Application of the job demands-resources model during organizational change

From February to the end of June 2010 I did a research among 211 health care workers working for different health care institutions in the Netherlands in order to examine the validity of the job demands-resources model for the wellbeing of health care workers during organizational change. The main focus was on organizational communication and its role during change. Below you can find parts of the total research report. Would you like to receive the research report or read more about it? Contact me on danielle_lek@hotmail.com

Theoretical Framework
Many organizations are continuously implementing changes to the way they do business in response to competition, a changing work force, increasing complex and changing work environments and other external pressures (Lawler, 1986; Manz, 1992; Ployhart & Bleise, 2006). Employees constantly need to adapt to these changes. Stress and increased work pressure occur in periods of change, which can cause depression, sleep deficit, and a deteriorating health (Head, Kivimaki, Martikainen, Vahtera, Ferrie, & Marmot, 2006; Vahtera, Kivimaki, Pentti, & Theorell, 2000). More organizations have to deal with changes and dynamics in their environment. It makes it necessary for organization to continually change and adapt to their environment (Boonstra, 2000; Boonstra, 2004). Research has shown that it is important to involve employees in the process of organizational change (Clampitt, De Koch, & Cashman, 2000; Elving & Bennebroek Gravenhorst, 2005).

Research of Boonstra (2000) showed that more than 70% of organizational changes in the Netherlands fail or are aborted in an early stage because the intended results are not reached. Change processes are complex and are related to factors such as the existing organizational structures, the organizational culture, distances of power within organizations and individual insecurities (Hofstede, 2005).

According to Parish, Cadwallader and Busch (2006) it is important to manage and control an organizational change properly. Employees will be ought to adapt to changes within the organization. In many cases this will lead to a disturbed work sphere (Parish, Cadwallader, & Busch, 2006). The continually going processes of change causes emotional and physical pressure to employees. Stress at work is therefore a common factor that is related to organizational change (Vakola & Nikolauo, 2005). Stress is causing less work satisfaction, more absenteeism and bad functioning in the work place. In other words, the wellbeing of employees becomes of less quality (Vakola & Nikolauo, 2005). Furthermore, stress is directly and indirectly related to organizations who work less efficient and effective (Vakola & Nikolauo, 2005). According to McHugh (1997) organizations need to take the wellbeing of employees into account when planning changes, especially in relation to the amount of stress that employees might experience during the change process. When employees are confronted with high job demands at work, such as work pressure, it induces a health process, meaning that it can result in health problems and a diminished wellbeing (Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2003; Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004).

Communication is beneficial for effectively implementing and organizing change. The communication climate consisting of the quality of the relationship between the managementand the employees, the quality of the communication within the organization and the amount of feedback, input and advice that employees are able to give is essential during organizational change (Abbasi & Hollman, 1993; Ford, 1999; Hofstede, 2005; Wanberg & Banas, 2000; Smidts, Pruyn, & Van Riel, 2001; Elving, 2005).

Organizational changes which are communicated insufficiently might lead to detrimental informal communication processes, such as rumors (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998; Bordia, Jones, Gallois, Callan, & DiFonzo, 2006). This might reinforce resistance against the initiated change, where the negative aspects of the change are exaggerated (Elving, 2006; Elving & Bennebroek Gravenhorst, 2005; Putnam, Grant, Michelson, & Cutcher, 2005). Communication is an instrument to create an interactional bonding. It is therefore important that employees receive correct, consistent, and clear information about the reason of the organizational change, how to change, why to change, what to change, and when to change. The ways formal communication processes develop are of importance by the effects on employees in terms of the correct interpretation one has about the organizational change, which might lead to resistance or willingness to change (Mack, Nelson, & Campbell-Quick, 1997). Subsequently, this may be of influence on the employees’ commitment to change (Mack, Nelson, & Campbell-Quick, 1997; Elving, 2006).

Besides formal communication, informal communication plays a role during processes of change. Informal communication differs from formal communication, because informal communication is not necessarily coming from the management of the organization and is mainly important to the preservation of the organization as social entity (Elving, 2006). Informal communication is seen as an interaction between employees, where the communication is not from official sources within the company, such as personal conversations between colleagues. The quality of the communication climate is associated with commitment to change (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998). When organizational communication is carefully managed, this will contribute to the employees’ concentration, motivation and enjoyment at work (Salanova, Bakker, & Llorens, 2006). This might lead to the experience of flow at work (Karasek, 1979; Csikszentmihalyi, 1999; Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Shaufeli, 2001; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). Flow contributes to an increase in the wellbeing of employees (LeFevre, 1988; Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). When employees are provided with job resources, such as clear organizational communication, it induces a motivational process, which can result in commitment to change (Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004; Elving & Bennebroek Gravenhorst, 2005).

Communication is an important factor for commitment to change and the wellbeing of employees during organizational change, but there are also other factors that are associated with commitment to change and the wellbeing of employees, such as the job resources and job demands introduced by the job demands-resources model (JD-R model). This research is based on the assumptions of the JD-R model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Shaufeli, 2001). The model provides a framework for studying processes by which work environment factors determine wellbeing. Job resources might lead to an increase of commitment and the wellbeing of employees. As mentioned earlier, communication is related to commitment to change and the wellbeing of employees as well (DiFonzo & Bordia, 1998; Elving & Bennebroek Gravenhorst, 2005). Good communication processes within organizations will therefore be considered as job resources. Job demands can be seen as work pressure and work overload, whereby employees need to perform a lot of tasks in a high pace, emotional workload, whereby issues at work occur that touches employees personally or physical workload, referring to tasks that require physical efforts (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001).

This research explores a relation between job resources (formal communication, informal communication and the communication climate) on the wellbeing of employees during organizational change mediated by flow. This is seen as the motivational process. Moreover, this research explores a relation between job demands (physical workload, emotional workload and work pressure) on the wellbeing of employees during organizational change, mediated by stress. This is seen as the health process. The motivational process might buffer against the diminished effects of the health process. Several research studies are already done within organizations, whereby the JD-R model is applied (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Shaufeli, 2001). However, these studies do not apply the JD-R model is cases of organizational change whereby organizational communication namely; formal communication, informal communication and the communication climate are emphasized as job resources. Therefore, in this research will be endeavored to gain more scientific knowledge and to create more understanding of job resources and job demands as predictors for the wellbeing of employees during organizational change. The research contributes to the literatures on organizational change, organizational communication and the wellbeing of employees. Furthermore, organizations may use the research as a guideline to create a way of communicating organizational change in a manner which will be effective for both the management as the employees, taking into account the relation with job demands and employees’ wellbeing.

Results
The theoretical framework was successful in revealing two different processes responsible for commitment to change and depression. The first process can be described as the motivational process starting with the perceived satisfaction of healthcare workers about the communication climate, formal communication and informal communication as job resources, which is related to commitment to change partially mediated by flow. Healthcare workers who are satisfied about organizational communication within the organization are experiencing higher levels of flow, which results in more commitment to the organizational change. In this research flow is partially mediating. It can be stated that organizational communication is essential in cases of organizational change and results in higher levels of commitment to change when employees are satisfied with the communication processes. The second process can be seen as the health process, describing how high job demands stated as physical workload, emotional workload and work pressure are associated with depression, which is mediated by stress amongst healthcare workers during organizational change. Healthcare workers experiencing high job demands are experiencing higher levels of stress, which ultimately can result in depression. Furthermore, the level of flow healthcare workers are experiencing during organizational change at work, is buffering for the effects of stress that is associated with commitment to change and depression.

These findings integrate and expand previous studies (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Shaufeli, 2001; Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2003; Demerouti, 2006) in which the JD-R model was applied. In this research the model is applied during organizational change in the healthcare industry. This study gives therefore more in depth theory on the application of the JD-R model during organizational change.

Pracical Implications
This research offers important practical implications regarding the organization and their employees. During organizational change, organizations tend to use different communication strategies in order to communicate the change to its employees. The choice for certain communication strategies is dependent on the character of the change process, which are frequently combinations of several strategies and forms of communication (Elving, 2006). This research suggests that the communication climate, formal communication and informal communication during organizational change have a relation with the employees’ commitment to change. As such, it is proposed that managers take into account the importance of organizational communication, to be carefully used as beneficial resources during organizational change. For example, managers can create a supportive communication climate, can provide clear and unambiguous formal communication and might be able to control and guide the informal communication flows during organizational change.

Furthermore, this research suggests that physical workload, emotional workload and work pressure have an association with the development of depression among employees in times of organizational change. This relation might be taken into account by managers and may be controlled in periods of change.