High-involvement Work Processes and Employee Outcomes: A New Zealand Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the outcomes of a high-involvement work process for employees in a large New Zealand organisation, specifically focusing on a comparison between employee outcomes across three difference worksites within this company. A mixed-method research design was employed in this study, where the primary data collection tool was in the form of a quantitative employee questionnaire (n = 292). The qualitative data collected was used to establish the context of this study and to assist in the interpretation of the quantitative results. The primary research question of the thesis was: has the high-involvement work process improved outcomes for employees, and how so? Data analysis indicates that the high-involvement work processes used at one of the three sites have not enhanced employee outcomes beyond those found at the other two operational sites. However, it was found that these results were influenced by a range of contextual factors, with the true reality being that employees have been provided with an opportunity to increase their abilities (and employability) across a wide range of skill sets, and have also been provided with a range of opportunities to utilise these skills in the form of problem-solving and decision-making, indicating that this work design does provide employees with the ability, motivation and opportunity to perform (Boxall and Macky, 2007). The greatest benefit to employees appears to be driven by higher levels of power, as this variable was strongly associated with outcomes across all three sites. Overall, the path to higher involvement largely operates through greater skill utilisation which suggests that allowing employees to use more of their capabilities increases their affective commitment to the organisation. Literature in this field (e.g. Boxall and Macky, 2007) indicates that job satisfaction and affective commitment are linked to higher productivity and lower turnover in organisations, which ultimately results in higher profitability -- an outcome of benefit to both employees and employers.