conducted in only one area of the retail network of one charity and therefore whilst the results are of value they are not generalizable