Abstract
This study developed and tested a new measurement instrument, the Systematic Workplace-Improvement Needs Generation (SWING), to identify workplace-improvement needs. The participants were 53 workers in a Japanese nursing home for the elderly. The respondents used the SWING questionnaire to self-generate five ‘cues’ they considered important to improve the workplace. The workers determined each cue’s sufficiency level and weight balance (importance), and then we summarised the 265 cues into 21 categories for workplace improvements. The respondents identified the following items as the most important and the least sufficiently provided areas for workplace improvement: ‘interaction with customers’, ‘physical and psychological harassment’, ‘rewarding and challenging work’, and ‘sharing goals and objectives’. Although the workplace-improvement recommendations differed greatly from person to person, SWING prioritised the items by weight (importance) and sufficiency (current status), allowing organisations to address the needed improvements systematically. The SWING tool effectively elicited and prioritised respondents’ recommendations for improving the workplace. Because its items are self-generated by the respondents, SWING can be used for any occupation or workplace. Visualisation with bubble plots to clarify the improvement needs is incorporated into SWING.
Highlights
Background tional affiliationsIn June 1999, the International Labour Organization (ILO) proposed its Decent Work agenda to ‘promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity’ [1]
This paper describes Systematic Workplace-Improvement Needs Generation (SWING) in detail from the following two perspectives: first, its distribution form, i.e., its relationship with existing measures for workplace improvement, and group and individual SWING applications; second, SWING’s versatility and limitations
This study developed and verified a new measurement method, SWING, that enables workers to self-generate recommendations for improving their workplace and rank them according to their current provision level and relative importance
Summary
In June 1999, the International Labour Organization (ILO) proposed its Decent Work agenda to ‘promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity’ [1]. It described universal rights related to working conditions, work environments, and occupational health management.
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