Author: Graham Lowe

Managers increasingly understand that employee engagement is a prerequisite for high performance. This article examines how job, work environment, management and organizational factors influence levels of engagement among healthcare employees. Original data come from the Ontario Hospital Association-NRC Picker Employee Experience Survey, involving over 10,000 employees in 16 Ontario hospitals. The article provides a clear definition and measure of engagement relevant to healthcare. In addition to identifying the main drivers of engagement, findings shows that a high level of employee engagement is related to retention, patient-centred care, patient safety culture and employees’ positive assessments of the quality of care or services provided by their team. Implications of these findings for healthcare leaders are briefly considered.
For the entire issue of Healthcare Quarterly (Vol. 15, no. 2) go to: http://www.longwoods.com/publications/healthcare-quarterly/22899?utm_source=Longwoods+Master+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=979422d2d2-HQ_15_2_TOC_Alert6_11_2012&utm_medium=email
Article PDF

Graham Lowe will deliver a keynote address at the IPMA-Canada 2012 National Conference, Regina, 29 May 2012
Workplace expert Graham Lowe will challenge you to think about how organizations can become more sustainable in human terms. The key is designing a healthy organization. Just as healthy people are vigorous, thriving, resilient, and fit, Graham shows how you can foster the same qualities in your organizations. The session will describe the four building blocks of a healthy organization: a positive culture, an inclusive approach to leadership, a vibrant work environment, and inspired employees. By putting these building blocks in place, you will be able to forge stronger people-performance links that enable sustainable success.
For more information: http://www.ipma-aigp.ca/conferences/2012Trifold.pdf

Metrics matter. The biggest gap in measuring the performance of healthcare organizations is the quality of the work environment. This article makes the case for a common, national framework for measuring and reporting healthcare work environments.
Article PDF

Graham will give a one-hour presentation to the Calgary branch of the Strategic Capability Network.
Date : April 17th, 2012
Time : doors open at 7:00 am, presentation runs from 7:30-8:30, Q&A until 8:45, networking until 9:30.
Place : Enbridge 18th floor, 425 – 1 Street SW
Cost : SCN Members- free; Non-member: $30 + GST.
A light breakfast will be offered.
Dress Code is Business Casual.
To Register: Visit our website at www.scnetwork.ca or leave a message at 403.217.2989

Two recent studies shed new light on how sleep and work are linked, with major consequences for worker well-being. Interestingly, these studies take very different perspectives: one is by medical researchers, the other by management researchers. But they agree on one thing: if you don’t get enough quality sleep, your health and possibly that of your co-workers is at risk.

The first study, conducted by researchers at Harvard’s School of Public Health, is a large scale study of type-2 diabetes among women. It adds to other research showing how shift work can increase the risks of cancer and heart disease. In this study, working rotating shifts over several years or more had greatly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The women studied were nurses, which says something about the unintended human cost of providing 24/7 healthcare, although there are alternatives to rotating shifts.

The second study, from the October 2011 issue of the Academy of Management Journal, looks at the effects of sleep deprivation on workplace deviance. What’s significant is the publication of an article on this topic in a leading management journal, given that sleep has received scant attention from organizational researchers. If you get 6 or fewer hours sleep you are sleep deprived. In this study, sleep deprivation was related to reduced self-control (particularly, being able to regulate your emotions) and increased hostility. As the study’s authors point out, the connection between sleep deprivation and reduced self-control can have serious implications in terms of safety, anti-social behaviours, deviance, and customer service.

Both studies involved groups of nurses, which should encourage healthcare employers to take a much closer look at the implications of work schedules and hours on individuals and teams.

 

Graham Lowe Group’s culture audit report and recommendations of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s dialysis unit is made public by PRHC.
PRHC press release

CoreHealth : The Expert is IN Webinar.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 10:05 AM – 11:05 AM PST
Presentations by Graham Lowe on “How Vibrant Workplaces Inspire Employees to Achieve Sustainable Success” and by Allan Smofsky and Debra Welsh, on : Improving Health & Well-Being in the Workplace: A cross-border approach.”
To register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/336195618

Earlier this fall I presented at the Innovative Employer Roundtable hosted by University of Kentucky’s Institute for Workplace Innovation (IWIN). IWIN is a unique university-employer think tank. Its new report on healthy organizations offers insights for Canadian employers on how organizational culture can help improve employee health.

Employers today face a host of challenges in human resource management as budgets contract, the workforce ages, health care costs mount and chronic disease becomes a chronic concern. Research reveals that these challenges are interlinked with employee health— presenting vast opportunities for innovative problem-solving strategies. One  strategy that has gained attention in recent years is the push for healthy organizations, where employee health and wellness is integrated into the culture, operations, and business strategy of the organization. Although many employers increasingly understand the opportunities offered by a healthy work environment, many do not know how to begin the transition into actually creating one. The Institute for Workplace Innovation’s new report, Creating Healthy Organizations: Promising Practices in Kentucky examines best practice examples among employers in that region and provides evidence-based tools for developing worksite wellness initiatives.

Sponsors for the research reported include the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, CVS Caremark, and UK HealthCare. This report provides employers with a process to create healthy organizations (through the HealthIntegrated Model) and case studies that illustrate how Kentucky employers are integrating health and wellness into their culture and business processes.

A HealthIntegrated Organization is an organization that strategically integrates employee health and well-being into its culture and business objectives through collaborative and comprehensive initiatives, policies and practices to achieve positive organizational and employee outcomes. A review of the literature and analysis of employer interviews informed the development of the HealthIntegrated Model, which consists of five key dimensions and four essential business processes. This model provides a tool for integrating health into organizations’ culture and operations.

To download the report, go to: http://www.uky.edu/Centers/iwin/index.html

Keynote talk by Graham Lowe at the Conference Board of Canada’s Council on Workplace Health and Wellness meeting in Calgary AB. October 21st, 2011.

Presentation by Graham Lowe at the Innovative Employer Roundtable, University of Kentucky Institite for Workplace Innovation, Louisville KY, October 13th, 2011.