Does high involvement management improve worker wellbeing?

Böckerman, Petri and Bryson, Alex and Ilmakunnas, Pekka (2011): Does high involvement management improve worker wellbeing?

Abstract

Employees exposed to high involvement management (HIM) practices have higher subjective wellbeing, fewer accidents but more short absence spells than “like” employees not exposed to HIM. These results are robust to extensive work, wage and sickness absence history controls. We present a model which highlights the possibility of higher short-term absence in the presence of HIM because it is more demanding than standard production and because multi-skilled HIM workers cover for one another’s short absences thus reducing the cost of replacement labour faced by the employer. We find direct empirical support for the assumptions in the model. Consistent with the model, because long-term absences entail replacement labour costs for HIM and non-HIM employers alike, long-term absences are independent of exposure to HIM.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: health; subjective wellbeing; sickness absence; job satisfaction; high involvement management; high performance work system
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M5 - Personnel Economics > M53 - Training; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J8 - Labor Standards: National and International > J81 - Working Conditions; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J28 - Safety ; Job Satisfaction ; Related Public Policy; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M5 - Personnel Economics > M54 - Labor Management; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M5 - Personnel Economics > M52 - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I10 - General

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