The master narrative of older employees in changing workplaces

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuukka Niemi ◽  
Kathrin Komp-Leukkunen
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Postal Service ◽  
Master Narrative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Older Employees ◽  
Mass Layoffs ◽  
Shared Narrative

PurposeInterest in older employees increases in times of population ageing. Previous research exploring the situation has underlined older employees' struggle with workplace changes. However, it has not explored their master narrative – the socially shared narrative about older employees that steers behaviour. This study explores this narrative and its differences across changing workplaces. It draws on Lyotard's suggestion that master narratives disintegrate in post-modern societies.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducts focus groups among older Finnish employees of an airline, postal service and social care. These groups experienced different kinds of workplace changes, namely mass layoffs, digitalisation and restructuring. The focus groups highlight the individuals' shared narratives, thereby pinpointing the master narrative.FindingsThe master narrative describes how simultaneous changes at the workplace and in their health lead older employees to look for ways to exit their jobs. This narrative is largely stable across workplaces, showing no disintegration but some variation.Originality/valueThis is the first study on the master narrative of older employees and its disintegration. To the authors’ knowledge, it is also the first study to use focus groups to explore a master narrative.

Assessing the readiness of sustainability reporting tools (SRTs) for an age-friendly built environment

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renard Y.J. Siew
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Older Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Property Developers

Purpose Population ageing is expected to have an increasing impact on the economy and society. In particular, it creates a myriad of challenges for stakeholders in the construction and property sectors. The design of the built environment would now need to consider the requirements of the older population in the community. This paper aims to provide a study on the readiness of mainstream sustainability reporting tools (SRTs) in helping to create an age-friendly built environment. Design/methodology/approach First, a list of criteria representing the needs of the older community in the built environment is developed based on a rigorous literature survey and is validated with five focus groups. Then, using this list, SRTs are assessed for their age-friendly readiness. Findings The findings from this study show that not only are there variations across different SRTs but also a majority do not emphasize enough on age-friendly criteria. Research limitations/implications It is suggested that mainstream SRTs should consider allocating mandatory credits for age-friendly criteria. This would definitely encourage property developers and town planners to consider and plan for the needs of the older population. Originality/value This paper is original as none of the prior studies have considered assessing the readiness of SRTs in creating an age-friendly built environment.

How preferences for types of appreciation differ across employee age groups

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul White ◽  
Gene George
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Human Resource Professionals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Older Employees ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Employee Age

Purpose Organizational leaders and human resource professionals affirm that to have (and keep) an effective workforce, understanding one’s employees is critical. Thus, understanding the differences between employees of different age groups is important. Simultaneously, studies have demonstrated the significant positive impact appreciation has on the functioning of organizations. When team members feel truly valued, numerous positive benefits result, including lower staff turnover, less absenteeism, higher customer ratings and greater profitability. Design/methodology/approach Because individuals prefer to be shown appreciation in different ways and prior research has shown some age differences, this study examined how appreciation preferences differ across seven employee age groups. Over 190,000 individuals completed an online assessment based on the five languages of appreciation, which identifies employees’ preferred ways of receiving appreciation. The respondents were separated into seven age groups, from 19 years old and younger to 70 years old and above. Findings The results of an analysis of variance found that there were significant differences across groups. Although the patterns of preferences were largely the same across many groups, post hoc analyses found both the youngest and oldest age groups differed from employees in their 30s with regards to their desire for quality time. Additionally, older employees were extremely low in their desire for tangible gifts. Originality/value As the proportion of employees shifts from older to younger groups of employees, these results raise important implications for organizations’ approaches regarding how appreciation and other motivators should be adjusted for different groups of employees.

scholarly journals The importance of a room with a view for older people with limited mobility

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Musselwhite
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Limited Mobility ◽  
Human Element ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Vantage Points ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how older people who are almost entirely housebound use a view from their window to make sense of the world and stay connected to the outside space that they cannot physically inhabit. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with 42 individuals were carried out who were living at home, were relatively immobile and had an interesting view outside they liked from one or more of their windows. Findings The findings suggest that immobile older people enjoy watching a motion-full, changing, world going on outside of their own mobility and interact and create meaning and sense, relating themselves to the outside world. Practical implications Findings suggest that those working in health and social care must realise the importance of older people observing the outdoors and create situations where that is enabled and maintained through improving vantage points and potentially using technology. Originality/value This study builds and updates work by Rowles (1981) showing that preference for views from the window involves the immediate surveillance zone but also further afield. The view can be rural or urban but should include a human element from which older people can interact through storytelling. The view often contains different flows, between mundane and mystery and intrigue, and between expected and random.

Micro‐enterprise:

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sian Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Case ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Health And Well Being

PurposeThis paper seeks to explore the potential of micro‐enterprises to assist local health and well‐being boards in delivering their strategies, especially in relation to tackling health inequalities, prevention and community support.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on experience gained by Community Catalysts from its work supporting social care and health micro‐enterprise across the UK. There has been little formal research into social care and health micro‐enterprise and so the paper relies heavily on data gathered by Community Catalysts in the course of its work and uses local case studies to illustrate points.FindingsThe paper explains the importance of social care and health micro‐enterprise to the work of health and well being boards, emphasising its potential to help tackle health inequalities and contribute to effective health and well‐being strategies.Originality/valueThere are no examples as yet of imaginative health and well‐being boards engaging effectively with micro‐providers, but boards can draw on learning from local authorities actively stimulating and supporting local micro‐enterprise.

scholarly journals Outcomes-based commissioning for social care in extra care housing: is there a future?

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall Smith ◽  
Robin Darton ◽  
Ailsa Cameron ◽  
Eleanor K. Johnson ◽  
Liz Lloyd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Resistance To Change ◽  
Care Staff ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Critical Consideration ◽  
Extra Care Housing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the process of commissioning adult social care services in England. It reflects the literature on commissioning at the strategic level followed by a section on operational or micro-commissioning. The rest of the paper focusses on the emergence of ideas about outcomes-based commissioning (OBC) in the field of adult social care and ends with critical consideration of the effectiveness of OBC in adult social care as applied to support and care provided in extra care housing. Design/methodology/approach The review of strategic and operational commissioning in adult social care in England (and Scotland in brief) is based on both policy documents and a review of the literature, as are the sources addressing OBC in adult social care particularly in extra care housing settings. Findings The core of this paper focusses on the challenges to the implementation of OBC in adult social care in the context of provision for residents in extra care housing. Of central importance are the impact of the squeeze on funding, increasing costs as a result of demographic change and the introduction of a national living wage plus the focus on the needs of service users through the idea of person-centred care and resistance to change on the part of adult social care staff and workers in other relevant settings. Originality/value Addressing the implementation of OBC in adult social care in England in the context of extra care housing.

Powerless positions, silenced voices? – critical views on health and social care management

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 590-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneli Hujala ◽  
Sanna Laulainen ◽  
Kajsa Lindberg
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Care Management ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Care Field ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Oriented Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide background to this special issue and consider how critically oriented research can be applied to health and social care management. Design/methodology/approach – Basic principles of critical management studies are introduced briefly to frame subsequent papers in this issue. Findings – In order to identify the wicked problems and darker sides of the care field, there is a need to study things in alternative ways through critical lenses. Giving a voice to those in less powerful positions may result in redefinition and redesign of conventional roles and agency of patients, volunteers and professionals and call into question the taken-for-granted understanding of health and social care management. Originality/value – The special issue as a whole was designed to enhance critical approaches to the discussion in the field of health and social care. This editorial hopefully raises awareness of CMS and serves as an opening for further discussion on critical views in the research on management and organization in this field.

Equivalent or not?

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choon Boey Lim ◽  
Duncan Bentley ◽  
Fiona Henderson ◽  
Shin Yin Pan ◽  
Vimala Devi Balakrishnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
Academic Quality ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transnational Higher Education ◽  
Partnership Model ◽  
Home Institution

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine issues academics at importing institutions face while delivering Australian degrees in Malaysia. Transnational higher education (TNE) has been widely researched. However, less widely researched is the area of understanding what academics at the offshore locations need to uphold the required academic standards of their partnered exporting universities. This area warrants close attention if Australian and other transnational education universities are to sustain their growth through a partnership model with offshore academics delivering a portion (often a substantial portion) of the teaching. Design/methodology/approach Two focus groups were conducted with a mix of long standing and newly recruited Malaysian lecturers who taught into an Australian degree through a partnership arrangement. The semi-structured questions which were used were derived from a preliminary literature review and previous internal institutional reports. Findings The findings from the focus groups indicate that TNE is largely “Australian-centric” when addressing the standard of academic quality and integrity. The findings pointed not so much to any sustained internationalisation of curriculum or administration or personnel but more as internationalisation as deemed required by the local academic. Originality/value To a greater extent, the findings highlighted that equivalent student outcomes do not necessarily equate to equivalent learning experiences or teaching workload. In fact, the frustration of the interviewees on the tension to fulfil the home institution curriculum and helping students to “comprehend” an Australian-centric curriculum translates to “additional and unrecognised workload” for the interviewees.

scholarly journals Commentary on “depression and people with a learning disability: a way forward”

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-25
Author(s):  
Peter McGill
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disability ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on Andrew Jahoda’s article “Depression and people with a learning disability: a way forward”. Design/methodology/approach The paper considers depression and other issues of psychological well-being from the perspective of the eligibility criteria for social care in England as enshrined in the 2014 Care Act. Findings There is a danger of issues of psychological well-being being seen as health rather than social care needs. A more integrated perspective is required. Originality/value The paper illustrates the importance of the role of social care provision in promoting the well-being of people with learning disabilities.

scholarly journals Developing high performance working through case study evidence

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-8
Author(s):  
Kirsteen Grant ◽  
Gillian A. Maxwell
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
Human Resource Interventions ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose This paper aims to theoretically proffer and empirically evidence five inter-related high performance working (HPW) groupings of value to practitioners interested in developing HPW in their organizations. Design/methodology/approach The empirical research is based on three UK-based qualitative case studies. Data are drawn from nine in-depth interviews with managers (three from each case) and three subsequent focus groups (one in each case). Focus groups comprised six, eight, and four employee (non-manager) interviewees. Findings The empirical findings validate the theoretical importance of the five identified HPW groupings. More, they imply a number of relationships within and between the five groupings, confirming the need to view the groupings collectively and dynamically. Originality/value The five HPW groupings provide a foundation for further research to closely evaluate the dynamism within and across the groupings. They also offer practical types of human resource interventions and actions for practitioners to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of HPW in their organizations.

scholarly journals Service user and carers perspectives of joint and integrated working between health and social care

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailsa Cameron ◽  
Lisa Bostock ◽  
Rachel Lart
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Integrated Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an update to a review of the joint working literature in the field of health and social care for adults, with particular emphasis given to the experiences of users and carers. Design/methodology/approach – The aims of the literature review remained largely the same as those of the original, they were to identify: models of joint working, evidence of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and the factors promoting or hindering the models. However, to reflect the growing interest in the experiences of users and carers a fourth aim was added to map these experiences. Given their prominence in terms of policy debates about integration, the review focused on jointly organised services for older people and people with mental health problems in the UK only. Findings – The review demonstrates tentative signs that some initiatives designed to join-up or integrate services can deliver outcomes desired by government. Importantly some studies that report the experiences of users of services and carers suggest that they perceive benefits from efforts to join-up or integrate services. However it is our contention that the evidence is less than compelling and does not justify the faith invested in the strategy by current or previous governments. Originality/value – The study updates our knowledge of the impact of joint working in the field of health and social care for adults. Importantly the paper highlights what is known about the experiences of users and carers of joint/integrated services.

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