Really Final-2 - StudentTheses@CBS

 Organizational Cultures of Health
The Case of Dixon Schwabl
Erin Alyssa O’Grady
MSc Business Language & Culture Leadership and Management Studies Supervisor: Frederik Larsen Handed In: February 10, 2014 157,830 Characters 113 Pages Copenhagen Business School 2014 1 Creativity is Intelligence Having Fun –Albert Einstein
This paper is dedicated to Lauren Dixon, Karen Sims, and the entire Dixon Schwabl family for graciously accepting me as one of their own during my research. I would also like extend my enormous gratitude to my family, namely my mother Kathleen, and my father Kevin for being so incredibly supportive of me during this entire process. Many thanks go to my supervisor, Frederik Larsen, and my peers who trekked the path of thesis writing before me, who helped to lead the way by providing me with an enormous amount of insight along this challenging yet immensely rewarding journey. 2 Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 7 Research Questions, Study Aims, and Delimitations ............................................................................... 8 Section One: Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 9 Health and Wellness ................................................................................................................................ 9 Chronic Disease ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Costs ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 Prevention ............................................................................................................................................. 11 Health Promotion .................................................................................................................................. 11 Health Promotion in the Workplace ...................................................................................................... 12 Reasons for Investment in Health Promotion ....................................................................................... 13 Workplace Health Promotion Programs (HPP) ...................................................................................... 14 Trends in Practice .............................................................................................................................. 15 HPP Benefits to Employers ................................................................................................................ 16 HPP Benefits to Employees ............................................................................................................... 17 Comprehensive Worksite Health Promotion Programs ........................................................................ 17 Measuring Success ............................................................................................................................ 18 Environmental Interventions ............................................................................................................ 19 Comprehensive HPP Best Practice .................................................................................................... 19 Organizational culture ........................................................................................................................... 20 Culture of Health ............................................................................................................................... 21 Section Two: Research Methodology and Design ........................................................................ 22 Philosophy of Science ............................................................................................................................ 22 Social Constructivism ............................................................................................................................. 22 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................................................. 23 Exploration ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Choice of Company ................................................................................................................................ 24 Organizational Ethnography .................................................................................................................. 24 Access and Role ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Research Methods and Data Collection ................................................................................................ 27 Participant Observation .................................................................................................................... 27 Field Notes ........................................................................................................................................ 28 In-­‐depth Interviews ........................................................................................................................... 29 Questionnaires .................................................................................................................................. 30 Expert Interviews and Open-­‐Ended Questionnaires ......................................................................... 31 Conference Attendance .................................................................................................................... 31 Data Processing and Analysis ................................................................................................................ 32 Framework Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 32 Section Three: Analysis of Culture as it Pertains to Wellness ...................................................... 33 History and Company Description ......................................................................................................... 34 Quality of Leadership ............................................................................................................................ 34 Management Support ....................................................................................................................... 35 Supportive Management Climate ..................................................................................................... 35 Work Structure ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Role Clarity ........................................................................................................................................ 38 Role Conflicts ..................................................................................................................................... 38 3 Predictability ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Degree of Freedom at Work ............................................................................................................. 39 Work Feedback ................................................................................................................................. 40 Potentials for Development through Work ....................................................................................... 40 Meaning of Work .............................................................................................................................. 41 Commitment to the Workplace ........................................................................................................ 41 Job Security ....................................................................................................................................... 41 Job Satisfaction ................................................................................................................................. 42 Client Base ......................................................................................................................................... 42 Social Support ................................................................................................................................... 43 Sense of Community ......................................................................................................................... 43 Schein’s Levels of Culture ...................................................................................................................... 45 Level One: Cultural artifacts .............................................................................................................. 46 Level Two: Espoused Beliefs and Values ........................................................................................... 52 Level Three: Underlying Assumptions .............................................................................................. 55 Cultural Strength ................................................................................................................................... 58 Hiring for Culture .............................................................................................................................. 58 Orientation ........................................................................................................................................ 59 Cultural Misfits .................................................................................................................................. 59 Maintaining Culture .......................................................................................................................... 60 Wellness Culture in the Rochester Community ..................................................................................... 61 Working to Strengthen the Culture of Health in Rochester .............................................................. 61 Benefitting from Existing Community-­‐Based Resources ................................................................... 62 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 63 Section Four: Discussion of Findings ............................................................................................ 63 Health-­‐Based Discussion ....................................................................................................................... 63 Wellness Committee ......................................................................................................................... 63 Kick-­‐Off Meeting ............................................................................................................................... 65 Customizing the Program to the Unique Needs of the Company’s Employees ................................ 65 Team-­‐Based Wellness Programs ....................................................................................................... 66 Realistic Health Goals ........................................................................................................................ 66 Keeping It Off .................................................................................................................................... 67 Food .................................................................................................................................................. 67 Work Structure Discussion .................................................................................................................... 68 Theory versus Reality ........................................................................................................................ 68 Unspoken Messages .......................................................................................................................... 69 Cross-­‐Training ................................................................................................................................... 69 Remote Locations .............................................................................................................................. 70 Taking Expansion into Account ......................................................................................................... 70 Discussion on Research Considerations ................................................................................................ 71 Ethical Considerations ....................................................................................................................... 71 Reliability, Validity and Generalizability ............................................................................................ 72 Interviews and Questionnaires ......................................................................................................... 72 Reflexivity .......................................................................................................................................... 73 Cultural Background .......................................................................................................................... 73 My Pre-­‐Conceptions .......................................................................................................................... 74 My Role as a Researcher ................................................................................................................... 75 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 76 4 Appendix ...................................................................................................................................... 78 Figure 1: Empirical Studies on Comprehensive HPPs ............................................................................ 78 Figure 2: Participant Observation .......................................................................................................... 79 Figure 3: Project Proposal ..................................................................................................................... 80 Figure 4: Participant Observation Dates ................................................................................................ 81 Figure 5: Sample Fieldnotes .................................................................................................................. 82 Figure 6: Interview Guide and Open-­‐Ended Questionnaire .................................................................. 85 Figure 7: Sample Interview Notes ......................................................................................................... 86 Figure 8: Lauren Dixon Biography ......................................................................................................... 92 Figure 9: Wellness Programming ........................................................................................................... 93 Figure 10: Excerpts from the Company’s Website ................................................................................ 95 Figure 11: Victor, New York ................................................................................................................... 96 Figure 12: Sample Wednesday Meeting Minutes .................................................................................. 97 Figure 14: Eat Well, Live Well ................................................................................................................ 99 Figure 15:Description of the Dixon Schwabl Office ............................................................................. 100 Figure 16: Images of the Dixon Schwabl Office ................................................................................... 101 Figure 17: Strategy Map ...................................................................................................................... 102 Figure 18: Facebook Posts ................................................................................................................... 103 Figure 19: Boards and Committees that Dixon Schwabl Employees Serve On .................................... 104 Figure 20: Sample Employee Listing on the Website .......................................................................... 105 Works Cited ................................................................................................................................ 106 5 ABSTRACT
In seeking new ways to combat rising healthcare costs, many companies have begun to offer employer sponsored workplace health promotion programs. Results have consistently fallen short of targets. More comprehensive approaches, in which a culture of health is fostered, have consistently demonstrated improved outcomes at organizations. This thesis aims to decipher whether or not Dixon Schwabl, a ‘full service, multi-­‐dimensional advertising agency offering a variety of placement, media relations, event management and execution, market research, web develop and marketing development’ has created a culture of health. The research question is: How has Dixon Schwabl promoted employee health and wellbeing, and how have broader psychosocial and environmental mechanisms enhanced or hindered these efforts? This study took a point of departure through a nominalist ontology and a social constructivist epistemology. Subsequently, an organizational ethnography was undertaken at the agency over the course of a two-­‐month period. In order to achieve a broad picture of the forces influencing employee health, the research adopted the principle of triangulation of data through participant observation, field notes, in-­‐depth interviews, questionnaires, expert interviews and open-­‐ended questionnaires, and conference attendance. Data was then organized, and analyzed using a technique called framework analysis. The presented findings demonstrated that Dixon Schwabl has been very successful in creating a work environment with a very unique work culture that promotes the health of employees, their families, as well as the Rochester-­‐area populace. Therefore, findings can act as inspiration for other organizations, and can act as an immense point of departure and source of learning towards the pursuit of employee health and wellness. 6 INTRODUCTION
The percent of the United States labor force inflicted by chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, COPD, stroke, and diabetes has grown at an alarmingly fast rate. Today, the majority of Americans have at least one chronic disease that needs to be managed. (Prevention, 2010) An unhealthy labor force comes at a great cost to employers in the form of higher insurance premiums, higher workers’ compensation costs, more absenteeism days, a greater instance of short and long-­‐term disability claims, and lower employee productivity when at work. The result has been a growing economic burden on the part of American businesses, whose health-­‐related expenses have been increasing at an unsustainable rate. In many companies, the second highest business expense is health costs, topped only by employee salaries. Annual health care spending in the United States is estimated to reach four trillion dollars by 2015, reflecting a one hundred percent increase since 2005. This “poses a significant threat to the overall competitiveness of American businesses within the global marketplace.” (Prevention, 2010, 1) Since American companies provide the majority of the country’s health insurance policies, they are “uniquely situated to provide leadership in finding solutions” to this dilemma. (Prevention, 2010) New York State alone has 580,000 workplaces, translating to 8,400,000 employees, reflecting an immense opportunity to influence employee health. It is imperative to note that a great majority of businesses in New York employ five hundred or fewer people. (New York State Department of Health, 2013) This is important because “despite the fact that small businesses comprise 99+ percent of all the businesses in the U.S., employees in these settings often have access to fewer benefits than do the employees who work in larger business settings.” (Hunnicutt, 2008, 3) This lack of offerings reflects a largely untapped channel through which population health can be improved. Of further importance, many existing wellness efforts have not reached goals and targets. As such, employers have begun to assert that managing rising costs is not enough. The US Government’s national health objective publication, entitled Healthy People 2010 claims that employers can achieve drastically improved outcomes by implementing ‘comprehensive 7 worksite health promotion programs,’ which take a proactive, holistic approach to employee wellbeing, rather than offering a disconnected set of isolated activities. These programs promise to reduce health risks, control healthcare costs, heal existing conditions, deliver peak organizational performance, boost employee self-­‐esteem and morale, enhance teamwork efforts, and improve company image. As a result, the New York State Department of Health’s Division of Chronic Disease Prevention considers comprehensive worksite health promotion in smaller worksites with fewer than 500 to be a strategic priority. (New York State Department of Health, 2013) Research Questions, Study Aims, and Delimitations
The research question that this paper has focused on is: How has Dixon Schwabl promoted employee health and wellbeing, and how have broader psychosocial and environmental mechanisms enhanced or hindered these efforts. Dixon Schwabl is a ‘full-­‐service advertising, public relations and digital media agency specializing in unified marketing campaigns and services.’ The agency falls under the definition of a small business, as it employed 87 full-­‐time employees at the time this paper was written. The research took place at Dixon Schwabl’s main headquarters and at company events located outside of the office during August, September and October of 2013. Despite the fact that I was not a company employee, I was granted the ability to move freely throughout the company, and to observe, interview, and participate in work functions, as I deemed appropriate. The importance of looking at health through a social ecological lens, or one which views health in a broad focus and looks at a multitude of factors at different ‘levels’ that may have an influence on an individual’s health, is important. However, due to the scope and limitations of this study, I placed the most emphasis on the health-­‐related factors, which the agency directly controls. Thereby, less of a focus was placed on the influence of community, and national trends on employee health. The research ultimately has both academic and practical aims. In one regard, research findings can help contribute to academia by expanding the knowledge base on organizational culture and workplace wellness programs. In a more pragmatic sense, this study can be seen as a 8 source of inspiration for other smaller sized companies, not as far ahead of the curve, in how to achieve greater impacting results in encouraging employee wellbeing, and in reducing health-­‐
related costs. SECTION ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW
Health and Wellness
Health and wellness are two ideologically similar notions that are commonly used interchangeably in everyday practice. (Nayer, Berger et al. 2010) There is no clear, universally accepted definition of either term. (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008) This is because the concepts’ ‘integrative and dynamic nature,’ results in definitions being “constantly in flux and evolving alongside societal and global adaptations.” (Miller & Foster, 2010, 7) In the United States, the term wellness and the ‘wellness movement’ arose around the time of World War II “as a part of a parallel transformation in the definition of health toward a more holistic perspective that is inter-­‐relational and positive in focus, namely, to examine healthy human functioning” (Miller & Foster, 2010, 5) The World Health Organization released a definition of wellness in 1948, which is still in use today, which states that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization 1948 in Huber et al., 2011, 1) Similarly, the Merriam-­‐
Webster Dictionary defines wellness as “the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal.” (Merriam Webster DIctionary, 2013) Both of the above definitions see wellness as an achieved state or goal, thereby implying that an individual either is or is not well. This would mean that people with chronic disease are eternally ill, which underplays the role that interventions such as lifestyle changes can have on an individual’s wellbeing. Contesting the above black and white perspective, critics argue that the definition needs to be adapted to changing disease patterns. (Huber et al., 2011) Travis and Ryan claim that the state of wellness acts on a continuum and that it is not static. (Travis & Ryan, 2004) Similarly, O’Donnell states that wellness is a “process of striving for a dynamic balance of social, spiritual, and intellectual health and discovering the synergies 9 between core passions and each of those dimensions.” (O'Donnell, 2008, 1) According to Miller and Foster, “this evolving and vastly expanded view of the positive aspects of health has allowed the development of preventative health measures and a focus on optimal health as practitioners address the whole person, and consider the causes of lifestyle illnesses, rather than just symptoms.” (Miller & Foster, 2010, 6) Given these arguments, this paper will use the following definition of health/wellness as adopted by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986. Wellness “is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Health is seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living.” It further states “to reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment.” (World Health Organization, 1986, 1) Health as a part of psychosocial wellbeing is essential to the working definition of health in this thesis. Chronic Disease
Chronic diseases are defined as “diseases of long duration and generally slow progression.” (World Health Organization, 2013, 5) These include arthritis, hypertension, depression, allergies, headaches, diabetes, cancer, asthma, heart disease, and respiratory disorders. Over 133 million Americans had one chronic disease in 2006, and that number is expected to reach 157 million by 2020. Likewise, 63 million had two or more, and that number will rise to 81 million by 2020. (Bodenheimer, Chen, & Bennett, 2009) 81 million people have cardiovascular disease, 24 million have diabetes, more than 1.3 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and 67% of the nation is overweight or obese. (Ogden, Carrol et al. 2006 in Sorensen et al., 2011) Furthermore, ‘non-­‐fatal’ chronic diseases including musculoskeletal disorders, and mental illness are rising each year. (National Program of Cancer Registries 2009 in Sorensen et al., 2011) The reason for the rise in chronic disease is multifactorial, representing the convergence between longer life expectancy together with the aging of society, and new drugs/medical 10 procedures. This has resulted in once-­‐fatal diseases not being so any longer. (Anderson & Horvath, 2004) Further increasing the prevalence of chronic disease is the increase in ‘disease-­‐
specific risk factors,’ such as obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and workplace stress. Today, chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and stroke are the leading causes of death in the United States. “Ageing with chronic illnesses has become the norm, and chronic diseases account for most of the expenditures on the healthcare system.” (Huber et al., 2011, 11) Further, the rate of chronic disease is significantly higher in the United States than in other developed countries. (Nolte, McKee 2008 in Sorensen et al., 2011) Costs
Each year, U.S. workplaces lose over one trillion dollars due to absenteeism and presenteeism related to chronic disease.1 Healthcare costs were around two trillion dollars in 2006, and employers paid about one third of this figure. (Poisal, Truffer et al., 2007 in Sorensen et al., 2011) Annual healthcare costs are growing rapidly and are expected to reach 4.2 trillion by 2023 (Bodenheimer et al., 2009) Prevention
Chronic diseases are largely due to modifiable individual lifestyle choices. In 2000, 18.1% of deaths were due to the use of tobacco, 15.2% were due to improper diet and physical inactivity, and 3.5% were due to abuse of alcohol, adding up to over 40% of deaths that year. (Mokdad, Marks et al. 2004 in Sorensen et al., 2011) These numbers could be greatly reduced through interventions that promote healthy behaviors. Health Promotion
The Ottawa Charter states that health promotion “is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health” (World Health Organization, 1986, 3). Similarly, 1
Absenteeism is when employees miss work. Presenteeism is when employees do not perform to their fullest extent due to illness. 11 O’Donnell defines health promotion as “the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health” (O'Donnell, 2008) Health promotion began in community, school and patient-­‐care settings. The ‘intellectual roots’ for the field of health promotion come from Kurt Lewin’s developmental field theory research during the 1930s and 1940s, which sought to explain, understand and intervene in-­‐group processes. (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008) According to Rootman et al., health promotion has shifted from an individual perspective to an upstream focus, where prevention is key. (Rootman et al. 2001., in Eriksson, 2011) The largest concern of health promotion is to encourage health behavior. (Glanz et al., 2008) According to Parkerson, “health behavior refers to the actions of individuals, groups, and organizations, as well as their determinants, correlates, and consequences, including social change, policy development and implementation, improved coping skills, and enhanced quality of life.” (Parkerson 1993, in Glanz, Rimer et al. 2008, 12) Similarly, Gochman defines health behavior “those personal attributes such as beliefs, expectations, motives, values, perceptions, and other cognitive elements; personality characteristics, including affective and emotional states and traits; and overt behavior patterns, actions, and habits that relate to health maintenance, to health restoration, and to health improvement.” (Gochman, 1997 in Glanz et al., 2008, 12) Health Promotion in the Workplace
Health promotion initiatives in the workplace can help manage costs by managing and preventing chronic disease. Asserting this fact, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion stated “worksite health promotion has taken on increasing importance as a contributor to improved health for many Americans” (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 2006 in Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008, 1) The workplace is an important place to promote employee health for the following reasons: 12 •
Health Insurance Coverage: Companies are the largest health insurance providers in the United States. In 2006, 162.5 million Americans received health insurance through their employers. (US Workplace Wellness Alliance, 2009) •
Accessing large numbers of people: The workplace is a perfect environment to access large amounts of people, since most adults work. (Aldana, Merrill, Price, Hardy, & Hager, 2005; Chapman, 2004; Neville, Merrill, & Kumpfer, 2011; Ozminkowski et al., 2002) •
Time at work: Most adults spend one third of their lives at their place of employment. (Mortensen, Siegler, Barefoot, Grønbæk, & Sørensen, 2006) •
Infrastructure: The workplace’s existing infrastructure creates a greater likelihood of programs being successful and cost effective. (Chu, Driscoll, & Dwyer, 1997, 377) This infrastructure includes communication channels, networks of support, and teams. (Katz et al., 2005) •
Multiple Levels of Influence: Workplaces can simultaneously influence employees on multiple levels. These include efforts to change individual behavior, support systems, and linking HPPs with programs such as Occupational Health and Safety, Disability Management, and Employee Assistance Programs (Quintiliani, Sattelmair, & Sorensen, 2007) •
Workplace Conditions: Excessive job demands, low job control, sedentary workdays, inflexible work hours, and job hazards all contribute to chronic disease. (Mortensen et al., 2006; Sorensen et al., 2011) •
Community Involvement: Many communities do not have proper health promotion and disease prevention programs. Worksite HPPs can make up for this lack of communitywide programs. (O'Donnell & Harris, 1994) Reasons for Investment in Health Promotion
There are a number of reasons why companies invest in wellness, these include: •
Corporate Social Responsibility: The responsibility of employers to ensure that they are not causing harm to their employees, while actively promoting their wellbeing. These efforts 13 may be rooted in either altruism or paternalism. They also have the ability to improve a company’s image. (O'Donnell & Harris, 1994) •
Enhance Productivity: Wellness programs enhance employee productivity. This is important because U.S. worker productivity has been decreasing in relation to other developed nations since 1965. (O'Donnell & Harris, 1994) •
Reducing Contribution to Health Related Costs: Between 1998 and 2008, employer expenses related to health care doubled. (US Workplace Wellness Alliance, 2009) •
Meeting Governmental Legislation: Workplaces need to abide by laws, for example mandates by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Workplace Health Promotion Programs (HPP)
Programs that promote wellness in the workplace are referred to through an array of different terminologies, such as Health Management, Health and Productivity Programs, Worksite Wellness Programs, among others. This paper will adopt the title Health Promotion Program (HPP) to refer to this notion. HPPs vary greatly from organization to organization, and no set universal definition has been established. Some programs look to keep employees healthy, satisfied, and productive, while others act as a ‘reactionary effort’ against increased costs. (Aldana et al., 2005) Goetzel and Ozminkowski define HPPs as “employer initiatives directed at improving the health and wellbeing of workers and, in some cases, their dependents.” (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008, 23) Maatke defines HPPs as “an employment-­‐based activity or employer-­‐
sponsored benefit aimed at promoting health-­‐related behaviors (primary prevention or health promotion) and disease management (secondary prevention).” (Mattke, Schnyer, & Van Busum, 2012, 5) HPPs became popular in the 1970s and early 1980s. Research surrounding HPPs has undergone several ideological transformations since that time. The first round focused on implementing programs for reasons that were not necessarily related to health, for example hygiene policies. The second round focused on improving individual behavior by improving knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and skills. The third round still focused on individual behavior change, but looked to 14 create wellness programs by offering a “spectrum of methods for delivering a more comprehensive range of interventions for a variety of risk factors of all employees.” (Golaszewski, Allen, & Edington, 2008, 5) As scholars began to note that individual-­‐focused programs were falling short of targeted goals and achievements, a new framework that was based on social ecology, a behavior change theory, based on the interrelationship between an organism and its environment, became popular. This theoretical line of inquiry asserts that an individual’s wellbeing is influenced by his genetics, psychological behavioral traits, and also by the wider physical and social environment. (Golaszewski et al., 2008) According to McKinley and Marceau, “focusing merely on downstream (individual) causes of poor health rather than the upstream causes, risks missing important opportunities to improve health.” (McKinley and Marceau, 2000., in Glanz et al., 2008, 9) Reflecting this shift, the fourth round of HPPs; called ‘comprehensive HPPs,’ focus on individual behavior change while looking at the broader ‘socioeconomic, environmental, and organizational influences’ on the worker. (Golaszewski et al., 2008, 5) Trends in Practice
Most American companies’ focus on workplace wellness have followed a similar set of trends surrounded around the following aspects: •
Focus on Individual Behavior Change: The majority of HPPs focus solely on individual components of behavioral change. (Chu et al., 1997; Shain & Kramer, 2004) The most frequently offered health promotion activities are educationally-­‐based programs, addressing topics such as exercise/physical activity, obesity/weight management, cholesterol management, diet/nutrition, preventative screening, smoking, blood pressure, heart/cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stress/emotional health, depression, cancer, work-­‐
life balance, asthma, alcohol/substance abuse, allergies, occupational injuries, pregnancy/childbirth, headaches/migraines, safety/accidents, arthritis, workplace violence prevention, and HIV/AIDS/STD. (Goetzel et al., 2007) While this is an important aspect of an HPP, it is increasingly acknowledged that this approach is insufficient. (Burton, 2010; Makrides, 2004) 15 •
Focus on Occupational Health and Safety: These efforts deal with the safety of the physical work environment, and are a result of labor legislation and enforcement through OHSA. (Burton, 2010) This underplays the influence that the psychosocial environment has on employees. •
Piecemeal Approach: Most workplace wellness programs offer a disconnected set of activities without any overarching plan or strategy. (Terry, Seaverson, Grossmeier, & Anderson, 2008) In 1999, the US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion released a study that stated that 90 percent of workplaces offered at least one HPP activity, but most had no framework to organize and direct activities. (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008) •
Focus on Treatment not Prevention: Many programs only focus on treating high-­‐risk employees. As employees age, they often move from low to high risk, and most programs ignore the impact of keeping low-­‐risk employees in the low-­‐risk category, which is easier and more cost effective in the long run. (Golaszewski et al., 2008) HPP Benefits to Employers
HPP programs provide many benefits to employers, these include but are not limited to: 1) reduced absenteeism (Parks & Steelman, 2008; Serxner, Gold, & Bultman, 2001), 2) reduced presenteeism (Goetzel et al., 2007; Shi, 1993), 3) reduced workplace accidents (Chu et al., 1997), 4) increased performance (Baun, Bemacki, & Tsai, 1986; Parks & Steelman, 2008), 5) increased productivity, (Aldana et al., 2005; Aldana et al., 2012; Terry et al., 2008), 6) increased employee engagement (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008), 7) recruitment of more skilled workers (Parks & Steelman, 2008), 8) increased employee retention (Parks & Steelman, 2008), 9) increased human capital (Attridge, 2005), 10) an improved workplace culture (Aldana et al., 2005; DeJoy & Wilson, 2003), 11) reduced healthcare costs (Aldana et al., 2005; Aldana et al., 2012; Berry, Mirabito, & Baun, 2010; Ozminkowski et al., 2002; Parks & Steelman, 2008; Terry et al., 2008), and 12) a return on investment (Aldana, 2001; Berry et al., 2010; Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008). 16 HPP Benefits to Employees
HPP programs provide many benefits to employers. These include but are not limited to: 1) increased job satisfaction (Faragher, Cass, & Cooper, 2005; Haynes, Dunnagan, & Smith, 1999), 2) improved level of overall wellbeing (Danna & Griffin, 1999; O'Donnell, 2008; Parks & Steelman, 2008), 3) improved level of mental wellbeing (Danna & Griffin, 1999), 4) increased energy (Gronningæter, Hytten, Skauli, Christensen, & Ursin, 1992; Heaney & Goetzel, 1997), 5) reduction in stress (Michael P. O'Donnell, 2008), 6) improved level of fitness (Parks & Steelman, 2008; Pelletier, 1991), 7) strategies for healthy lifestyle choices (Michael P. O'Donnell, 2008), 8) improved lifestyle choices (Michael P. O'Donnell, 2008), 9) reduced risk for chronic disease (Schult, Awosika, Hodgson, & Dyrenforth, 2011), 10) weight loss (Serxner et al., 2001), 11) tobacco cessation (Michael P. O'Donnell, 2008), 12) reduced consumption of alcohol (Michael P. O'Donnell, 2008), 13) reduced individual medical expenditures (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008), 14) being eligible for incentives (Michael P. O'Donnell, 2008), and 15) increased health of an individual’s family. (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008) Comprehensive Worksite Health Promotion Programs
Definitions for comprehensive programs vary greatly, as do their titles. In the literature, they are referred to as multi-­‐component, integrated, ecological-­‐based, and comprehensive, among others. (Chu et al., 1997, 379) This paper will use the term ‘comprehensive HPP’ to refer to this concept. In academics today, more emphasis has been placed on determinants of health, instead of individual risk factors. As a result, “the concept of workplace health promotion has evolved from individually oriented wellness activities to more integrative and holistic settings that promote employee health.” (Chu et al. 2000 in Eriksson, 2011, 8) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define comprehensive programs as those that “put policies and interventions in place that address multiple risk factors and health conditions concurrently and recognizes that the interventions and strategies chosen may influence multiple organization levels including individual employee behavior change, organizational culture, and the worksite environment.” (CDC, 2011, 1) Healthy People 2010, 17 stated that comprehensive HPPs entail five components: 1) Health education, which focuses on skill development and lifestyle behavior change along with information dissemination and awareness building, preferably tailored to employees’ interests and needs, 2) supportive social and physical environments that include an organization’s expectations regarding healthy behaviors and policies that promote health and reduce risk of disease 3) integrating the worksite program into the organization’s structure, 4) linkage to related programs like employee assistance programs (EAPs) and programs to help employees balance work and family, 5) worksite screening programs ideally linked to medical care to ensure follow-­‐up and appropriate treatment as necessary. (Human Services, 2000) Today, there is growing support of Comprehensive HPPs. (Ozminkowski et al., 2000; Ozminkowski et al., 2002) They have been recommended by the American Cancer Society, Healthy People 2010, the American Heart Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Sorensen et al., 2011, 3) The U.S. Government’s ten-­‐year national health objectives, entitled Healthy People aimed for 75% of workplaces to offer a comprehensive HPP by 2010. Despite the theoretical popularity of comprehensive HPPs, in practice most HPPs today do not take this approach. Measuring Success
Workplace health promotion programs differ greatly regarding how ‘comprehensive’ they actually are, which makes measuring and comparing the impact of these programs difficult. (Chu et al., 1997, 379) Furthermore, comprehensive programs focus on many factors at the same time, which makes it “challenging for the program evaluator to measure multiple program impacts and to distill which interventions affected which outcome.” (Heaney & Goetzel, 1997, 90) Shain and Kramer consider the program success when the following factors have been met: 1) targeted groups were reached by the program, 2) participants were retained until completion, 3) desired health outcomes were met, 4) desired outcomes resulted in increased organizational effectiveness. (Shain & Kramer, 2004) 18 Several studies have asserted that there is a lack of empirical evidence that links comprehensive worksite wellness programs to improvements in employee health factors and workplace productivity. (Goetzel et al., 2007; Terry et al., 2008) In a literature review, Pelletier stated that he did not find any comprehensive program that reduced all employee risk factors. He did, however state, “the majority of programs of sufficient intensity, breadth, and duration did result in a decrease in an adequate number of risks to result in an overall risk reduction.” (Pelletier, 2001, 114) Similarly, Ozminskowski et al. found that there is ‘indicative to acceptable’ support that comprehensive HPPs achieve long term risk-­‐reduction in employees. (Ozminkowski et al., 2000) (See Appendix: Empirical Studies on Comprehensive HPPs) Environmental Interventions
Comprehensive approaches to employee wellness see ‘health’ and ‘wellbeing’ as being the result of many forces, some of which cannot be directly controlled by the individual. According to Sorenson et al., the workplace can act “as both an accelerator and preventer of chronic disease and as a key determinant of individual health behaviors, through physical, social, organizational and psychosocial mechanisms.” (Sorensen et al., 2011, 3) As such, focus is placed on physical and psychosocial work design. This includes worksite culture, organizational policies and practices, hazardous chemical, physical and biological exposures, psychological job demands, job control, work schedule and control over work time, work-­‐related rewards, organizational justice, work norms and social support, and union status. Comprehensive HPP Best Practice
In a literature review of benchmark studies undertaken in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Goetzel et al. identified the following components that reflect HPP best practice: 1) organizational commitment, 2) program linked to business objectives, 3) effective communication, 4) effective operation plan, 5) supportive environment, 6) program goals that include productivity and morale, 7) employee input when developing goals and objectives, 8) management leading by example, 9) interdisciplinary team focus, 10) identification of wellness champions, 11) incentives to participate, 12) program accessibility, 13) effective screening and 19 triage, 14) state of the art interventions, 15) effective implementation, 16) ongoing program evaluation, and 17) data collection, 18) measurement, 19) reporting and 20) evaluation. (Goetzel 1997, ODonnell, Bishop et al. 1997, Goetzel, Jacobson et al. 1998, Goetzel, Ozminkowski et al. 2001 all in Goetzel et al., 2007) In a follow up study, the following ‘promising practices’ were added to the above list: 1) program features and incentives that are in line with the company’s goals, core mission, and structure, 3) operating at several levels, including individual, environment, policy, and cultural factors targeting the most important issues 4) customizing the program to the unique needs of the company’s employees, 5) achieving high levels of participation in the long and short term, 6) achieving better outcomes health wise, cost savings, and achievement of other objectives, evaluation methods agreed on prior and based on proper metrics. (Goetzel et al., 2007) Organizational Culture
There is no universal definition of organizational culture. It could mean the values of an organization, the organization’s system of meaning, or the philosophy of an organization. (Reiman & Oedewald, 2002) Many scholars assert that it includes a common set of beliefs, and values among a group of people that shapes their behavior. Going along these lines, Geertz defines organizational culture as “the fabric of meaning in terms of which human beings interpret their experience and guide their action; social structure is the form that action takes, the actually existing network of social relations.” (Geertz, 1957, 10) Similarly, Schein describes organizational culture as “a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as a correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.” (Schein, 2006, 10) Deetz, Tracy et al. define culture as “loosely structured symbols that are maintained and co-­‐created by a re-­‐
creative pattern of internal factors (such as attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and ideologies) and external factors (such as language, behaviors, espoused values, and physical artifacts). These symbols, and an absence of other symbols, help make sense of organizational members’ shared and unshared values, beliefs, and assumptions.” (Deetz, Tracy, & Simpson, 2000, 4) 20 According to Alvesson and Berg, “despite the uncertainty of the concept’s definition, the significance of culture is understood in the corporate world. Traditional mechanistic management models have been found to be inadequate and contrary to fundamental human nature. A new concept was needed to describe and explain individuals’ actions in an organization so that their working capacity could be improved.” (Alvesson and Berg 1992 in Reiman & Oedewald, 2002, 9) Similarly, Deetz et al. propose, “A positive corporate culture creates employee potentials and the context in which they can be realized.” (Deetz et al., 2000, 4) Culture of Health
The Centers for Disease Control define a culture of health as “a working environment where employee health and safety is valued, supported and promoted through workplace health programs, policies, benefits, and environmental supports.” It also asserts that building a culture of health “involves all levels of the organization and establishes the workplace health program as a routine part of business operations aligned with overall business goals.” (CDC, 2011, 1) There are two opposing views of organizational culture. The first is the interpretative approach, which sees culture as being imbedded in the organization. For example, Smircich considers organizational culture a ‘root metaphor,’ stating that culture is something the organization is rather than something it has. (Smircich, 1983) The other sees culture as something that the organization possesses, thereby implying that organizations should strive towards a certain cultural ideal. The notion of ‘culture of health’ is rooted in this mindset. Prior definitions of a ‘culture of safety,’ which were very popular in the 1990s considered culture as being separate from other organizational characteristics, including the organization of work, technology, and structure. Separating ‘health culture’ from ‘organizational culture’ undermines the fact that there are many organizational factors that have an indirect effect on health. Further, to separate these two notions increases uncertainty and conflict in defining the two terms, and reduces the notion of ‘health culture’ to an organizational artifact. This paper will follow the assumption 21 that a ‘culture of health,’ is imbedded in the organization, which implies that it cannot be considered as a separate factor. (Reiman & Oedewald, 2002) SECTION TWO: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN
Methodology is defined as “the branch of philosophy concerned with the science of method and procedure.” (Oxford English Dictionary, 2013) It essentially represents a choice regarding the information and data that is gathered, and how these will be analyzed so as to answer the research question. The following chapter will outline the methodological considerations of the thesis by touching upon the philosophy of science, research strategy, and research methods. Philosophy of Science
The philosophy of science seeks to understand what exactly science entails, how it comes to play, and how knowledge should be built. (Easterby-­‐Smith, Thorpe, & Jackson, 2012) This is important, because it helps to solidify a research design that fits with a research question. (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012) Ontology is defined as “philosophical assumptions about the nature of reality.” (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012, 61) This paper will follow a nominalist ontological assumption, meaning that the names and labels attached to experiences and events will be considered paramount. According to nominalism, ‘truth’ and ‘reality’ are notions that are dependent on the person who established them, thereby asserting that humans create facts. Epistemology is defined as the “general set of assumptions about the best ways of inquiring into the nature of the world.” (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012, 61) The social constructivist epistemology will be adopted. This seeks to understand how social groups create structures, which help them to make sense of their world. Social Constructivism
Social constructivism “emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding” (Kim, 2001, 10) This paradigm “recognizes the importance of the subjective human creation of meaning.” 22 (Miller & Crabtree, 1999, 10 in Baxter & Jack, 2008, 2) It assumes that knowledge and reality are human constructs that are created through social interaction, and that learning is a social process. (Kim, 2001) Constructivism asserts the inclusion of the complexity of the whole, thereby relying on an in-­‐depth study of one or a small number of cases, which are selected for specific reasons. (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012) Social constructivist studies have the ability to uncover the innermost held meanings by the group being researched. This gives the researcher the capability of interpreting and making sense of events, which in turn allows him or her to understand the meanings attached to them. (Green, 2008) Social constructivism’s weaknesses are that data collection can take a lot of time, and can consume a great deal of resources. Further, analyzing and interpreting data can be challenging and analysis relies on the researcher’s ‘intimate, tacit knowledge.’ As such, these studies can seem messy, because often there is no clear start, end, or pace. (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012) Despite its pitfalls, I believe that undertaking a constructivist study was the best method to allow me to gather a revealing knowledge base for the research question. Qualitative Research
Whereas quantitative research looks to gain a description of a population, qualitative research takes a flexible, interpretive, naturalistic approach to gain an in depth understanding of a smaller, specific context by seeking to find the structure, pattern, and order within. (Green, 2008) It would not have been possible to have a clear picture of how Dixon Schwabl promotes wellness, and the psychosocial and environmental contexts that underpin these efforts without having had a deep understanding of the organizational context. Qualitative research allowed for this type of understanding. Exploration
The main concern of this thesis was to undertake an in-­‐depth exploration of the research question. Exploratory research, which has “an open character and emphasis on flexibility, pragmatism, and the particular, biographically specific interests of an investigator, is arguably a more inviting and indeed accurate way of representing social research than treating it as a 23 narrowing, quasi-­‐rule bound and discipline-­‐based process that settles and confirms rather than unsettles and questions what one knows.” (Stebbins, 2001, v) Since this study had specific limitations, I could not commit to ‘pure’ exploration, which means that my study had a more pragmatic aim and approach, in order to account for limits of time and scope. Choice of Company
In the initial research phases, I sent out an email to seven different companies in the Rochester, New York area. The companies that I chose to contact had either won a ‘Wealth of Health’ Award2, or were recognized as one of the ‘Best Small and Medium Workplaces in America.’3 (See Appendix: Project Proposal) One of the companies that I contacted was Dixon Schwabl. I was especially interested in undertaking research at this company, because it had won both of the above-­‐mentioned awards. Further, it was an ideally sized organization for the scope of this research project, because it is large enough to be well established within the community, but at just shy of ninety employees, everyone is housed under the same roof. This meant that producing relevant findings for the entire company would be feasible within the time frame that was allotted for this project. Karen Sims, Vice President of People and Development contacted me a few days after I sent out an initial e-­‐mail request. She told me that she had spoken to the company’s CEO, Lauren Dixon, who was interested in hearing additional details of my project. Soon after, I had a preliminary meeting with Ms. Sims who relayed my research proposal to Ms. Dixon. About a week later, Ms. Sims notified me that Ms. Dixon had granted me permission to undertake whatever type of research that I deemed necessary to fulfill my project requirements. Organizational Ethnography
My study sought to decipher how Dixon Schwabl promotes employee wellness, and what 2
An award, which honors Rochester area employers that promote health and wellness within their workplace. More information available at: http://www.wealthofhealthawards.com/ 3
A ranked list created by the Great Place to Work Institute, which recognizes companies which have ‘extraordinary workplace cultures’. More information available at: http://www.greatplacetowork.com/ 24 cultural and environmental factors play a role in that process. I found it important to approach the topic from this stance, because a company’s culture has both a direct and indirect impact on employee health, and plays a role in the effectiveness of behavioral change interventions. The most useful tool to explore this topic is organizational ethnography. Ethnography is a qualitative research method, “located in the practice of both sociologists and anthropologists, and which should be regarded as the product of a cocktail of methodologies that share the assumption that personal engagement with the subject is the key to understanding a particular culture or social setting.” (Jupp, 2006, 101) This type of research relies on an intimate relationship between the researcher and the field, including informants. It is “based on the assumption that every social group is distinctive in its own right, and in order to explore this distinction, researchers must engage with the group on its own ground.” (Jupp, 2006, 101) This research method is very effective in uncovering meanings in social encounters that often go unnoticed. The insight gained about the company culture from ethnographic research includes, “norms and values, the expected behaviors and the prohibited ones, the accepted tribal language, the heroes and credible spokesmen of an occupational culture.” (Cullen, Matthews, & Teske, 2008, 20) These are the key to understanding what role employee health and wellbeing play at Dixon Schwabl. In order to maintain a critical eye while undertaking research, I moved between an emic and etic perspective. This ensured that I did not ‘go native,’ thereby losing sight of my research interests. (Jupp, 2006) An emic perspective refers to researching a culture from the ‘inside out,’ whereas the etic perspective seeks to research culture from the ‘outside in.’ This also meant that I could blend in with the rules and expectations of the locals, all while maintaining pragmatism, thereby meeting the needs of the study. Further, it is widely noted, “better insights can be gained into management and organizations through combining insider and outsider perspectives.” (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012, 95) This study followed the ‘quick description’ mode of research operation. This entails a brief immersion in the field, which is directed toward the achievement of a specific goal. Quick 25 descriptive ethnographic research typically takes place in a ‘compressed time mode,’ where the researcher spends a short amount of time undertaking field research. It is important to note that in comparison with the more contextually rich ‘thick description,’ ‘quick description’ risks being conceptually closer to “yet another business case study or company history.” (Bate 1997, 1150 in Neyland, 2007) In order to counter this risk, the study took place in a ‘selective intermittent time mode,’ meaning that the study took place over a longer period of time -­‐ two months -­‐ but I only spent two days per week in the field. This wider time span allowed for the inclusion of more special, seasonal, and one-­‐time events during the study. This also allowed me to take more variably oriented trends into account. For example, Dixon Schwabl employees only play softball in the summer months, and soccer is only offered from September to November. In sum, undertaking research for a longer time period, but less frequently allowed for a more nuanced description and analysis. (Jeffrey and Troman in Neyland, 2007) Access and Role
It was important for me to choose a company that granted me sufficient access. Access is defined as “the process of gaining and maintaining entry into a setting or social group or of establishing working relations with individuals, in order that social research can be undertaken.” (Jupp, 2006) This was vital, because it ensured that enough information was gathered during research. Although I was allowed into the company at the beginning stages of the project, I needed to continuously work to negotiate, and re-­‐negotiate access among employees by fostering relationships. As such, I spent a great deal of time getting to know the employees in order to establish a sense of trust and commitment. This was also important during the interview and questionnaire process, because health and wellbeing are highly personal topics. In order to increase the likelihood of participation in my interviews, I ensured that rapport was “created and legitimacy of the project established, making respondents more willing to give information.” (Malhotra, 2011, 181) 26 Research Methods and Data Collection
This project adopted the principle of triangulation of data, which is defined as the combination of “data drawn from different sources and at different times, in different places or from different people.” (Jupp, 2006, 306) This method enhances the reliability of the research, reduces the chance of error, and allows for the researcher to view different aspects of the research topic. (Lewis-­‐Beck, Bryman, & Liao, 2004) Participant Observation
Participant observation is a research method in which the researcher participates in the day-­‐to-­‐
day activities and interactions among the group that they are studying. It can help to gain insight about both the explicit and tacit aspects of the culture being studied, which allowed me to see how behaviors and the workplace setting interact, and helped to uncover the difference between what people say they do, and what they actually do. (Kunda, 2009) It “involves immersing yourself in a culture and learning to remove yourself every day from that immersion so that you can intellectualize what you’ve seen and heard, put it into perspective, and write about it convincingly. When it’s done right, participant observation thus turns fieldworkers into instruments of data collection and data analysis.” (Behar, 2006, 344 in DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010) (See Appendix: Participant Observation) According to Bernard, the strengths of participant observation include opening up the areas of inquiry to collect a wider range of data, reducing the problem of reactivity, enabling researchers to know what questions to ask, gaining an intuitive understanding of the meaning of the data, and addressing problems that are unavailable to other data collection techniques. (Bernard, 2006 in Guest, Namey, & Mitchell, 2012) This allows the researcher to “critically examine research assumptions and beliefs, and themselves.” (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010, 11) On the other hand, critics of the participant observant claim that the researcher does not have the ability to be neutral, and thereby cannot help but influence the reality being observed. (Kunda, 2009) In order to account for this weakness, I made sure to always be conscious of my role as a researcher. 27 According to Spradely’s definition of roles of participation, I took a stance of ‘active participation,’ where I was involved in nearly everything that the full members were doing while in the field. (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010) I was present at the Dixon Schwabl office two days per week, and attended special events, as I deemed appropriate. While in the office, I was seated at the front desk of the office next to the ‘Director of First Impressions,’ or at any other open desk. This allowed for a range of different perspectives of the day-­‐to-­‐day life at Dixon Schwabl. I was mainly seated at the front desk, due to its ‘hub’ status in the office. This central location was probably the only spot that every employee passes at some point throughout the day. I was able to use this to my advantage, because I was able to spark a lot of informal conversation with many employees throughout the course of the day. While sitting at the front desk of the agency, I was working on writing my thesis, but was able to observe and take part in day-­‐to-­‐day activities at the same time, many of which were directly related to the cultural underpinnings of the company. Further, I was able to take part in less routine activities and meetings, because I was in such a mainstream location. This also allowed me to get a sense of what it is like to be a Dixon Schwabl employee without being formally employed by the company. Field Notes
Fieldwork is defined as “the research practice of engaging with the worlds of others in order to study them at close quarters.” (Jupp, 2006, 220) I undertook fieldwork at Dixon Schwabl, on twenty separate occasions for a total of 104 hours. (See Appendix: Participant Observation Dates) While undertaking fieldwork, I wrote field notes, which are the record of how the researcher understands the concepts pertinent to research, simultaneously representing both data and analysis. Throughout the course of the day, I kept a running set of notes in a Microsoft Word document. Most of the time, I had access to my computer and I was able to take notes immediately. When this was not possible, I handwrote notes in a notepad. This reminded me of key ideas, so that I could write more detailed notes as soon as I exited the ‘field’. Field notes included a description of the physical environment, who was involved in the situation, behaviors, non-­‐verbal communications, special language, impressions, thoughts, concerns, and 28 explanations. I made an attempt to ensure that the notes were as accurate, complete, detailed, and as objective as possible at all times. (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010) (See Appendix: Sample Fieldnotes) In-depth Interviews
After the participant observation phase was completed, a set of in-­‐depth interviews was held. In-­‐depth interviews seek to understand the opinions of the interviewee rather than to make generalizations. This is achieved by using open-­‐ended questions, and the creation of rapport so that the interview feels more like a dialogue between the interviewer and interviewee. This method allows for a positive relationship between the subject and researcher, and is a simple and effective way of gathering data about feelings and emotions. Further, it provides high validity as meanings are described in depth, and allows for the clarification of questions or issues that arise through the interviewee’s response. This also eliminates the issue of pre-­‐
judgment by the researcher of what topics are pertinent, and which are not. (Livesey, 2010) The aim of undertaking in-­‐depth interviews was to supplement participant observation, which served as the more general method of data collection. It also allowed for the integration of viewpoints of key informants. According to O’Donnell, interviews are the most accurate method to measure top management, middle management, and general employee population’s attitudes and support of health promotion. (O'Donnell, 2001) Before undertaking interviews, semi-­‐structured interview questions and themes were drafted in an interview guide, which pertained to areas where I felt that a deeper-­‐level of understanding was needed. (See Appendix: Interview Guide and Open-­‐Ended Questionnaire) This paper adopted the seven stage guidelines of conducting in-­‐depth interviews, as described by Kvale. These steps included thematizing, designing, interviewing, transcribing, analyzing, verifying, and reporting. (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009) Subjects were stratified based on the organizational levels in which they work in an attempt to reflect the thoughts and opinions of those in each department. I sat down with Lauren Dixon, CEO on August 29th for one hour discussing various topics, ranging from the wellness program to the company culture. Next, I held an interview with the HR manager, Karen Sims on 29 September 25th, which also lasted about an hour in order to clarify any situations/questions that had arisen during my time at the agency. Lastly, I met with Eva Bellis, Vice President of Clinical Operations at Workplace Vitality, Inc. to discuss the details of Dixon Schwabl’s Fitness Challenge, and about her impression of how effective the company has been with promoting wellness. The meetings were not taped, but notes were taken directly upon the completion of each. Following the meetings, I drafted an email, which was ultimately sent out to the entire agency by Karen Sims on my behalf. The email requested that employees partake in a thirty-­‐minute long interview, surrounding the topics of wellness, and the company culture. Ten employees responded and volunteered to be interviewed. Employee interviews took place from October 1 to October 22nd at the agency. One interview took place over the phone, as the employee works remotely from her home in South Carolina. With the exception of the remote employee, each of these interviews was taped, and the responses were transcribed at a later point. (See Appendix: Sample Interview Notes) Questionnaires
Upon interview completion, I noticed that I had not received responses from several departments. In order to get a better response rate, I sent out a questionnaire to targeted employees after finishing interviews. Questionnaires are a set of formal questions that seek to gather information on a certain topic from a set of respondents. In order to tend toward a constructivist methodology, I chose to utilize an open-­‐ended questionnaire, which sought to identify the underlying beliefs and attitudes of respondents by allowing each respondent to “express their attitudes or opinions without the bias associated with restricting responses to predefined alternatives.” (Malhotra, 2011, 182) I received three questionnaires back. These responses helped to provide a more balanced picture, which is more characteristic of the company as a whole, rather than just a few departments. 30 Expert Interviews and Open-Ended Questionnaires
During the month of October 2013, I planned to hold expert interviews, which are a form of semi-­‐structured interview, in which the interviewer seeks to obtain more proficiency about a specific topic from an ‘expert’ in the field. I identified ‘experts’ through the course of writing the literature review, where several names kept repeating themselves in journal articles and books. After contacting five ‘experts’ via e-­‐mail, two agreed to be interviewed. An expert is a “person who has a high degree of skill and knowledge in a certain domain, field, or industry due to long-­‐time experience and has status, power-­‐to-­‐act, and decision making opportunities based on these skills and knowledge.” (Belting, 2008) As with the in-­‐depth employee interviews, I drafted an interview guide with semi-­‐structured interview questions prior to undertaking the expert interviews. The first interview was with Judd Allen, Ph.D., President of the Human Resources Institute, LLC., a company that seeks to “address business and social problems by empowering people to better understand and shape their cultures.” (Allen, 2013) Our conversation lasted about an hour.4 The next interview was with Steve Aldana, Ph.D, CEO of Wellsteps, a “leading provider of evidence-­‐based, employee wellness solutions.” 5 (Aldana, 2013) However, due to time-­‐
constraints on Dr. Aldana’s part, he answered my questions in written form in lieu of a phone conversation. Conversing with experts again provided me with a broader picture of the field of wellness in the workplace. Conference Attendance
I attended the World Congress 4th Annual Executive Forum on Creating a Culture of Health and Wellness to further enhance my expertise about the topic. The conference was held in Chicago, IL on October 9th and 10th, 2013.6 Various speakers employed in professions relating to the topic conducted lectures. Topics included: Corporate Culture vs. a Culture of Wellbeing, A descriptionof the University of Michigan's MHealthy Program, Generating a Culture of Intrinsic 4
For more information, see http://www.healthyculture.com/Judd_Allen.html For more information, see http://www.stevealdana.com/index_bio.php 6
For more information, see: http://worldcongress.com/events/HH13077/ 5
31 Motivation vs. a Culture of Entitlement, Breaking down Employee Demographics to Create Targeted Strategies, Lowering Health Costs While Improving Health for Employees and Their Dependents, and Creating an Innovative Communication Blueprint that Reaches an Entire Employee Population, among others. Break-­‐out sessions provided an opportunity to informally discuss the topic of workplace wellness with other professionals involved in the field. Data Processing and Analysis
Without a categorization and analysis phase, the qualitative data gathered by this study would not be useful in uncovering findings. (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009) As such, research was analyzed throughout each stage of the research process, as is typically the case in qualitative studies. Framework Analysis
The first stage of analysis of this thesis adopted an ‘open’ approach to data analysis, called framework analysis. Framework analysis consists of a five-­‐step process: 1) familiarization, 2) identifying a thematic framework, 3) indexing, 4) charting, and 5) interpretation. It “can be said to be quite similar to grounded theory; however, framework analysis differs in that it is better adapted to research that has specific questions, a limited time frame, a pre-­‐designed sample (e.g. professional participants) and a priori issues (e.g. organizational and integration issues) that need to be dealt with.” (Srivastava, 2009, 2) Throughout the course of my research, I gathered and generated a great deal of information in the form of field notes, and interview transcripts. I also gathered pertinent existing material, including written data sources, internal document sources (including information in newsletters, e-­‐mail messages, meeting minutes, fliers, brochures, and descriptions of policies and procedures), as well as external documents (including newspaper articles, and business journal articles). After familiarizing myself with my data, I then chose several frameworks through which I would arrange my analysis, including the notion of a Transformational vs. Transactional leader, the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, and Schein’s Levels of Culture. As a part of this stage, I did a great deal of reading regarding each individual topic, such as organizational culture, 32 leadership, and work setup. As a result, I was able to choose the best-­‐fitting framework for my data given the themes and categories that had arisen during the analysis phase. The reason that I chose each will be described in further detail in the analysis section. I then organized the documents in binders, which had the following tab labels: Blog, Companies are People Too, Dale Carnegie Training EAP, Eat Well Live Well, Employees, External News Notes, Facebook, Field Notes, Incite Magazine, Intern, Interview Transcripts, Great Workplace, Intranet, Letters, Meetings, Money Matters, Performance Review, Twitter, Wednesday Announcements, and Workplace Vitality. From there, I read through the documents several times, then coded the information by highlighting the most important evidence in different colors, related to each specific topic of concentration. After that, I organized the highlighted fields into a word document, and linked common themes within each coded field. As the last step, I weaved all information together, by linking the relevant themes, concepts, and frameworks, and ultimately wrote the analysis and discussion sections from these findings. SECTION THREE: ANALYSIS OF CULTURE AS IT PERTAINS TO
WELLNESS
This section presents the findings of a cultural analysis of Dixon Schwabl. These types of findings are very pertinent to wellness research, because wellness initiatives are unlikely to find success unless there is an underlying effort to foster a culture and environment conducive to supporting those initiatives. (Steve Aldana, personal communication, October 3, 2013) First, a short summary of the company history is outlined, providing information about the agency. Next, leadership style will be examined, which is important in setting the tone for the way the agency functions. After, the work structure is described, which is the part of an organization’s psychosocial work environment that refers to how work is organized. Subsequently, the findings will be outlined from a cultural analysis using Schein’s levels of culture framework. The next section focuses on cultural strength, which helps to decipher how the culture maintains itself and progresses throughout time. Lastly, a description of the wellness resources provided both by and to the Rochester community will be detailed. This will help to provide a rounded 33 picture of the agency’s overall culture and how it helps to promote the health and wellbeing of its employees. History and Company Description
Below is a brief description of Dixon Schwabl’s history. The way the company has progressed throughout time plays an indirect role on the company structure, and is therefore vital to examine. Dixon Schwabl was founded in 1987 by Lauren Dixon. (See Appendix: Lauren Dixon Biography) The company is a ‘full-­‐service advertising, public relations and digital media agency specializing in unified marketing campaigns and services.’ The agency’s tag-­‐line reads, ‘inspired, integrated ideas,’ reflecting the fact that they can help a company with each step from ideation to implementation. (See Appendix: Excerpts from the Company’s Website) The company is divided into eight different departments: 1) account service, 2) creative, 3) media, 4) interactive, 5) broadcast, 6) production, 7) public relations, and 8) research. Dixon Schwabl has over 200 clients nationwide, from many different industries, including education, food and beverage, entertainment, apparel, telecommunications, economic development, construction, and not-­‐for-­‐profits. It has grown very quickly, and in 2012, its revenue topped $193.4 million. (Sims, 2012) Today, Mike Schwabl, Ms. Dixon’s husband, is the president, and her children work in various departments throughout the agency. Quality of Leadership
This section outlines the leadership style present at Dixon Schwabl. The quality of leadership is essential in promoting health and wellbeing because an organization’s leadership has a direct role in the manifestation of company culture. There are two angles pertinent to this study. The first is management support, which includes aspects such as senior management support of health promotion, and their acting as healthy role models. (Golaszewski et al., 2008) The second is the supportive management climate, which includes organizing work in a way that ensures employee wellbeing. (Shain & Kramer, 2004) 34 Management Support
‘Health promoting leadership’ is defined as “leadership that works to create a culture for health promoting workplaces and values, to inspire and motivate employee participation in such a development.” (Eriksson, 2011, 24) According to Ms. Dixon, investing in wellness “is a win-­‐win for a small investment.” She emphasizes, “It is a no brainer…. You invest a small amount of money, which can result in great return!” (Lauren Dixon, personal communication, August 29, 2013) The wide array of wellness activities has created almost unanimous participation in at least one program option in the past year. (See Appendix: Wellness Programming) Furthermore, employees are given time off to participate. This helps because, “while some employees are happy to share their time outside of work, others are simply too stretched and stressed to add an unplanned, extra activity to their schedule.” (Dixon, 2013a) The management team involved in organizing wellness programming also believes that wellness is a personal topic. As such, no programs are mandated because wellness “shouldn’t feel forced!” (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 9, 2013) These factors help remove many barriers to employee participation in wellness activities. Supportive Management Climate
Mike Schwabl and Lauren Dixon are around the office most of the time. This makes it easy for senior voice to resonate throughout the company, which provides many available occasions for exemplifying desired behaviors. (Karen Sims, personal communication, July 24, 2013) Employees described management as ‘engaged,’ and ‘hands-­‐on.’ This is important in the creation of underlying assumptions, as “it is often forgotten that culture expresses itself in the management of daily affairs much more significantly and deeply than in the official statements of managers.” (Reiman & Oedewald, 2002) A tale synonymous with this is the story of how top management ended up cleaning the office one Saturday, so that the leader of their cleaning crew could have his birthday off. While the CEO cleaned the mirrors, the president washed the bathroom, and the CFO vacuumed the carpets. 35 Lauren Dixon told me that she considers her employees to be her clients, and therefore she recognizes the need to work to make them happy. “I really want to make an impact on the lives of my employees, and want them to feel committed and happy with the place they work.” (Lauren Dixon, personal communication, August 29, 2013) One person equated this management style to the following: “A lot of the employers would be like… We’re paying you, so it should be all about us… They realize that we have to give it back too. Besides just giving back to the community, we have to give to the employees too. By giving a little bit, everyone stays happier. That is the process here.” (Bob Charboneau, personal communication, October 17, 2013) Management is also very keen on listening to their employees, and implementing ideas generated by them. As Ms. Dixon said, you have to “listen, listen, and when you think you have listened long enough, listen a little bit more.”(Dixon, 2013c) On another occasion, she mentioned, “As important as it is to listen to employees, it is equally critical to act on any ideas employees may present and follow through. Implementing new ideas helps to encourage and inspire employees, and demonstrates a commitment to acting on employee initiatives. Experience shows that truly innovative ideas can come from any employee, at any level, if only they have the opportunity to be heard”. (Dixon, 2013b) Wellness is accounted for in the agency’s annual budget, as is fun. This means that if an employee desires to create a new activity, there will be funds available for the initiative. With the above in mind, Lauren Dixon could be considered a transformational leader who directly influences and motivates employees to achieve positive change. Transformational leaders are able to share a clear vision, and employees will therefore identify with them. This results in empowerment, increased employee self confidence, and greater organizational commitment. Transformational leaders exhibit the following traits: 36 This concludes the leadership portion of this analysis. Next, the work structure present at the agency will be examined. Work Structure
This portion provides an analysis of Dixon Schwabl’s work structure, which is important, because poorly designed work systems can increase employee stress, and job dissatisfaction. (Faragher et al., 2005) The ‘Job Characteristics Model’ states that jobs consisting of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback result in employees feeling that their work has greater meaning, greater responsibility, and greater knowledge of results of work. This affects work outcomes such as work motivation, growth satisfaction, job satisfaction, work effectiveness, and absenteeism. (Fried & Ferris, 1987) Typically, jobs at Dixon Schwabl are not mundane, and require a great deal of creativity. There are always different types of activities 37 occurring, and projects are constantly changing. This creates a sense of interest among employees, who are constantly using their brains to think outside of the box. Dixon Schwabl’s work structure will be further analyzed according to a selection from an existing set of pre-­‐defined categories, as outlined in the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, a tool developed to assess a workplace’s psychosocial environment. The categories I used for analysis include: 1) role clarity, 2) role conflicts, 3) predictability, 4) degree of freedom at work, 4) work feedback, 5) potentials for development through work, 6) meaning of work, 7) commitment to the workplace, 8) job security, 9) job satisfaction, 10) client base, 11) social support, and 12) sense of community. It is important to note that this model includes a questionnaire that is handed out to employees, of which I did not make use because I gathered my data by other means. I chose this model, because it offered the most complete list of categories pertinent to work configuration at an organization. Each will be touched upon in more detail below. Role Clarity
This factor refers to how well defined an employee’s role is within the organization, which is essential to the reduction of stress and ambiguity. This means that “clarity in workers’ objectives, key accountabilities, their co-­‐workers’ expectations of them and the overall scope or responsibilities of their job” should be ensured. (Workplace Health and Safety, 2008) At Dixon Schwabl, many employees mentioned that they recognized that understanding what is needed up front creates an environment for less problems along the way. “We are all really good about being vocal about talking about what is going on and what we need.” (Wayne Gormont, personal communication, October 7, 2013) Role Conflicts
This factor refers to an absence of roles that require employees to perform something that goes against their personal beliefs or values, and minimizing job demands that are not compatible with one another. (Workplace Health and Safety, 2008) At Dixon Schwabl, other employees are asked to pick up the slack when someone cannot accomplish their tasks with the 38 time that they have been allotted. This means that employees have plenty of support in times of need, which helps to reduce role conflict and an environment where employees feel confident in each other’s abilities. According to one employee, “this atmosphere of teamwork helps me to cope with stressful situations.” (Ryann Bouchard, personal communication, October 17, 2013) Predictability
This factor refers to being informed about decisions and the processes undertaken to reach them. Changing environments can cause extreme anxiety among employees, so employee reassurance needs to be managed through job-­‐security and role clarity. (Eriksson, 2011) Lauren Dixon and Mike Schwabl are very open, and transparent about issues faced by the agency. They attempt to never scrimp on the provision of information. This open dialogue helps to reduce conflict and worry and does not leave employees in doubt about anything pertaining to their job. (Dixon, 2013b) Degree of Freedom at Work
This refers to the control that an employee has over their work to make decisions they see best fit. Employees are given a great deal of autonomy in their work at Dixon Schwabl. Lauren Dixon mentioned that she believes in her team’s ability to make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own work, because she ‘does not know everything, and cannot micro-­‐
manage every situation’. Lauren also mentioned that she is less stressed because she does not have the baggage of feeling as if she needs to have all the answers all of the time. “That is just not a feasible, or desirable thing to achieve!” (Lauren Dixon, personal communication, August 29, 2013) Going along the same lines, employees are encouraged to take risks. If employees make a mistake, they are encouraged to learn from it. As Mike Schwabl put it, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” (Fieldnotes, August 29, 2013) When autonomy is combined with the lack of fear of failure, employees come up with much more creative ideas, that they are proud of. “All humans thrive when the stakes are high… you’ve got the skills, and the permission to fail, and 39 you’ve got people who are as dedicated and excited about the project as you are.” (Charles Benoit, personal communication, October 22, 2013) Work Feedback
This factor refers to employees being given constructive criticism, and praise for the work they have completed. At Dixon Schwabl, office-­‐wide meetings are held every Wednesday at 8:30 AM, where employees are recognized and provided with feedback, and ‘shout-­‐outs’ are given to people deserving recognition for their work. Further, letters are read from clients and community members thanking Dixon Schwabl team members for a job well done. Once monthly, employees’ anniversaries at Dixon Schwabl are announced, where employees are thanked for their tenure at the company, and an employee who went above and beyond expectations during the course of the month is given the Jaz Janie Award7. Potentials for Development through Work
This factor refers to an employee’s room to succeed and progress in their career, which helps to retain top talent, and to develop talent internally. Dixon Schwabl has a comprehensive performance review system, complete with a “strategic talent dashboard-­‐ a one page overview of employee skills, talents, and goals, with an individual development plan, and collaborative section completed with a supervisor.” (Sims, 2012) This allows employees to set their own, individual career paths. This is expressed in the fairly frequent 180-­‐degree change in career trajectories of employees within the agency. As one employee put it, “if you are interested in doing something, or have a dream of having a certain position, it can happen here!” (Fieldnotes, August 29, 2013) One employee recounted his move from the interactive team to the account side of the business. “I had expressed interest and Lauren and Mike were more than willing. They said if you have a passion, let’s see if you can do it! They set me up on a three month trial, and everything worked out really well, so now they have transitioned me to that full time!” (Wayne Gormont, personal communication, October 7, 2013) 7
Excerpt from Dixon Schwabl’s website: Every month, Dixon Schwabl honors an outstanding employee with the coveted Jaz Janie Award. The award was created to commemorate Dixon Schwabl Public Relations Vice President Jane “Janie” Argenta, who passed away in September 2009. Jane was a fun loving, compassionate and hardworking professional who touched the lives of many. 40 There are also many learning and training opportunities that take place throughout the year, which help to develop an employee’s skill set and expertise, and also helps to reinforce the company culture. Lastly, Ms. Dixon is a strong proponent of promoting female leadership. One employee stated that at her past job, there was an ‘old boys club’ that did not want women on the managing team. At some point while working at that company, she hit a glass ceiling. She did not find that same ceiling at Dixon Schwabl. (Shannon Struzik, personal communication, October 14, 2013) Meaning of Work
This factor refers to how much employees feel that their work makes a difference in the grand scheme of things. Dixon Schwabl’s efforts to give back to the community through client relationships with not-­‐for-­‐profits, volunteering, etc. is especially important in helping employees to feel as if their work is meaningful. One employee told me, “It is remarkable to see how much we can stretch not-­‐for-­‐profit’s limited budgets, and how much we can donate to them to try and give them something that we would give to a huge client. To see the results, and how happy they are with them is truly amazing!” (Wayne Gormont, personal communication, October 7, 2013) Commitment to the Workplace
This focuses on how dedicated employees are to the place that they are employed. Dixon Schwabl’s, voluntary turnover is less than one percent, meaning that few people leave to go to another agency. I was told that if an employee leaves, they typically want to stay home, or are trying out a different career path or are relocating. When a person leaves, Dixon Schwabl throws a party, ensuring to not burn bridges. This friendly attitude results in past employees’ continued ties with the agency, whether it is through continued attendance at Christmas parties, playing on the softball league, or becoming a client himself or herself. Job Security
This factor refers to the level of confidence that employees have about the continuation of their employment. The Rochester advertising job landscape is often referred to as ‘the circuit,’ 41 as other marketing agencies in the area are noted for high turnover, since they will have only four or five big clients. If a client pulls their budget, the team managing that account is laid off. Dixon Schwabl tries not to play into this ‘circuit’ to ensure organizational stability. Ms. Dixon’s policy is that any piece of business is valuable, regardless of the size, so Dixon Schwabl typically targets small to medium companies as clients. Having a stream of smaller clients keeps the company from having to fire or hire if one large client decides to change their mind. Job Satisfaction
This factor refers to how satisfied employees are about their work. In interviews, employees continually stressed how happy they were to work for Dixon Schwabl. For example, one employee told me, “you spend forty hours per week at your job, and if it were not enjoyable, why would you be there? It has been nice compared to other places that I’ve been… it’s nice to want to come to work… and to be able to thrive in your environment!” (Hayley Pingree, personal communication, October 7, 2013) Client Base
This factor refers to the types of clients an organization deals with, and what the relationships with these groups are like. Most advertising agencies’ relationships average around eighteen months. At Dixon Schwabl, however, clients are typically affiliated with the agency on a long-­‐
term, or indefinite basis. This is due to the personal approach with clients. Having small clients with close personal relationships also helps to create a more informal, and flexible atmosphere. One employee stated, “When you work for a Manhattan advertising firm, clients are mostly marketing execs. This means that they know what they were talking about, and always thought they were better or more of experts than you. What this did was created a climate of second-­‐
guessing and skepticism of our work. The clients here are regional, much smaller. Most of them are not experts in this, so they trust Dixon Schwabl in being the expert. This changes the situation, because there is a lot more trust.” (Justin Shaw, personal communication, September 19, 2013) 42 Having smaller firms as clients also means that employees have more of an opportunity to be honest with their clients in times where there is too much to get done in too little time. “They know my life, and they get it. A lot know me personally, and we have a personal connection. I may say to them, ‘I am going out dinner with my husband tonight, so I am not going to be able to get to it until the morning.’ That helps me a lot with balance.” (Stacy Lake, personal communication, October 16, 2013) Another employee told me, “I feel like I’ve trained my clients. If it is not urgent, and if it is not an emergency… they don’t have to call me at night… I’m not a doctor… I’m not on call, where they are like… come in here and do surgery! If I send an email at ten at night or eight in the morning, it is not a huge difference.” (Katie Redmond, personal communication, October 14, 2013) Social Support
This factor refers to the sense of rapport between employees. The enormous sense of teamwork present at Dixon Schwabl creates for great collaboration and stronger client proposals, and allows employees to get to know many others throughout the office. One employee noted, “Here it is not as much competitive as it is collaborative. It is not a shark tank. I have worked at places where it is cut throat, and the only way to succeed is to step on other people… and it is not like that here at all!” (Hayley Pingree, personal communication, October 7, 2013). An employee who has been at the company for around a month, who came from a New York City based agency called this the ‘Dixon Schwabl Advantage.’ He stated, “I was at a lot of firms before this, and the way we do things here just doesn’t happen elsewhere… people like one another, we get along… and we need to highlight that! It is so unusual!” (Fieldnotes, September 19, 2013). Sense of Community
This factor refers to the creation of a sense of community both within the office and in the community-­‐at-­‐large. 43 Community in the Office
It is very evident that employees at Dixon Schwabl take a vested personal interest in one another. Employees used terms such as ‘small,’ and ‘close-­‐knit’ to describe their working relationships. For example, one employee said, “I feel like I came here, and I got more older sisters than I could bargain for.” (Katie Redmond, personal communication, October 14, 2013). Often, employees spend time together outside of the office, getting together for dinner, parties, or other activities around town. These close relationships create friendships and a sense of intimate camaraderie. Community among Family
This same sense of inclusion is passed on to employee’s families, as Dixon Schwabl extends its wellness programming to friends and family members of employees, who are encouraged to get involved in activities. This creates “an island of health at home while at the same time having an island of health/healthy culture at work.” Since employees spend a good deal of their time at home, “it is equally important to change culture at home if we are going to be successful in changing the culture at work. In many ways spouses are the gatekeepers to employee health.” (Steve Aldana, personal communication, October 3, 2013) Community in the Rochester-Area
Lauren Dixon and Mike Schwabl are very involved with giving back to the community, and that resonates throughout the entire office. A few community efforts that took place during my time at Dixon Schwabl included employee participation in the American Lung Association Fight for Air Climb, and ‘Jeans Fridays,’ where employees donate $5 to a charity of their choosing in return for being able to wear casual dress. Furthermore, employees are also encouraged to join the boards of community organizations. One employee told me, “It gets the Dixon Schwabl name out there, and lets me give back. It is a win-­‐win, and they get it.” (Stacy Lake, personal communication, October 16, 2013) (See Appendix: Boards and Committees that Dixon Schwabl Employees Serve On) Further, as previously mentioned, Dixon Schwabl has many not-­‐for profit 44 clients, which allows employees to “feel connected to the community in a way that most people do not.” (Katie Redmond, personal communication, October 14, 2013) According to ‘chameleon theory,’ as “a lizard changes color to reflect its surroundings, so will employees change behaviors to reflect health supporting characteristics of their worksites.” (Golaszewski et al., 2008 3) In sum, these combined positive factors present at the office have resulted in empowerment, greater job satisfaction, and improved wellness outcomes among employees. This concludes the work factors section of the cultural analysis. Next, the ‘levels of culture’ at Dixon Schwabl will be discussed. Schein’s Levels of Culture
In an organization, culture manifests itself at different levels, based upon their ability to be observed. Whereas cultural factors, such as behavior, appearance, dress, language, habits, and customs are easily observable, factors such as norms, rules, beliefs, expectations, and perceptions are not. I chose to use Schein’s three levels of culture framework, because looking at organizational culture from several different angles will provide a clearer, more telling picture of the culture at Dixon Schwabl. As Schein put it, “some of the confusion surrounding the definition of what culture really is results from not differentiating the levels at which it manifests itself.” The three levels are outlined in more detail below. 45 Level One: Cultural artifacts
The first level of Schein’s framework is cultural artifacts, or visible structures and processes. According to Schein “artifacts include the visible products of the group, such as the architecture of its physical environment; its language; its technology and products; its artistic creations; its style, as embodied in clothing, manners of address, emotional displays, and myths and stories told about the organization; its published lists of values; its observable rituals and ceremonies; and so on.” (Schein, 2006, 27) Artifact: Office Space
The physical work environment is a fundamental component of the manifestation of an organization’s culture. Mike Schwabl mentioned to me that everyone has a sense of ownership of his or her own space, and takes the time to make it their own, which makes it feel much more comfortable. This partly is due to the fact that management let employees decide what they wanted in their office space when they found the need to construct a new building. When I asked employees to describe the office, they used words like: fun, encouraging, vibrant, and definitely not dreary. Outside of each office, employees have a nameplate, which they have been able to personalize with their own font and image. Employees are also encouraged to decorate their offices in any way that makes them feel comfortable. Offices are for the most part shared, but this provides an environment that is very conductive to teamwork. (See Figure 15: Description of the Dixon Schwabl Office and Figure 16: Images of the Dixon Schwabl Office) One employee said to me, “I am always reminded when I go into a building that has grey cubes… grey walls… a place that needs a paint job… I always have a moment of being so thankful that Lauren Dixon and Mike Schwabl have invested what they have in our building, because I really think that it is a huge part of the Dixon Schwabl experience.” (Katie Redmond, personal communication, October 14, 2013) 46 Artifact: Social Media
When engaging with clients, employees act as brand ambassadors for the Dixon Schwabl name. These efforts also attract new clients who have similar interests in employee wellness, fun, etc. “In some ways, Dixon Schwabl is a club. We want our clients to feel like they are an extension of Dixon Schwabl, and want them to be proud to be associated with us.” (Katie Redmond, personal communication, October 14, 2013). Clients and employees comment with friendly messages, making for a family type feel and connection between these groups. (See Appendix: Facebook Posts) Artifact: Language
Employees described the culture with the following terms: freedom, flexibility, responsibility, accountability, support, feeling valued, positive, productive, creative, empowerment, ownership, energy, enthusiasm, high energy, open, honest, helpful, respect, fun, trust, integrity, team oriented, community based, welcoming, encouraging, family, pride in work, never boring, supportive personally and professionally, transparency, high energy, fair, and nurturing, all of which reflect underlying assumptions. Further, the jargon and lingo manifested through daily vernacular at Dixon Schwabl helps to create a sense of shared understanding, and a frame through which employees can interpret occurrences within the workplace environment. 47 48 Artifact: Stories and Rituals
Several noteworthy stories and rituals are outlined in the form of vignettes below. By no means a complete list, these short accounts shed light on what role wellness plays on a day-­‐to-­‐day basis at the agency, and how the theme is reinforced through discourse and customary gatherings. Wellness Story about Leadership Engagement
Lauren Dixon and Mike Schwabl routinely take employees out one on one to listen to what they have to say, which most employees take part in. One employee told me that “one thing that made me feel so special…. five or six months in, Lauren emailed me and invited me and my family over to her home for dinner. It was not work related. I still think about that, and I am so happy that it happened. Also, just last week… Lauren emailed me, saying let’s go to lunch… so I have a lunch date! With the CEO! You don’t get that everywhere! That makes you feel special, appreciated, and valued!” (Ryann Bouchard, personal communication, October 17, 2013) Wellness Story about Fun at Work
Ice Cream Thursdays are held once weekly during the summer in the lobby. Employees, visitors, and guests are invited to take a break. The occasion is announced by broadcasting a silly limerick over the intercom system. Soon after, rushes of people flood into the lobby. Everyone carefully ponders over whether or not they should choose the caramel, mint, sherbet, or chocolate covered bananas. One Ice Cream Thursday, Ms. Dixon walked over to a small group of employees and myself, with a vanilla ice cream in hand. Everyone began to recollect memories of ski nights past, saying, “Remember when that girl’s hair caught on fire?” One employee chimed in, playfully stating, “No! It wasn’t her hair, it was her jacket!” They continued on like this for a good ten minutes, providing both a break and a chance to catch up. (Fieldnotes, August 29, 2013) Wellness Story about Recognizing Employees
One employee recently celebrated his twentieth anniversary at the agency. For the occasion, Mr. Schwabl and Ms. Dixon brought his family into the agency, and surprised them with a trip 49 to either Hawaii or Alaska. Throughout the course of the day, they celebrated him and his achievements throughout the years. According to a colleague, “he is usually a very apathetic person, but he was ecstatic at the thought of being able to go on vacation!” (Fieldnotes, September 4, 2013) Wellness Story about Promoting Work-Life Balance
One year, the annual survey found that only 77% of 26-­‐34 year olds felt as if their work-­‐life balance was being promoted. When Lauren Dixon looked into why this figure was so low, she came to realize that this group was working on a very demanding, and strenuous project. They were in the office until one in the morning on a regular basis. After realizing this, two shifts were created: 9-­‐5 and 1-­‐9, so that employees could not be working so much. When the project ended, they shifted back to normal schedules. (Lauren Dixon, personal communication, August 29, 2013) Wellness Story about Mistakes
One employee told me a story about a meeting he attended when he first started at Dixon Schwabl. Something went wrong, and he thought to himself… “What is going on? Why are everyone’s heads not exploding right now?” He told me that at his last job, he was so afraid of doing things wrong all the time. “Here it is so much different, they are so much more lax about getting things done and it is not the end of the world if something goes wrong!” (Fieldnotes, September 19, 2013) Wellness Story about Including Family
In July, Dixon Schwabl created a ‘Spouse/Significant Other of the Month’ award, which is a way to celebrate and recognize family. The agency wants to highlight those who do a good job at supporting their spouses. Employees are also recognized for important life milestones, such as having babies or getting married. Whenever a baby is due (which is pretty often around Dixon Schwabl), a flier is hung in the kitchen, stating whose baby it is, and when they are due to arrive. A lottery is held, and people guess the weight of the baby. Once the bundle of joy has 50 arrived, the employee who was closest to the correct weight is awarded with a gift card. (Fieldnotes, October 17, 2013) Wellness Story about Creating Camaraderie
When hired, employees are requested to fill out a sheet that lists their interests. At the new-­‐
hire’s first Wednesday meeting, Mike Schwabl reads this document aloud so that everyone can get to know this person’s life interests from the start. On one occasion, Mike Schwabl read that a person liked to play softball, but wasn’t very good at it. He enthusiastically replied… “We love softball too! You should join the softball team!” Another person wrote that they were obsessed with pickles, to which Mike Schwabl replied, “Dave is too! You’ve got a friend!” The two smiled at each other from across the room. Another employee wrote that they loved hockey. Mr. Schwabl asked them what teams they liked, stating that there were a lot of other hockey fans throughout the office. Several employees hollered in joy, elated at the acquisition of a fellow hockey enthusiast. When Mr. Schwabl read that the new hire was an Syracuse University alumni, he cheered, “SU alumni let’s hear it!” The SU alumni in the room applauded and screamed. (Fieldnotes September 25, 2013) Afterwards, this information is put on Dixon Schwabl’s website. In the appendix, several examples are included. (See Appendix: Sample Employee Website Listings) Wellness Story about Teamwork
When employees are hired, they take a personality test, which helps them and other employees to know how they work best, and allows them to best know how to assign tasks, thus making use of each person’s strengths. “We know each other very well, so we can do more work. This means better work, which means that we can fit more in. Our productivity is good, because we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and we’re able to complement each other. We don’t have to figure out what the person is good at, and what they like, and don’t like. We already know that. It would be a lot more stressful if we did have to do that.” (Bob Charboneau, personal communication, October 17, 2013) According to Schein, “the most important point to be made about this level of the culture is 51 that it is both easy to observe and very difficult to decipher. In other words, observers can describe what they see and feel, but cannot reconstruct from that alone what those things mean in the given group, or whether they even reflect important underlying assumptions.” (Schein 2006, 47) That is why it is important to look at Level Two and Level Three of Dixon Schwabl’s Culture, which will be examined below. Level Two: Espoused Beliefs and Values
The second level of Schein’s framework is espoused beliefs and values, or values that the organization has officially adopted. These are visible through strategies, goals, policies, and norms. Mission Statement
Dixon Schwabl’s official tag-­‐line is, “We believe in discovering and developing the wow in you and me; together we create an unstoppable force for innovation.” (Fieldnotes, September 4, 2013). It expresses the agency’s desire to foster an environment based upon respect, and personal development. This sense of dedication thereby ensures that work will be completed in the best manner possible. Core Values
The agency's five core values are: 1) respect, 2) integrity, 3) teamwork, 4) community, and 5) fun. Throughout my time at the organization, employees continually referred back to these, saying that they conducted business within a frame of focus on these values. Strategy
Dixon Schwabl has been on the list of Great Places to Work in America for the past nine years. As a part of the application process, company employees must fill out a survey that is comprised of fifty multiple choice and two open ended questions. These have provided Dixon Schwabl with a lot of insight for the company to figure out where they can improve, and where they are already doing well. Each year, Lauren Dixon and the managing team get together in a 52 strategy meeting to devise agency priorities based on these results. Further, they devise three weaknesses that they want to work on in the upcoming year. (See Appendix: Strategy Map) Policies
Policies are rules that shape the way employees behave, and can be paramount in discouraging unhealthy behaviors. When relating to wellness, policies include smoking bans, requiring healthy food at meetings, longer lunch breaks for exercise, flexible work hours, work at home, and alcohol bans. Several will be discussed below. Smoking Policy
In the past, Dixon Schwabl had some smokers. As Karen told me, “back then, you could smoke outside of the office, but it smelled everywhere, and really annoyed the non-­‐smokers!” (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) Now, you must smoke in your car. This has resulted in a lot of smokers quitting, because the workplace is not conducive to it any longer. Flex Time Policy
The office’s opening hours are from eight to five, but some people arrive early, and some leave late. Employees are expected to put in nine hours per day, but how they do it is their own choice. With the ‘find me, follow me’ phone system that was introduced six years ago, employees’ phone calls are forwarded to their home or cell phones. This means that they can work from home, which is especially important because many people have families. (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) Wow Hours Policy
Some employees have to work a lot of late nights, early mornings, and overtime. It is very difficult to predict busy times, as it is mostly based on client needs. (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) To make up for this, employees are awarded ‘wow’ hours or days when they work a lot of overtime, or go above and beyond their call of duty. This paid time off gives employees time to renew themselves and have quality time with their families. 53 Work Break Policy
Dixon Schwabl wants employees to take an informal break, and feel like their supervisors are not watching the clock, or hovering over their subordinates. As one employee put it, “I feel like because they do so much for us here…. Just the thought that it is not out of the question to take a minute and do something you want, it gives you a better balance. It keeps you more even keel. Since people are more even keel, they are happier, and because they are happier, they start to do better work. That is the logic behind it.” (Bob Charboneau, personal communication, October 17, 2013) These breaks also bring colleagues together, meaning a chance for interaction across teams. According to Karen Sims, this is important, because “the office is getting just big enough that you can go without seeing certain people ever.” (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25) Open Doors Policy
This means that if anyone ever has a problem, top management is there to listen and you don’t have to set an appointment, because the door is always open. One employee told a story of a time that she was in doubt about something with her personal life. “I did not know what to do, so I walked into Lauren’s office one day and asked her. She pushed back a meeting for an entire hour just to talk to me!” (Shannon Struzik, personal communication, October 14, 2013) 24-48 Hour Response Policy
If an employee has an idea, problem, or feedback, they can go to Mike Schwabl, Lauren Dixon, or any managing partner to talk to them about it. Top-­‐management promises to respond to their feedback within 24-­‐48 hours. Birthdays Off Policy
Employees are encouraged to take their birthday off of work to spend time with their family, and loved ones to get respite. Their team is asked to take over their workload during their absence. Espoused values that are accepted as the general norm at Dixon Schwabl become underlying 54 assumptions through a process of social validation. This is important because by being “reasonably congruent with the underlying assumptions, then the articulation of those values into a philosophy of operating can be helpful in bringing the group together, serving as a source of identity and core mission.” (Schein 2006, 51) There were several occasions where underlying assumptions were not equivalent to espoused values, which will be touched upon in the discussion section. Underlying assumptions will be analyzed in the next section. Level Three: Underlying Assumptions
The third, or deepest level of Schein’s framework of organizational culture is underlying assumptions. These beliefs and attitudes are largely taken for granted, and are not often spoken about, but are the most powerful part of the culture. This is because, “if a basic assumption comes to be strongly held in a group, members will find behavior based on any other premise inconceivable.” (Schein, 2006, 53) It was interesting that employees had a difficult time describing the culture that they worked so hard to maintain because so much of it is based upon tacit assumptions present in day-­‐to-­‐day happenings. For example, when asked about the culture, an employee stated, “it is hard to put it to words, because the way that we do things around here is just such an intuitive thing.” (Charles Benoit, personal communication, October 22, 2013) He mentioned that the way that Ms. Dixon and Mr. Schwabl work has set the precedent for everyone else, and there is a clear company philosophy at Dixon Schwabl, which another employee he put it, “is not written, but we all know it and live it.” (Great Place to Work Institute, 2008) Assumption One: Communication is Key
Ensuring ample communication about ideas is important at Dixon Schwabl. According to Ms. Dixon, “I am really big on communication. We do this at every Wednesday meeting, which typically only lasts twenty minutes. A lot of people think it is a big waste of time, but it is not for me. Nobody is filling in the blanks, and everyone is on the same page. We are celebrating great work, and making business announcements. It’s one of the most important things we’ve done for 15 years.” (Lauren Dixon in Kimmel, 2012, 1) (See Appendix: Sample Wednesday Meeting 55 Minutes) Dixon Schwabl also ensures communication of all of its news by sending out informational e-­‐mails. Assumption Two: Employee Input When Developing Goals and Objectives is
Important
Input comes from the bottom up, as employees spearhead all initiatives and activities at the agency. Employees are able to decipher what they need and want in activities by being able to come up with the ideas themselves. Employee-­‐instated initiatives begin in a proposal stage, where employees come to Lauren Dixon, Mike Schwabl or a managing partner to seek approval for their idea. If the idea is approved, a proper budgetary amount is awarded to the activity. Participation is tracked throughout the lifecycle of a program of any given activity or initiative, and the agency considers wellness programming a success when participation is maximized. If there is a lack of interest among employees, programs are suspended. This “helps them to commit to programs, and feel ownership, which drives participation.” (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) Assumption Three: You Should be Engaged, and Dedicated to Your Work
While sitting at the front desk, I saw both Mike Schwabl and Lauren Dixon roaming around all of the time, sparking informal conversation with employees as they walked by. Furthermore, even in his role as president of the company, Mike Schwabl is still very active in development, and the studio team, making him feel very accessible. One employee stated, “it is not cold-­‐
shouldered, where your boss will say, here is your work, get it done, and call me when its done.” (Bob Charboneau, personal communication, October 17, 2013) Assumption Four: Family is Important
Dixon Schwabl is a family-­‐run company and employees are treated like family, exemplified in the fact that they are referred to as being part of the ‘Dixon Schwabl Extended Family.’ “Lauren and Mike have struck a great chord where their family is integrated into the company in different departments. They’ve even opened the umbrella to make us feel like family.” (Stacy Lake, personal communication, October 16, 2013) One person told me, “If someone called Mike 56 or Lauren, and said emergency… they would drop what they were doing and just go! It is like that way with a lot of people here.” (Bob Charboneau, personal communication, October 17, 2013) Assumption Five: Work-life Balance is a Priority
Mike Schwabl and Lauren Dixon seem to try to promote their own work-­‐life balance on a regular basis, and this extends to the hopes that their employees will do the same. One employee told me that she came to Dixon Schwabl when she had kids. She knew it was time to make a change when she only got to put her two year old to bed two times in a month and then told a story about a twenty-­‐three-­‐year-­‐old woman who had just started at the job, who needed to get work done, so she took it home. The next day, everyone applauded her throughout the office for doing work at home for the first time. “They definitely should not have been celebrating that and they get that here.” (Shannon Struzik, personal communication, October 14, 2013) Assumption Six: You Have to Trust Your Colleagues
According to Lauren, “trust is an intangible with very tangible ramifications when not present. Absenteeism, poor productivity, low morale—these are all outcomes of a lack of trust in the workplace.” (Dixon, 2013b) One person told me, “It is just an unspoken rule that you work extra if you take time off…. It is no problem…. they are not micro-­‐monitoring your hours…. they trust you to put them in.” (Fieldnotes, September 17, 2013) Further, as previously mentioned, employees are trusted, and given the autonomy to make their own informed decisions. Assumption Seven: Fun is Essential
Employees are encouraged to reserve a minute to have a fun. As one employee put it, “fun is not just a word here; it is a way of life!” (Great Place to Work Institute, 2008) Assumption Eight: Everyone is Considered Equal
There is a flat hierarchical structure at Dixon Schwabl, which creates for an honest, two-­‐sided, open dialogue between all employees. One employee stated that she ‘guides employees in the 57 right direction,’ and that the term ‘boss’ is used loosely, because “around here, it really is not like that.” Another told me, “there is always a level where you have to respect your boss, and you have to have a professional relationship with your superiors… but it makes it easier to be able to be honest with them, and say… this is how I'm feeling… or to be able to really open up to somebody, even if they are higher ranking than you… and that makes it more productive, and helps me to do a better job.” (Hayley Pingree, personal communication, October 7, 2013). Assumption Nine: Positivity is Key
Positivity is a huge part of the Dixon Schwabl experience. As one employee put it, “our culture is like… the glass is not only half full, but you know if we got three other glasses, and I have a friend who has a hose, and maybe we could do this! We are better than glass half full!” (Charles Benoit, personal communication, October 22, 2013) Another added, “Everyone is your cheerleader. We definitely don’t have a lot of Negative Nancies around here!” (Stacy Lake, personal communication, October 16, 2013) This concludes the three levels of culture section of the cultural analysis. It was important to decipher all three levels of the culture, because “the essence of a culture lies in the pattern of basic underlying assumptions, and once one understands those, one can easily understand the other more surface levels and deal appropriately with them.” (Schein, 2006, 57) Next, the strength of the organizational culture will be touched upon. Cultural Strength
This segment of the analysis section looks at cultural strength, which refers to the cohesiveness of the organizational culture at Dixon Schwabl. This helps to foster feelings of common purpose, and helps to ensure all employees feel included. (Deetz et al., 2000) Hiring for Culture
Dixon Schwabl ensures the strength of its culture by hiring the right people, and ensuring that they assimilate into agency’s modus operandi from their first day on the job. When a spot opens up at the agency, Karen Sims accepts resumes, and chooses the top twenty. From there, 58 resumes are passed to department heads, which choose the top ten. After a series of phone conversations with applicants, the team whittles the list down to the top three. The entire team then meets with the candidates, and subsequently chooses the best fit together. As a last step, the candidate has an interview with Ms. Dixon, who focuses her questions around the candidate’s ability to fit in with the Dixon Schwabl culture. Lauren Dixon states that she has faith in her team’s ability to choose, which ensures a cultural fit, because it guarantees that existing employees feel responsibility towards helping the person to fit in and work within the existing company framework. This creates commitment and empowerment among employees, because they are making big decisions that make a difference around the office. Lauren Dixon and Mike Schwabl place great emphasis on this, because they want to ensure that the people they have coming in have a positive attitude, are going to be open to new ideas, and are going to really want the best for the company, the community, and for other employees. As Dixon said, “we can teach skill sets, but not passion or work ethic. These are so important to us!” (Lauren Dixon in Escher, 2010) Orientation
From their first day, welcoming new hires is a team effort, and “coworkers are entrusted to help a new hire assimilate in the company culture and start off on the right foot!” (Dixon, 2013b) Ms. Dixon also mentioned in a column, “how a company develops and executes its onboarding process often is a direct reflection of its culture. The first impression a new hire has outside of the recruiting and interviewing process is Day One-­‐-­‐ the very first day on the job as an employee.” (Dixon, 2013a) Further, about 20% of new-­‐hires are former interns. This is important, because these individuals have already proven that they fit in the Dixon Schwabl way of life, and will have less of a cultural learning curve when entering the environment. (Ryann Bouchard, personal communication, September 26, 2013) Cultural Misfits
It is very clear from the beginning if a new-­‐hire does not fit in at the agency. “Someone is not a fit when they do not buy into the spirit or attitude here.” (Katie Redmond, personal 59 communication, October 14, 2013). More negatively focused people, or non-­‐team players ‘put sand in the gears’ and typically stick out like a sore thumb. If there is a cultural discrepancy, Lauren Dixon, Mike Schwabl, or other employees try to confront the situation to ensure that a stop is put to it. Cultural misfits do not typically last long. As one employee put it, “misery likes company, and they don’t have it here. The dominant culture in the building is the high spirit.” (Charles Benoit, personal communication, October 22, 2013) Further, as Mike Schwabl put it in one of his addresses at an agency meeting, “this place isn’t for everyone, because we like to work as a team. If you are one of those people who like to work on your own and do your own thing, and progress for yourself, then maybe this place isn’t for you. But, if you are one of those people who like to collaborate and work on a team, you’ll fit in here.” (Wayne Gormont, personal communication, October 7, 2013) Maintaining Culture
Employees are aware that they need to work to keep the corporate culture intact. A common belief system shapes cultural maintenance efforts. As one person put it, “in marriage, if you don’t work on your relationship, it can slip away from you, and in your workspace, if you don’t work on your relationship, that can slip away from you too. It is not just Lauren and Mike’s responsibility to make sure that everyone likes to work here… everyone who likes working here needs to make sure that it stays that sort of place.” (Charles Benoit, personal communication, October 22, 2013) Another told me “I have clients that have companies that have a horrible culture, and that is toxic. Just as much as you have a good company culture that can make you so much better, a bad culture can really hurt your business. Your choice is to be great, or awful. This is what I’ve learned from Lauren and Mike. To choose to do nothing is bad culture.” (Katie Redmond, personal communication, October 14, 2013). This concludes the cultural strength portion of this analysis. Next, the culture of health present in the Rochester community will be touched upon. 60 Wellness Culture in the Rochester Community
This final section looks at the culture of health within the Rochester-­‐area. This is important, because organizations do not exist in an autonomous bubble that is disconnected from the outside world. It is of further importance, because an organization’s own culture is strengthened when the culture aligns with national, community, industry, and other organizational level’s values. There is a two-­‐way interplay between Dixon Schwabl and the community, as it helps to create wellness resources in the Rochester area, while also benefitting from the existing wellness culture. This will be described in more detail below. Working to Strengthen the Culture of Health in Rochester
A paramount part of a healthy workplace is providing “ways of participating in the community to improve the health of workers, their families and other members of the community.” (Burton, 2010) Dixon Schwabl is located in Victor, New York, a town located in the southeast quadrant of the Greater Rochester, New York Area. (See Appendix: Victor, New York) Rochester is located in upstate New York, between Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes region. The city itself has a population of 208,123. The county has 735,343 inhabitants, and the greater Rochester metro area has 1,098,201 residents. It is the third largest city in the state of New York and is the 79th largest in the country. (Paychex, 2013a) One way that the agency has helped to strengthen the culture of health in Rochester is by providing employees with a ‘Make it Happen Day,’ where they can take a day off of work to devote their time to a philanthropic effort of their choosing. Often, employees will pool their hours to create a larger team-­‐based initiative. Last year, Dixon Schwabl provided 10,000 pro-­‐
bono hours of work to the Rochester community. (Sims, 2012) Lauren Dixon tries to take whatever opportunity she can to and pass on insights of her own by regularly speaking at various colleges, lectures, and community events. Further, Dixon Schwabl employees also run workshops with clients, where they train them on how to improve their own corporate culture. Further, in addition, school tours, and marketing courses are regularly held which encourages students become marketing professionals. By doing this, Dixon Schwabl 61 employees hope to achieve their vision of making the Rochester community a ‘Great Place to Live and Work.’ (David Lyttle, personal communication, September 19, 2013) Benefitting from Existing Community-Based Resources
The Rochester community has a good deal of wellness resources at its fingertips. Dixon Schwabl employees partake in community-­‐based activities throughout the course of the year. These events are typically community based, and often are held by one of the company’s clients. In this way, these events provide more than one benefit, in the form of supporting the community, clients, employee health, their families’ health, and teambuilding. For example, in May, Dixon Schwabl employees took part in the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge Series, which is a 3.5-­‐mile charitable running event, where employees from different companies around the Rochester, NY area race against one another. In June, Dixon Schwabl employees attended the American Lung Association’s Dapper Dash, a family-­‐friendly event, where employees could run, or walk, and then enjoy breakfast together afterwards. Management uses community networking, reading news articles, joining business associations, and using national initiatives to get inspired with insights, and to look at how people in similar industries face their problems. (Sims, 2012) One of the most vital resources is Wegmans Food Markets. (See Appendix: Wegmans Company Overview) Lauren Dixon explains that she has learned so much from the company, and believes that they have been paramount in changing the Rochester business landscape for the better. “Wegmans is such a standout. They have redefined customer service, and culture. They do this all day, every day. They have raised the bar on how companies treat team members and their customers too. Their culture is contagious. I am a Wegmans customer. I see these happy, excited, energetic folks. You want to be part of this. You want to have this in your own organization!” (Lauren Dixon in Kimmel, 2012) Wegmans is known for giving back to the communities where it operates. One way that it does this is through eight week the Eat Well, Live Well Challenge, conducted semi-­‐annually. (See Appendix: Eat Well, Live Well) Wegmans inaugurated the challenge in 2003 for its own employees, and in 2006 offered the challenge to six Rochester-­‐based employees through the 62 ‘Rochester Business Alliance Health Care Initiative.’ This was extremely successful, so a second round of the challenge was offered in 2006 to members of the Rochester Business Alliance. In 2007, the challenge was held three times, and in 2008, it was extended to the Buffalo and Syracuse region. Dixon Schwabl has taken part in this challenge for several years. This concludes the culture of health portion of this analysis. Next, the findings will be summarized. Summary
Dixon Schwabl has been very successful in creating a work environment with a very unique work culture that promotes the health of employees, their families, and the Rochester-­‐area. As one person succinctly put it, “Lauren and Mike have found the secret formula to compiling a group of people that are unique in their own ways and skills, but share the same passion for what they do and the people they work with. I have never worked anywhere else that people are so invested in each other not only in the workplace but also their families, their hobbies, their interests.” (Sarah Fairbrother, personal communication, October 25, 2013) This concludes the analysis section. In the next section, a discussion of these findings will be undertaken. SECTION FOUR: DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
While Dixon Schwabl has many great initiatives, which has ensured that it is considered a ‘Great Place to Work,’ there is always room for improvement. Through analysis of the organization, I found several minor discrepancies between espoused values/best practice and what happens in reality. By being made aware of these incongruities, the company can begin to work to improve upon them. Health-Based Discussion
Wellness Committee
Dixon Schwabl could benefit from having a wellness committee, which would ‘provide guidance on all phases of a worksite health promotion (WHP) program and provide ongoing support for WHP program managers.’ 63 Wellness committees typically oversee the evaluation of current programs, services and policies, undertake an assessment of employee needs and preferences, and develop a health promotion operating plan, which includes a vision statement, goals, and objectives. (CDC, 2013) A company’s overall mission statement, and core values can help clarify business goals and objectives, which is the same case with wellness directives. Dixon Schwabl already has a committee upon which it could base its wellness committee design, called the ‘Fun Task Force’, which comes up with new ideas for fun around the agency. Dixon Schwabl could either create a separate committee or extend the scope of the existing task force, basing its organization upon the former. (Golaszewski et al., 2008) The wellness committee could be in charge of drafting a wellness newsletter that is released on a fixed basis, several times yearly. This could highlight stories and news related to wellness, so as to foster greater, and long lasting interest among employees about the topic. For example, efforts of wellness champions within the agency could be exhibited. Wellness champions find the notion of wellbeing to be important, and lead by example to inspire colleagues to make healthy lifestyle choices, all while pursuing furthering the topic of wellness at the office. These people are paramount for the successful resonation, and continuation of wellness discourse around the office. As an example, one employee felt strongly about getting a standing desk, noting, “if you see what sitting does to you, you would never sit again. I chose to have a standing desk, because I saw that it would give me more energy, and I would feel less fatigued at the end of the day.” If employees have back problems, or not, and want to make use of these types of optional equipment, they will be provided with it promptly. (Fieldnotes, August 29, 2013) The same employee also mentioned that he had converted three or four employees to get a standing or adjustable desk as well, and that he would love to see more people in the office change over to one. A newsletter could help to get this word out around the agency. 64 Kick-Off Meeting
One employee mentioned, “The [HRA’s] questions were probing. I thought we were just weighing in every week… but it was like… how stressed are you at work?” (Fieldnotes, October 7, 2013) To alleviate this confusion, Dixon Schwabl could have benefitted from having had a kick off meeting for its new ‘Fitness Challenge.’ This would ensure that employees were all on the same page about the new program, its technicalities, and why it is being offered. Kick-­‐Off meetings should be fun, interactive, and highlight the organizational support of the program. Typically, it meeting begins with a “presentation, which explains the program to employees and an affirmation of support from someone in management or the Wellness Coordinator at the worksite.” (California Department of Public Health, 2013) Customizing the Program to the Unique Needs of the Company’s Employees
Dixon Schwabl could benefit from placing a focus on different levels of prevention. Comprehensive HPPs seek to include prevention measures, as well as treating existing conditions. They achieve this by offering ‘targeted’ programs to all employees based on their health-­‐risk factors. Services are offered at three levels: 1) primary prevention is aimed at keeping low-­‐risk employees healthy, and promoting better habits among employees who are not sick who do not have good lifestyle choices, 2) secondary prevention efforts look to change lifestyle choices of employees who are already in the high-­‐risk category, 3) tertiary prevention looks to manage existing diseases among employees and slow their progression. (Stave, Muchmore, & Gardner, 2003) Ensuring prevention at all three levels requires, among other things, an environment that is conducive to healthy behaviors. Dixon Schwabl workforce is a young population, which means that there are not many high-­‐risk employees. From the HRA, management found that the chronic diseases mainly affecting this workplace population include depression, and stress. This means that Dixon Schwabl needs to focus mainly on factors that influence job structure, and the organizational environment. (Eva Bellis, personal communication, September 23, 2013) Dixon Schwabl should use the information from the HRA allowed to choose a focus and direction after the initial 12-­‐week Fitness 65 Challenge. Evaluation should take place on an ongoing basis, and plans should be tweaked as needed. Team-Based Wellness Programs
Many wellness efforts, such as the ‘Fitness Challenge’ are based on team competition. According to Lauren, “works at Dixon Schwabl, because we are competitive by nature, and it is part of who we are.” (Lauren Dixon, personal communication, August 29, 2013) However, wellness is an intimate topic, and some employees like to keep it personal, even if they are competitors in other aspects of their lives. One employee mentioned to me, “Sometimes the weight loss programs in the past have felt more about the competition than the weight loss healthy aspect of it.” (Fieldnotes, October 22, 2013) Another employee mentioned, “I do the weigh-­‐in, but I don’t like competition… I don’t compete against others on health issues. That’s a personal issue, and it is just a choice. It is me against me…. Or me against death.” (Fieldnotes, October 22, 2013) Therefore, it could be beneficial to offer an individually based wellness program as well. Realistic Health Goals
When I asked an employee about the Wegmans Eat Well, Live Well Challenge, she told me that she did try that a couple of years ago, but you should try to take 10,000 steps per day as a part of the program. Since she sits at the office so much, that goal was very hard to achieve. She went home and just walked on the treadmill for extended periods of time to try to get up to 10,000, but she really just did not have the time to be doing that. Therefore, she decided to no longer participate in the program after a few goes at it. (Fieldnotes, September 17, 2013) According to one professional, the U.S. Healthy People Goals for 1990 are virtually the same as those for 2020, but “in no way have national trend data indicated that we can reach those goals, yet public health policy setters keep setting the same goals. Considering this track record and then suggesting people should be trying for 10,000 steps a day is ludicrous. These goals only set people up for failure, and in the process we've led people to not trust us anymore. If we continue offering unrealistic advice, we will continue only to create losers.” (Terry, 66 Edington, Parry, Nyman, & Kelley, 2012, 5) Instead, short-­‐term wins should be focused on so as to ensure long term wins in the future. That means that goals should be more realistic, and small steps should be more emphasized in wellness programming. Keeping It Off
According to Karen Sims, “people set individual goals to lose weight, but we have found that they fall off the bandwagon once they have met their goals and gotten their incentives.” (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) This refers to a notion is called healthy behavior decay. To make lasting change among employees, wellness rituals should be created to make the healthy behavior the automatic one. Rituals are “highly specific behaviors that you do at the same time every day.” This is important because “willpower is a limited resource, so use less of it by making challenging activities automatic.” (Schwartz, 2013) Further, more emphasis should be placed on intrinsic incentives. As incentives stand now, winners with the highest percentage body fat loss, highest percentage weight loss, and highest percentage increase muscle mass win gift cards, and the insurance provider, Excellus offers the Healthy Rewards program, which provides individuals up to $500 and families up to $1000 for striving to achieve healthy behaviors and keeping a diary of those efforts. (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) It is important to realize that “extrinsic incentives like gift cards, premium differentials, T-­‐shirts, water bottles, are good to get employees to participate, but unless those same employees are able to convert extrinsic incentives into intrinsic incentives then any new behaviors that have been acquired will stop. Unless employees start to recognize the benefits that come with a healthy lifestyle they are unlikely to maintain their healthy behaviors.” (Steve Aldana, personal communication, October 3, 2013) As such, Dixon Schwabl could place more emphasis on the benefits gained from healthy living. Food
Employees spend almost one third of their lives at work. This means that inevitably food consumed while on the job constitutes a good portion of an employee’s daily intake. 67 Throughout the course of the time that I was in the company, there was always something in the kitchen to be eaten, and there seemed to be a celebration several times weekly, complete with sweets. Dixon Schwabl’s front desk, located in the lobby area offers assorted types of candy and mints. Most employees walk past this area multiple times per day, and mindlessly grab a treat while passing by. While eating cake or ice cream once in a while in moderation is acceptable, the problem comes in that celebrations and unhealthy foods are present on fairly regular basis. A more health-­‐
conscious approach would again mean making the healthy choice the easy choice. This would mean minimizing the availability of unhealthy food around the office by offering for example, healthy catering for meetings, exotic fruits at celebrations instead of cake, and removing soda from the vending machines and fridge. This concludes the portion of the discussion related to health. The next segment will discuss work structure, and how it can be improved upon, so as to further enhance the wellness of employees. Work Structure Discussion
Theory versus Reality
While work-­‐life balance and communication are encouraged at Dixon Schwabl, it seems like in reality, this is not always the case. Faragher, Cass et al. state, “there is growing evidence that current trends in employment conditions may be eroding levels of job satisfaction— and directly damaging the physical and mental health of employees. Employees are regularly being required to work well beyond their contracted hours, often unwillingly, as organizations struggle to meet tight deadlines and targets. These trends have undoubtedly contributed considerably to the development of a ‘workaholic’ culture.” (Faragher et al., 2005, 1) There is a portion of the time, where there is too much to do. When this happens, it can make the agency a very stressful place. One employee stated that having too little time to complete jobs really wears him down. Employees mentioned that it was out of their control when demands came from clients. However, they also mentioned that sometimes problems arise 68 from within the agency. One employee told me a story about how his supervisor had left the agency, rather suddenly, and that now two people are doing three people’s jobs. As he put it, “I have a ton on my plate. It is crazy!” He also told me that this had created a lot of job stress, as a result of a lack of communication. “I almost had a heart attack today, because I get a call… and I am told that I am supposed to have a project finished. There was a sheet about it at the first meeting about the project, but there have been no updates ever since. It is just like… holy shit…. What do I do?” (Fieldnotes, October 22, 2013) Even if communication problems occur only a small minority of the time, this causes a lot of stress among employees. It could be beneficial to work to set up more concrete policies and procedures to ensure smooth sailing along the course of a project. Dixon Schwabl’s ‘New Business Strategy,’ as proposed by John Rizzolo serves as a wonderful starting point to this process. He has set out to create a master ‘tool kit’ for new business, which as he put it will assist in streamlining the process, and creating turnkey solutions that will reduce workload and confusion. (John Rizzolo, personal communication, September 19, 2013) Unspoken Messages
Words and gestures oftentimes send out unspoken messages. During one Wednesday meeting, a shout out went to an employee because he sat next to a client all evening, and stayed in the office from 7 am to 7 pm to get work done. While the person intended to recognize him for his dedication to the agency, and ability to get the job done, it also sent out a message that staying late and working 12-­‐hour shifts is acceptable, and in fact honored. This type of messaging should try to be avoided. To have achieved that in this situation, the employee could have added something to the effect of, “he rose to the occasion this time, but it probably took away from his family time, and most certainly detracted from his ability to have work-­‐life balance, so we hope that he does not have to do that very often in the future.” Cross-Training
According to Ms. Dixon, cross training at Dixon Schwabl is emphasized because it “helps new hires appreciate the skills and talents of others, and gives them a breadth and depth of 69 knowledge about the workplace that they otherwise might not have.” (Dixon, 2013a) However, one employee mentioned to me that his department was relatively small compared to a lot of the other departments, so his department’s needs were often overlooked. “A lot of the AEs… it is like once the process gets to my department…. Poof! Magic! Then product comes back. It would be better if they could learn exactly what goes into all of this…. because there are always timing problems.” (Fieldnotes, October 7, 2013) In this case, cross-­‐functional training could have alleviated a lot of this employee’s stress by helping team-­‐based interaction to run more smoothly. This also shows that it is important to recognize and account for the needs of the underdog, or someone who flies under the radar within the agency. Remote Locations
One employee operates out of her home in South Carolina. She did work at the agency for a year and a half before transitioning to a remote role, which has, according to her, been critical to her success. However, whereas other employees get to partake in teambuilding breaks, and activities, which create camaraderie, she is mainly communicating with colleagues during meetings and about work tasks. While she does come back several times yearly, and for the summer party, she noted that at times she felt lonely being away from the agency. She also mentioned that are so many new people employees since worked at the agency in Rochester, and that it is strange to walk only to have fellow colleagues be complete strangers. Dixon Schwabl needs to find ways to ensure the continuation of its culture despite more than one office location. It will also have to find creative ways to promote the manifestation of wellness values remotely. One recommendation that the remote employee came up with was having some kind of interactive, online, teams, like a Wii bowling League, which Dixon Schwabl has in fact already offered in the past. Taking Expansion into Account
Since the agency is very busy and is expanding fairly quickly, things can be quite hectic. New-­‐
hires are supposed to have an orientation day on their first day at work, where they go and meet all of the department heads, and go out to lunch with Ms. Dixon and Mr. Schwabl. 70 However, when I was at the agency, five new people were hired and three of them had to work from the beginning of the week due to the nature of the new contact. (Karen Sims, personal communication, 25 September, 2013) Another employee mentioned, “the first day that I got here, it was kind of an odd time… because it was in the middle of an event weekend. I started on a Thursday, and an event was on a Friday. It was very busy and lots of people running around, so I didn’t really get the experience that everyone else got when they first came in.” (Fieldnotes, September 23, 2013) By omitting the orientation ritual, employees’ first impressions are not the same as management’s espoused intentions. This can create a situation where employees do not assimilate into the culture as easily. It can also send a message that completing work tasks in a hectic environment is more important than balance, which is counterproductive to the agency’s philosophy. Through busy times and expansion, management should ensure to stick true to its principals, even when that proves tough. This concludes the discussion on wellness activities and work structure at Dixon Schwabl. The subsequent section will offer a discussion on research methods, and on my role as a researcher. Discussion on Research Considerations
Ethical Considerations
A researcher needs to ensure that the research that he or she is undertaking will never bring harm to the subjects of the study. This entails having sensitivity and handling them in a discreet manner, so as not to divulge confidential information, and always be honest. (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012) Further, I chose to be overt with my research, which means that I always maintained the role of researcher, and made it clear that this was my overarching interest. I chose to avoid a covert role, because it has been criticized ethically. (Jupp, 2006) In addition, explicitly stating one’s true research intentions ensures that “the participant observer is not tied down; that he is free to run around as research interest beckons.” (Bryman, 2004, 217) 71 Reliability, Validity and Generalizability
The notions of validity, reliability, and generalizability are pertinent in all research, including ethnographies. I achieved validity by ensuring that I gained ample access to employees and experiences at Dixon Schwabl. In order for this study to achieve reliability, I have attempted to be as transparent as possible about how raw data was gathered and analyzed. Generalizability refers to whether or not the ideas generated from the thesis have relevance in other contexts. (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012) While Organizational cultures and wellness programs are not a ‘one-­‐size-­‐fits-­‐all’ entity, other small companies may find inspiration in the findings of this thesis. Interviews and Questionnaires
After sending out an initial interview request to the entire office, I noticed that most of the people who had accepted to be interviewed came from the same departments. I became concerned by this lack of representation from each department in the company in the interview process. After expressing my concerns with one employee in PR, she replied, “when we fill out our personality type questionnaires when we are hired, we find out how we rank on the introvert/extrovert scale. People in PR and Account Services rank very high on the extrovert side, whereas employees in some of the other departments tend to be more introverted. This means that they would probably prefer to be handed a set of questions, to sit back and think about them, and then to write the responses, rather than be asked in a more formal setting.” (Fieldnotes October 15, 2013) I, therefore, decided to send a second round of e-­‐mails to the departments housing employees who tend towards introversion. The e-­‐mail requested that they fill out a questionnaire, which consisted of the same questions as the interview guide. Regardless, I still found that I was not able to get a volunteer who was willing to provide information from each department. This could have been because certain functional areas, namely the media department, were extremely busy due to the procurement of several major contracts in the preceding weeks. Employees from these departments could have provided especially important insights regarding work-­‐life balance, as jobs were the most hectic. As such, I was unable to get a picture of their thoughts, and beliefs. This means that my paper could be 72 lacking in its attempt to obtain a clear picture of the company as a whole, and findings could be biased to the experiences, thoughts, and opinions of employees working in the departments that I was able to gain access to. Reflexivity
This section will tell the ‘confessional tale’ of the ethnographic researcher undertaking the study, explaining my background, which may have influenced the research in the form of biases, generalizations and shortcomings. (Kunda, 2009) A confessional tale is important, because an ethnographer needs to be reflexive in his or her research. Being reflexive means having a “continuous awareness and attention to the ways different kinds of linguistic, social, political and theoretical elements are woven together in the process of knowledge development, during which empirical material is constructed, interpreted and written.” (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2009, 5) The researcher must understand that meanings are constantly ‘negotiated and renegotiated’ through the formative process of the creation of worldviews through interaction with social contexts, and that the researcher plays a role in this process. (Easterby-­‐Smith et al., 2012) As one scholar puts it, “all research is biased, and a different observer with different personal characteristics and interests is likely to report quite different aspects and dimensions of the same event.” (DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010, 94) As such, a researcher needs to be cognizant of where they are coming from, understand the biases they have, and to understand how they interpret the interactions with the groups they are studying. Cultural Background
I was born in the United States, and spent my entire life living in Rochester, New York until the age of eighteen. At that point, I moved to Montreal and four years later, I moved to Copenhagen, where I have lived since 2011. I moved back to Rochester for a brief period of time in 2013 to undertake research for my thesis. Both of my parents are American and my native language is English. Since I am originally from the same region as the majority of Dixon Schwabl employees, it made 73 it easy to decode, describe, and record linguistic and non-­‐verbal communications that took place during my research. This allowed me to undertake in-­‐depth interviews, and informal interviews at ease. Commonalities including nationality and origin may have result in employees feeling more comfortable speaking with me, which could have potentially made becoming an ‘insider’ easier. On the other hand, being from the same national cultural background as the people that I am studying may have lead to oversights. This is because I could have been blinded to certain cultural factors, which seemed mundane to me, but could nonetheless have been pertinent to the study. As such, I needed to play the role of both ‘insider’ and ‘outsider.’ My ‘outsider’ perspective provided me with a critical set of lenses, and was maintained through the fact that I was not an official employee, and as such was not completely assimilated into the Dixon Schwabl corporate culture and way of life. My Pre-Conceptions
My personal background, lived experience, and interests had an influence on why I undertook this research. I completed a Bachelor of Commerce in International Management, at McGill University, where I became very interested in a course called the Social Context of Business. My strong interest in social issues continued after graduation. I next chose to pursue a Master’s program in Business Language and Culture at Copenhagen Business School. My interest in Copenhagen Business School was rooted in the way the school defined itself as being a ‘business university,’ which is different than a typical ‘business school’, in that a multi-­‐
disciplinary approach is used. I also was very keen on the fact that the school prioritized approaching business education in a non-­‐conventional manner by stressing the importance of meeting the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. Outside of the scholastic world, I am very interested in healthy eating, exercising and leading a healthy lifestyle. In sum, I chose this research topic, because it represents a crux between many of my interests and expertise, including social responsibilities of businesses, healthy living, and Organizational culture. 74 My Role as a Researcher
As a graduate student, who has never undertaken qualitative research before, I may lack the optimal skill set necessary for undertaking participant observation and interviews. Participant observation requires a “memory for faces, ability to reproduce nonsense material from memory, ability to reproduce sensible material from memory, relative memory for things seen and things heard, ability to write and observe simultaneously, width of vision, ability to predict what will happen behind one by the expression on the faces of those in front, tolerance for continuous observation of the same type, attention span inside which attention is the same quality, ability to attend to an unpleasant situation, susceptibility to disqualifying disgust reactions, ability to resist the impulse to interrupt an unpleasant or disturbing sequence of behavior, tendency to identify in a partisan fashion with preferred individuals, etc.” (Mead 1970a, 249 in DeWalt & DeWalt, 2010, 21) In-­‐depth interviewing requires being well articulated, and being able to come up with questions on the spot, among others. (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009) These skills require practice, of which I may not have had enough. Further, both of these research methods require the researcher to be fairly outgoing. I tend to be shy at times, which may have impeded upon my research abilities, and resulted in a less detailed results base than could have been the case with a more outgoing or experienced researcher. This concludes the discussion portion of this paper. The following section will conclude the research findings, and touch upon follow-­‐up research topics. 75 CONCLUSION
According to a 2009 report jointly published the U.S. Workplace Wellness Alliance and the Partnership for Prevention, “the single biggest force threatening U.S. workforce productivity, as well as health care affordability and quality of life, is the rise in chronic conditions. Rapidly rising health care costs are making it more difficult for businesses to continue to offer health benefits.” (US Workplace Wellness Alliance, 2009, 2) In order to solve this dilemma, there needs to be more collaboration among stakeholders. By integrating societal factors into the core of a company’s organizational processes, a company can create economic values while addressing and solving societal constraints and problems, a notion called ‘shared value’. (Kramer, 2011) Wellness programs create shared value, since employers are able to retaining top talent, energize their employees, and reduce absenteeism, while employees benefit from improved physical health, reduced workplace stress, and financial benefits of living a healthy life, among others. (Principal Financial Group, 2010) To move towards a new, more comprehensive paradigm of wellness, which thereby creates greater spanning value for both the society-­‐at-­‐large, and business, companies need to foster an organizational environment that is conducive to the active engagement and support of employees in order to shape the way that they think, feel and behave towards healthy living. (Aldana et al., 2012) To achieve this, companies need to nurture a ‘culture of health,’ defined as a “working environment where employee health and safety is valued, supported and promoted through workplace health programs, policies, benefits, and environmental supports.” (CDC, 2011) A culture of health involves “all levels of the organization and establishes the workplace health program as a routine part of business operations aligned with overall business goals.” (CDC, 2011) In essence, employer wellness programs need to shift from being ‘force-­‐fed’ to ‘culture-­‐driven’ (Boyce, 2013) The good news is that other small companies need not ‘reinvent the wheel,’ when pursuing health-­‐related strategies. This thesis looked into the ways in which the Dixon Schwabl promotes employee health wellbeing, and how broader psychosocial and environmental mechanisms enhance or hinder these efforts. Dixon Schwabl has made steps towards the creation of an 76 ‘island of health within a sea of unhealthy behaviors’ by placing center focus on health and wellbeing, and by creating this health-­‐focused infrastructure at the agency. (Steve Aldana, personal communication, October 3, 2013) It offers many health-­‐based activities, and has fostered a culture, in which fun and wellness are embedded as core values. This has immensely increased the health-­‐promotive capacity of the agency, while simultaneously ensuring success of its main business functions. As Lauren Dixon, CEO put it, “the more positive and productive our culture has become over the years, the more profitable we become.” (Lauren Dixon in Escher, 2010) As such, this thesis can be seen as a ‘good practice’ study, which aims to “identify examples of successful activities and operations in organizations that can be adopted by others to improve performance.” (Jupp, 2006, 130) Insight from the Dixon Schwabl’s efforts, and those pursued by other high-­‐
performing companies can be an immense point of departure and source of learning towards the pursuit of a ‘culture of health.’ (Wellpoint, 2009) It is important to keep in mind that local, state, national laws and policies have certain ramifications for employee healthcare provision and wellness program policies at Dixon Schwabl. Some examples include the percentage of the budget for road construction in the Rochester area that is dedicated to walking or bike paths, or the availability of healthy food options at local restaurants near where employees live and work. National lifestyle and cultural trends of the average American, including eating out many times per week, exercising too little, and driving to most destinations also has a direct effect on health and wellbeing. While outside the scope of this study, it is important to keep in mind that these broader trends also play a role in the overall health of employees at Dixon Schwabl, and therefore should not be dismissed as unimportant. An interesting follow-­‐up project would be to take research one step further, by studying the interface between wider laws, trends, and tendencies and the findings uncovered in this study. 77 APPENDIX
Figure 1: Empirical Studies on Comprehensive HPPs
Several examples of the study outcomes undertaken in corporations with comprehensive HPPs are detailed below. •
In a randomized controlled trial study of retired employees at Bank of America, patients were divided into two control groups and one intervention group. The intervention group was provided with a comprehensive HPP, whereas the other groups were only offered risk appraisals or claims data. In the first year, costs reduction averaged $164, whereas the other groups experienced an average cost increase of $15. (Fries, Bloch, Harrington, Richardson, & Beck, 1993) •
A nine year study of Johnson & Johnson’s integrated ‘shared services’ program, bringing together “employee health, wellness, disability management, employee assistance, and occupational medicine programs” found that the program achieved 90% participation rates, increased employee health outcomes, and an average cost reduction of $244.66 per employee per year. (Ozminkowski et al., 2002) •
A several year study of the employees enrolled in the Citibank Health Management Program looked at whether or not employee health risk factors were decreased. It found that employees involved in more intensive programs were more likely to have greater risk reductions than those who were not. (Ozminkowski et al., 2000) •
A study of GlaxoSmithKline’s Voluntary Contract for Health and Wellness, which aims to create a culture of health, to have employees adopt new behaviors, and to reduce healthcare costs and increase productivity, found that the program saved the company $5.5 over the course of four years, averaging about $613 per participant per year. (Parks & Steelman, 2008). •
A study of a small company called Lincoln Industries showed that the company achieved high rates of participation and reduction in risk factors through financial incentives, strong leadership, cultural support, and organizational integration. Health improvement was most pronounced among high-­‐risk employees namely those that were obese or elderly. (Ray et al., 2011) 78 Figure 2: Participant Observation
I attempted to take note of the following general aspects while undertaking participant observation: Appearances: These include clothing, age, gender, and physical appearance; Verbal Behaviors and Interactions: This includes who spoke to whom, for how long, who initiated interaction, and the tone of voice during that interaction; Physical Behavior and Gestures: This includes what people did, who did what, who interacted with whom, and who was not interacting. Personal Space: This includes how closely people stood to one another. Human Traffic: This includes how people entered, left and spent time at the site. People Who Stand Out: This includes what people got a great deal of attention. (Guest et al., 2012) 79 Figure 3: Project Proposal
80 Figure 4: Participant Observation Dates
81 Figure 5: Sample Fieldnotes
I arrived at the Strong museum at 5 pm. Shannon had asked that I arrive early so I could get some training on the event. It was an event called the PlayBall raising money for the Strong. The event was around 700 people, and Dixon Schwabl organized the entire thing. Along with some volunteers at Strong, I was going to be checking in the people who showed up for the event. Everyone was sitting around chatting at five, and eating a pizza that had been bought for the volunteers. It was a very informal vibe, and we got to talking about what we were doing, what schools we went to, etc. Hayley, Shannon, Kathy, and Ryann were working for the event. Danielle and her boyfriend, myself, and two interns were volunteering. Danielle is the Director of First Impressions, and the other two are interns. The ladies had been at the event all day, and had come straight for a press release about the event on Saturday at Hillside. They were running around, and would not be leaving before 12 or 1. Ryann walked in and said that she had parked her car in a really weird area, because she had been directed there. Her car ended up getting towed, and they decided to call at around 10 to figure out what to do. It ended up that they paid to get her car. Ryann was so upset, and her colleagues consoled her and gave her a glass of wine to drink. I told her that if she needed a ride, I could give her one, but she told me that Shannon had already told her that she would drive her home. At one point, they saw that their Hillside account had gotten on News 10 night news. Shannon said… ooh you did such a good job! Hayley said no you did! And then Kathy said… you are one awesome girl, Miss Hayley… awesome job! I asked them if they needed my help at that event, and they said that they are not even going. They mostly just did the PR for the event, and in return they got free tickets. The rush for checking everyone in started at around 6 and lasted until 7. All of the employees were running around shouting names and numbers at each other. At 8, we went to an auction, where I was taking down the names of the people who had won. Shannon must have thanked everyone about 10 times throughout the night, and just kept reassuring everyone of how wonderful they were. Lauren and Mike had donated a vacation to the Bahamas, value $4000, a gourmet dinner at their home on Canandaigua Lake, and a few 82 other prizes. There also was a gift from the Kennedy space center, which is one of their clients, so it could be that they asked them to donate something. Other donations came from Wegmans and other local businesses. At some point in the evening, Ryann and I got to talking, and she told me her story about how she had desperately wanted to work at Dixon Schawbl, and applied for an internship and didn’t get it. She then worked a Paychex, where she was pushed and felt stressed all the time. She left after seven months, because it just wasn’t for her. She then applied at Dixon Schwabl, and people had remembered her from applying for an internship. She took the lowest ranked position, just to get her foot in the door because she was dying to work at Dixon Schwabl. She also said, I am so proud to work for Mike and Lauren. They are the most wonderful people I know, and I told them… I am NEVER leaving! She also said… there is just SO much opportunity here! Wayne was in creative and moved to account services, which is totally different. He wanted to, and mike and Lauren just let him… same with Karen… she was in PR and moved to HR! There is literally so much opportunity here. And Mike and Lauren will definitely notice if you are putting in the extra effort… and they will most certainly promote you if they see you are putting in a great job. At another point, the intern and I talked about the internship introduction. She told me that there was an informational packet they got, and they went to an introduction session, where they were given information about the company, and were given a tour. They would then be doing a project, which goes alongside what actual clients do, and they are on teams of 3 and 3, and they are competing against one another, and one wins. When I asked one intern why he came to Dixon Schwabl, he said it was because he went to the Rochester Business Journal, and checked out the top firms. Dixon Schwabl came up, so he applied, and got in. He has loved it, and he said that everyone just keeps re-­‐affirming how wonderful it is to work at the office. He said he loves how much responsibility he has gotten. He has been able to come along to meetings with mike, and do the project, as well as stuffing binders, but he said, there is so much for me to do, and I am thriving at every single minute. He is in account services, which are the liaison between the client and the creative team. Creative hardly ever actually sees the client. He was ecstatic that he was able to make it to this awesome event at the strong. He absolutely loved every minute, and was so happy for the opportunity. He had not gotten to speak with Lauren, but said that she was all smiles every time she walked by him. Towards the end of the evening, when we were done volunteering, a few of us walked around the museum, and checked things out. We ate some of the food and sat around talking. At one point I mentioned that I was impressed about how hard Mike and Lauren worked. Ryann said… “Yes! Lauren gets in at like 4 am and is the last one to leave. She likes her quiet in the morning, so she likes to be the first one that arrives!” It is really amazing, she said. A few of the new interns and Ryann then discovered that they lived in the same neighborhood. They were joking and said, it must be something about the neighborhood that brings us all to Dixon Schwabl. Hayley then said, as interns, you guys really become part of the family. You feel more like employees than interns. She then mentioned that 20% of employees were interns. Hayley mentioned at one point that she worked out at a gym and that she was looking for someone to 83 motivate her to going. She tried to go before work, but would also be in to going in the evenings. We decided that we would go together. I asked one intern about the PR party, and asked if she had gone. She told me that as an intern, she was not allowed to go because there would be drinking there, and she couldn’t drink with the people working there. It was a ‘heavy drinking event’ She was from Massachusetts, but had heard about this agency, and really wanted to get involved in the marketing world. She had a background in fashion merchandising, but was given the opportunity to come try out Dixon Schwabl’s PR areas. PR works a lot with Events, and also social media in the basement. At one point, towards the end of the night, Hayley said to everyone… “You guys really rocked it!” I know that this could be one of their artifacts. It is said a lot. At around 10, everyone left that was volunteering. They did not choose to get together afterwards. The people who were working had to stay. They thanked me for everything that I did and said that they would see me soon. Thought: Events people have to work until 12 AM. This is pretty late, could have a problem with work/life balance. It is just the nature of this type of job, for sure, but is this common? Are they able to take off hours after big events the following week? I also thought it was fitting how fun and whimsical this event was. It really fit into Dixon Schwabl’s mentality at work. Maybe this helped them to get this client? Also, they gave so many gifts at the auction. It was clear that they care about philanthropy. 84 Figure 6: Interview Guide and Open-Ended Questionnaire
1. You spend a lot of time at Dixon Schwabl. Can you tell me about what you do and your experiences working here? 2. What is a typical day like around here for you? 3. What do you say to your family and friends about the work you’ve done at Dixon Schwabl? Do you find your job fulfilling? 4. On the wall by the elevator it says, “…We believe in discovering and developing the wow in you and me.” How has the company helped you to discover and develop your wow? 5. How would you describe the working environment? 6. The nature of this business is that you need to work to meet deadlines, which means that at busy times you will most likely have to work more. How do you balance your personal life and work when this happens? 7. For many people, work can be a major stressor. Do you ever feel pressured at work, and if so, how do you do you manage this? 8. Can you tell me about programs, activities, or events that you have taken advantage of at Dixon Schwabl and what you thought about them? 9. How would you describe top management’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of their employees? 10. According to company policy, family and friends are allowed to participate in certain activities, and Mike and Lauren are constantly stressing that this is a family-­‐friendly environment. Do you find this to true? What activities have your family and friends been involved with at Dixon Schwabl?
85 Figure 7: Sample Interview Notes
Erin: How many employees are absent on average per day? Response: That is hard to say, because sick, personal and vacation leave are all pooled into one PTO item. Therefore, that information is not tracked. It is around two or three days per employee per year. Employees get about one hundred and twelve hours after three years, but this is negotiated based on seniority, and negotiations upon being hired. It also depends on supervisors to say whether or not employees can take time off. For example, last year, there was a huge super-­‐bowl ad, and that took place mainly during the holidays. Everyone had to work around the holidays, and supervisors had to decline time-­‐off requests. It is very difficult to predict events, as they are based on their clients, and they can’t say ‘no’, because if they do, their clients will just go find someone else. Another problem they have just seen is that they have suddenly gotten a huge contract. This is going to create for a lot of work in the media team. It also has created for a situation, where there are a lot of new hires. They hired five new people just last week. Typically, all hires get to have this orientation day separately with a targeted list of people throughout their first day. This time, three of them had to work from the beginning of the week due to the nature of the new contact. They are all going to the meet-­‐
and-­‐greet day together, though. Erin: What are the biggest risk factors health-­‐wise? Response: This will be provided by workplace vitality from the HRA. Erin: What is the typical rate of turnover per year? Response: They typically don’t have to fire people, but if they do… there is a large paper trail as to why, and they have been provided with warnings. First, is a verbal warning, this is the least serious. Next, is a written warning. The employee has to sign it acknowledging that they have seen it. Then… once terminated, there is a meeting with Karen, a supervisor, and Mike or Lauren. They try to get keys back and reduce the risk of an ex-­‐employee seeking sabotage. They are allowed to get their personal items, and then are escorted out. Typically, this has to do with performance-­‐related issues. However, it has also had to do with a lack of a culture fit, but this is not the usual case. 86 Erin: Historically, around what percentage of the employee population has signed up for Wegmans Eat Well/Live Well, Workplace Vitality (or former program), EAP, and Excellus Healthy Rewards? Typically, what amount of people drops out without successfully completing the program? Response: This is in the Wealth of Health Questionnaire that was provided. Erin: Do people use the pick your own gym? Response: This is not really a hugely taken advantage of benefit. Employees can pick the gym they want to belong to, and are given discounts. It is offered through the insurance program. Erin: How has Dixon Schwabl dealt with increased health care costs? Response: Yes, health care costs are increasing yearly. To curb these risks, they began to offer a high deductible plan, but this is now going up. The only year that it did not go up was the first year the high deductible plan was offered. Dental is a bit different. Once an employee reaches their deductible of $1000, they have to pay out of pocket. They work with their insurance provider to figure out what plans to offer to employees. Typically thirty to forty use these services. The others are on their spouses, or parent’s plans. In 2013, they stopped offering the co-­‐pay plan, and went just to the high deductible plan. Employees, especially the younger employees were not happy about this, because with the high deductible plan, you have to track your receipts, whereas with the co-­‐pay it is much more straightforward. Typically it ends up costing more for the co-­‐pay plan, but people like the simplicity. Health insurance is offered on a dependent, and subsidiary basis, which accounts for things like single mothers. The dental is a bit more straightforward, just with single and family options, but it is significantly less costly. Erin: How many people work in South Carolina and what types of health services are they offered? Response: There is just one employee at the South Carolina office. Her name is Lisa. She was a long-­‐term employee, and re-­‐located to service the Kennedy Space Center account in Florida. She drives there, and is given the same benefits as everyone else. Erin: Can you tell me about your ergonomics program? Response: Charles Benoit asked for a standing desk. Also, some employees sit on balls. If employees have back problems, or not, and want these types of options, they will be given them. Erin: Can you tell me about your EAP program? Response: The EAP program is anonymous. It is offered through Paychex. They were brought in when Jane died for grief counseling. They also offer a membership to Exceed Federal Credit Union that offers low interest loans, and debt consolidation. Principal comes in and gives one on one advice for 401k plans, which are offered in portfolio. Erin: You say you encourage breaks, how do you do this? Response: They do this through Ice Cream events, and the Clambake. They want employees to take an informal break, and feel like they are not watching the clock for when they should and 87 should not be working. This is very flexible. The clambake is about one hour and a half. The ice cream days are about fifteen to twenty minutes. They do not have a formal system, where you have to punch in and out. This is really important for flexibility. These also offer cross team collaboration. The office is getting just big enough that you can go without seeing certain people ever. These bring people together and allow them to get to know one another. Erin: Do you still offer off-­‐site yoga? Massages? Off-­‐site retreats? Acoustic Tuesdays? Response: Yes, they offer Yoga at Prana Yoga in Fairport. You can have about twenty sessions for free. They used to offer it in the front office at the end of the day, but people were concerned about privacy issues, so they moved it. They still have massage therapists who come in about once per year. They have not had the acoustic days recently, but people still have played at events. Erin: Do you have emergency and disaster training? Response: Yes. Bill Colburn was working at the volunteer fire department, and came up with this policy. Erin: Why did you decide to offer a blood pressure machine? Response: The Eat Well, Live Well competition had this as a part of it. This happens at least one time per year, often in the spring and the fall. They won an award for the blood pressure machine, because at least 25% of the office took their pressure at least once. Erin: Have any Lunch & Learns focused on healthy living, eating, etc.? Response: Not in the past year. Erin: How many employees make use of the flextime work option? Response: All employees can do this if they want. With the “find me, follow me” phone system that was introduced about six years ago, employees phone calls are forwarded to their home or cell phones. This means that they can work from home, or at different hours whenever they want. Erin: Does anyone use the walking trails? Response: There is a lot of Poison Ivy and snakes, so no! It is probably better that they don’t! Erin: Are family members/dependents eligible for health insurance or wellness programs? Response: Yes. Family is part of health insurance. Also, spouses can come to the flu clinic. Kids cant because of a dosage issue. Also, sports teams have a lot of friends and family members on them. For example, the softball coach was Susan’s husband for a long time. Also, Jason a former employee is on the softball team. They are an awkward size. They are big enough that they don’t have to be in a community pool, but too small for large employer rates. Also, they have a lot of women who are traditionally more expensive. Erin: What are Dixon Schwabl’s long-­‐term goals? What are its current priorities? How does promoting health fit into these? 88 Response: They want to maximize participation. This is easy because there is a senior leader involved in everything, which results in leading by example. Erin: What do you see as a successful wellness initiative? Response: Participation! They track that. They have seen about half of the employees have been involved in each initiative. Almost everyone has been in at least one initiative over the past year. Erin: How do you choose when to terminate or suspend programs? Or add programs? Response: They have offered bocce in the past, and Wednesday Grilling. Wayne created this, but when he changed job positions, it was too hard to coordinate, and too time consuming. They suspend programs based on a lack of interest, but if anyone ever wanted to reinitiate them, they are more than welcome. Wayne also came up with the soccer idea. They support them by paying for uniforms. The fact that employees can come up with ideas helps them to commit to programs, and feel ownership really drives participation. Erin: How do you choose incentives? Response: Lauren and Karen meet up to discuss what they want to offer. People set individual goals to lose weight, but we have found that they fall off the bandwagon once they have met their goals and gotten their incentives. Erin: How have local, national, etc. laws, regulations, and trends played a role in shaping health, safety and wellness initiatives? Response: The Affordable Care Act will have a big impact on the way they communicate benefits, and may result in increased costs. But, rates are also just increasing because of inflation, and rise in quality of service. Further, Obama has introduced a law that says dependents can stay on their parent’s plans until they are 26. This has changed the need for insurance. According to Karen, she thinks that this will result in less employers offering family plans, but Dixon Schwabl would never do this because of the fact that it is a family business with all of the family members working at the office, and it is a family-­‐supporting environment. Erin: What employees are you mostly targeting in your initiatives (for example: is your focus more on keeping low-­‐risk employees in the low-­‐risk category, or bringing high-­‐risk employees down to a lower-­‐risk category.) Response: They don’t really have many high-­‐risk employees (or so they think). It is hard to know this information due to HIPAA. Do any employees smoke? Maybe one! But they’ll be quitting soon. In the past you could smoke outside of the office, but it smelled everywhere, so now if you are a smoker, you have to smoke in your car. They have had some smokers, but they quit. Also, the type of work this is, you can’t really just walk out and take a cigarette break as you want… its just not conducive to that. Erin: How do Wegmans Eat Well, Live Well, Workplace Vitality, EAP, Excellus Healthy Rewards and other wellness initiatives work together? Response: They do work well together. The timing of each works well together, and is great based on seasonal trends. A lot of workplaces tend to focus on cutting costs with workplace 89 wellness initiatives. They instead are more focused on the cultural aspect… keeping employees happy, and engaged. Erin: What have been some obstacles in promoting employee health and wellbeing and how have you overcome them? Response: They have not had a lot of obstacles. They have a lot of senior endorsement, and it is one hundred percent voluntary. Wellness is a personal thing, so it should not be mandated. A lot of companies force their employees to partake in Eat Well Live Well, and this is just not ok. You have to go in online and do a lot of different things, and that makes it really difficult. It shouldn’t feel forced. Erin: Do you provide any information for self care? Response: Yes, when the insurance agent comes in yearly, he provides a flyer from Excellus that talks about when you should go to the emergency room versus urgent care. The insurance group comes in once per year, and a man and woman are present. They are the same demographic as many employees, young and just having kids, so employees feel comfortable to ask a lot of questions, and feel as if they can relate to them. Also, they can call the insurance agent directly, so that they don’t have to be asking me whether or not birth control is covered, for example. Erin: How do you raise employee health awareness? (Do you ever use announcements during meetings, written individual notices, printed pamphlets, payroll inserts, marquees and e-­‐
billboards, face to face individual sessions, group information sessions, newsletters, displays, bulletin boards, e-­‐mails, posters, flyers, health fairs, educational classes or weekend retreats)? Response: They have agency meetings, and send out e-­‐mails. Once we did a ‘golden ticket’ pay stub promotion, because they do provide physical pay stubs, but because of direct deposit, a lot of people don’t read them. They provide information about PTO, etc. so a person got a golden ticket in their stub and got a reward. Erin: Does insurance provide informational mailings and are they targeted? Response: Yes. She was not sure about them being targeted, but thought maybe, since they do have all of the information about everyone. Erin: Who is most interested in wellness initiatives and who makes the most use of them? Response: Everyone. Erin: Do you do anything to try to motivate employees who may not be ready to adopt a healthier lifestyle right now towards thinking about changing? Response: No, they haven’t done anything like that. Erin: How do you provide new employees with information about your health and wellness programs? Response: The same way as other employees. It has been an interesting year; because this was the first time they provided the biometric screenings. We had over 50% of the office show up. 90 Erin: How does nomination for the Jaz Janie award take place and how are the winners chosen? What are the benefits of having won the award (for example I heard that you can attend the golf tournament for free.)? Response: Managing partners meet and discuss, but people can be nominated. They are given trophies, have a prime parking spot, and plaque and can go to the golf tournament for free. Erin: Can you tell me about the some of the things that Jaz teams have used the fun budget on? They spend it on sports, cooking events, nights together to hang out, etc. Erin: Are you friends with people outside of the office? Response: Yes. But it has been interesting moving over to HR, because she had to maintain a bit more of a distance. She has to account for the day that she may have to fire someone. My husband is on the band though. She moved over from PR to HR because of an agency need when it became over fifty people, so she went back to Nazareth and got a Master’s in HRM. When she left PR, she got a wall plaque that had pictures of all of the employees, emulating a people magazine with all of their stories on the cover. It was for her to remember them by. Erin: What types of orientation information do you give to new recruits other than the employee handbook? Can I have copies of these materials? Response: They are given a list of benefits, a handbook, etc. Erin: How many employees make use of the Make it Happen Day? Do you a list of the different activities employees did? Response: Most employees do partake in this. It is a part of their PTO on the Paychex system. It is an option in the drop down menu. They can go to the golf tournament, do something for charity, be part of a larger habitat for humanity (etc.) initiative at the office. Erin: How do you think giving back to the community helps your business? Response: People feel as if they can be part of something bigger. Clients think this is great, it has attracted clients. Two clients nominated Dixon Schwabl for the Philanthropy Award this year. Erin: Do you match benefits of competitors? Response: Not really. They look a little bit at that information, but they are unique in comparison to a lot of places. People leave other organizations to come here. Erin: Has networking with other leaders, joining business associations, etc. helped you at all, including getting inspired for ideas related to health and wellbeing? Response: Yes, for example, Mike saw the Spouse award in a New York Times article. They also are a part of organizations, etc. and this helps them to look at other problems that people in similar industries face, and how they deal with it. 91 Figure 8: Lauren Dixon Biography
Lauren Dixon had $22.11 in her bank account and an unwavering desire to make her company a success. With no loans, grants or external funding Lauren bootstrapped Dixon Schwabl from a one-­‐person operation headquartered in her home to a 75+ employee firm headquartered in Victor, New York. She used no external financing until she built the company’s headquarters in Victor in 2002. As CEO of Dixon Schwabl, Lauren has full responsibility for agency performance with duties encompassing bottom-­‐line factors such as long-­‐range strategic planning, company vision and culture. She builds and provides day-­‐to-­‐day general and strategic oversight for a growing roster of more than 146 clients. 2007 marked the 20th anniversary of DS, which now grosses over $130 million in revenue. The agency has been repeatedly hailed as one of the best small companies to work for in America. In 2008 DS officially captured the title of number one small company to work for in America conferred by The Great Place to Work institute. Lauren’s career began at WHAM TV-­‐13 as on-­‐air reporter, anchor, and co-­‐host of the nationally syndicated program PM Magazine. While at Channel 13, Lauren received national recognition with awards from the Associated Press and United Press International. Lauren followed her broadcast career at Channel 13 with a position as sales manager at WROC TV-­‐8 in Rochester before founding Dixon Schwabl in 1987. The idea of founding a company petrified Lauren but she received strong encouragement and support from her father who gave her two pieces of advice that she still utilizes today – always hire persons that are smarter than you and always motivate your employees to want to come to work every day. A strong proponent of giving back to the community her company annually dedicates 7,500 pro bono hours to non-­‐profits within the Rochester community. She created the Horses on Parade fiberglass animal parade in Rochester, one of the most successful charitable events in area history, raising $1 million that was distributed to 116 local charities. Lauren believes in helping to build a better community by encouraging tomorrow’s leaders to learn and grow their careers in Rochester. DS has a comprehensive mentoring and internship program which has seen more than 800 Rochester area students holding internships at the company. Lauren serves on several Rochester area boards including: Thompson Health Foundation, 2004-­‐
present; EnCompass, 2006-­‐present; MCC Advisory Board Capital Campaign, 2006-­‐present; YMCA Capital Campaign Co-­‐Chair, 2007-­‐present; Nazareth College Board of Trustees, 2007-­‐
present; Ontario ARC, 2005-­‐present; and CMAC Board of Directors, 2007-­‐present. She is a frequent local and national guest speaker on topics such as advertising, marketing, philanthropy and company culture. She is married with four children, two of whom are actively involved in her company. (Women Entrepreneurs Blog, 2013) 92 Figure 9: Wellness Programming
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Fun Activities: Over the years they have included water gun wars, air hockey tournaments, bocce games, a Wii bowling league, a summer jam concert, hot chocolate with marshmallows delivered to people’s desks during the winter, yoga, skiing nights, snow shoeing outings, massage therapist visits, a fantasy football team, NCAA brackets for March Madness, contests for the US Open and PGA, and Lunch and Learns about various topics, among others. Sports Leagues: A number of sports leagues are offered throughout the course of the year, depending upon the season. The agency has a softball league, a soccer team, a bowling league, and a volleyball team. Oftentimes, employees who are not playing will come along just to cheer on their team. Team wins and updates are regularly announced at agency meetings. Fitness Challenge: In 2013, Dixon Schwabl teamed up with Workplace Vitality to offer the ‘Fitness Challenge.’ In the past, the agency worked with the Slender Center in offering ‘Weightloss for Wellness.’ The two programs are very similar, however, the newest is more comprehensive. Dixon Schwabl covers the entire cost of this program. (Lauren Dixon, personal communication, August 29, 2013) As a first step in the process, employees completed a biometric screening, an in-­‐body analysis, and an HRA with a registered nurse affiliated with the wellness vendor. The nurse then returned and reviewed the analysis with each employee, and then helped each individual to devise his or her own plan towards health and wellbeing for the challenge. EAP program: This is offered through Paychex, and was first introduced after the death of Jane Argenta, when many employees needed grief counseling. (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 25, 2013) It includes features, such as Counseling Referral, Financial Consulting, Legal Consultation, Child and Elder Care Referral, and Travel Coordination. (Paychex, 2013b) Food Sharing: Employees are offered a membership to the Good Food Collective, which is “Rochester’s first and only year-­‐round local, sustainable food shares.” The collective delivers the foodstuffs to the agency directly. (Sims, 2012) Financial Wellbeing Efforts: The agency offers a membership to Exceed Federal Credit Union, which offers low interest loans, and debt consolidation. Further, Principal comes in and gives one-­‐on-­‐one advice for 401k plans, which employees are automatically enrolled in at 4%. (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 9, 2013) Profit Sharing Scheme: One of the worst score that Dixon Schwabl received was regarding whether employees felt they got a fair share of the profits. In response, Lauren came to her employees, and asked them to find ways to cut costs. In the end, they were able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars, through small changes throughout the agency. All of the money saved went back to employees. There is now a permanent profit sharing plan in place, and last year, Dixon Schwabl gave back 22% of its profits to its workforce. (Kimmel, 2012) Emergency and Disaster Plan: One employee was working at a volunteer fire department, and created and introduced the plan for Dixon Schwabl. It includes detailed information about what to do in case of an emergency, including an evacuation plan. 93 •
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Health Equipment: A blood pressure machine was placed off of the main conference room as a component of the ‘Eat Well, Live Well Challenge.’ Dixon Schwabl has won an award several times, being recognized for the fact that a quarter of the office took their pressure at least once throughout the course of the challenge. The office also has an AED defibrillator. When this was purchased a few years ago, several employees were trained how to use it in case of emergency. Flu Clinic: The clinic is held once per year in the front lobby. Stair Usage: Employees are encouraged to take the stairs over the elevator. Subsidized Health Insurance Plan: This plan is offered through Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Dixon Schwabl covers 50% of an individual plan. Insurance agents from Bond Financial come in several times yearly to hold information sessions about the plan. They also provide employees with information packets about an array of topics, such as when to go to the emergency room versus urgent care. Several years ago, in aims of helping to curb rising health care costs, Dixon Schwabl began to offer a high deductible plan. In 2013, the agency stopped offering its co-­‐pay plan altogether. Typically thirty to forty employees make use of these services. The others are on their spouses, or parent’s plans. (Karen Sims, personal communication, September 9, 2013) 94 Figure 10: Excerpts from the Company’s Website
95 Figure 11: Victor, New York
96 Figure 12: Sample Wednesday Meeting Minutes
97 Figure 13:Wegmans Company Overview
Company(Overview(
In#2012,#Wegmans#received#more#than#5,200#requests#from#people#asking#the#company#to#open#a#store#in#their#
community.#Another#7,600#customers#wrote#to#say#how#much#they#like#shopping#at#Wegmans,#because#they#like#the#
products#and#services#offered#or#appreciate#the#way#Wegmans#employees#treat#them.#Here#are#the#highlights:#
#
Facts(&(Figures(
Why(people(will(drive(miles(to(a(Wegmans#
 Ranked##5#on#FORTUNE#magazine's#2013#list#of#the#100*Best*Companies*to*Work*For.#Wegmans#has#been#on#the#
list#every#year#since#it#began#in#1998,#and#in#2005,#ranked##1.##
 A#major#regional#supermarket#chain,#and#one#of#the#largest#private#companies#in#the#U.S.##
 Raised#the#bar#on#the#shopping#experience#—#better#quality#goods,#a#spectacular#abundance#of#choice,#
restaurantQquality#prepared#foods,#beautiful#stores#and#displays,#a#nearly#telepathic#level#of#customer#service.##
 Consistent#low#prices,#every#day,#in#all#departments#so#that#customers#don't#have#to#run#around#town#chasing#
deals.##
 An#early#adopter#of#new#technology:#Wegmans#was#one#of#the#first#supermarkets#to#introduce#electronic#
discounts#in#1990#and#barQcode#scanning#in#1974.#The#late#Robert#Wegman#coQchaired#the#public#policy#
subcommittee#for#the#grocery#industry#development#of#the#UPC.##
 Known#for#exceptional#levels#of#charitable#donations.#Giving#is#focused#on#programs#that#reduce#hunger,#help#
young#people#succeed,#promote#healthy#eating#and#activity,#and#strengthen#neighborhoods.###Wegmans#gave#
food#banks#16#million#pounds#of#food#in#2012.##
 Strong#employee#benefit#programs,#especially#their#employee#scholarship#program,#which#provides#nearly#$4.5#
million#in#tuition#assistance#to#employees#each#year.##
 Industry#analyst#Neil#Stern,#quoted#in#a#1994#frontQpage#story#about#Wegmans#in#the#Wall*Street*Journal,#said,#
“We consider them the best chain in the country, maybe in the world.”##
#
Ownership(&(Management(
Headquartered#in#Rochester,#New#York,#Wegmans#is#a#privately#held,#familyQowned#company,#founded#in#1916#by#the#
Wegman#family.#Danny#Wegman#is#CEO,#and#Colleen#Wegman, his daughter, is president. Robert Wegman, Danny’s
father,#was#chairman#until#his#death#in#April#2006.#
#
What(We(Believe(
At#Wegmans,#we#believe#that#good#people,#working#toward#a#common#goal,#can#accomplish#anything#they#set#out#to#do.#
#
In#this#spirit,#we#set#our#goal#to#be#the#very#best#at#serving#the#needs#of#our#customers.#Every#action#we#take#should#be#
made#with#this#in#mind.#
#
We#also#believe#that#we#can#achieve#our#goal#only#if#we#fulfill#the#needs#of#our#own#people.#To#our#customers#and#our#
people#we#pledge#continuous#improvement,#and#we#make#the#commitment:#
"Every(Day(You(Get(Our(Best"#
#
Size(of(the(Company(
 2012#annual#sales#of#$6.6#billion.##
 28th#on#the#2013#Supermarket*News#list#of#the#Top#75#Supermarkets#based#on#sales#volume.##
 On#Forbes'#annual#list#of#the#"Largest#Private#Companies#in#the#U.S.",#ranking##55#in#2011.##
 Wegmans#operates#83#stores:#46#in#New#York#State,#16#in#Pennsylvania,#7#in#New#Jersey,#6#in#Virginia,#7#in#
Maryland#and#1#in#Massachusetts.##
 Wegmans#employs#over#44,000#people.##
#
(
(
98 Figure 14: Eat Well, Live Well
Eat Well, Live Well Brand Overview
Creating a Culture of Health in the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region
The Eat Well, Live Well brand offers support to businesses, community groups and individuals
seeking to conduct their own health and wellness promotion resources. This employer-based
wellness brand strategy also benefits the community, by helping prevent health conditions linked
to excess weight and lack of exercise, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity, which
cause avoidable, costly health expenses.
Having a community-wide brand of wellness is an efficient, smart approach that unifies our
efforts to become the healthiest community in the country. Most importantly, it provides a single,
unifying and inspiring message for everyone in our community.
When to Use Eat Well, Live Well Brand
Our mission:
To inspire and support each other to enjoy healthier, better lives
using four simple “Eat Well, Live Well” principles.
1. Strive for 5 Cups of Fruits & Vegetables
Like most Americans, you may not be getting the recommended 5 cups of fruits and veggies every
day. At Wegmans we call it “Strive for 5” to emphasize that we all need to work hard to get those
5 cups into our daily diets. We say 5 cups because that’s close to the average amount needed for
adults. Depending on your age and activity level a bit more or less than 5 cups may be fine.
2. Get Moving
For everyone—adults, children, the elderly—some physical activity is better than none. Get the
OK from your doctor, then strap on a pedometer and find out how much activity you regularly do.
Gradually add activity over several weeks and build to a goal of 10,000 steps a day.
Once you have been active at that level for a while, add something new. Consider adding a
muscle-strengthening activity twice a week. Make physical activity fun by asking friends and
family to join you. Turn it into a gift of health for you and benefit others by participating in a
Wegmans-sponsored walk. Commit to a healthier better life—Get Moving!
3. Calories Count
Diets come and go. High carb, low carb, slow carb: there’s always a new and better one on the
horizon. But the bottom line is that calories really do count, and watching portions is the best way
to get calories in shape. It does not take much to make a difference, for better or for worse.
4. Measure Your Progress
Consistently measuring your “progress” by keeping track of your “numbers” with simple tools
like the bathroom scale, a tape measure or even a blood pressure cuff can help keep you
motivated to stay fit and eat better.
Why Bother?
Regularly taking stock of key health measurements—weight, BMI, waist measurement,
cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose—can give you an idea how your overall
health is and help you keep track of any weight loss or maintenance efforts you undertake.
99 Figure 15:Description of the Dixon Schwabl Office
The entry way on the ground floor is very spacious, creating for an open, and airy feel. It features high ceilings, and sunlights, which fill up the space with natural light. The walls are brightly painted in yellow, purple, and burgundy, and the semi-­‐spiral staircase in the middle of the room has brightly a brightly colored railing and rug. As one walks into the space, they are greeted by the ‘Director of First Impressions,’ who sits at a large desk in the center of the room. The entryway has many playful touches to liven up the space, including a slide, a mirror with different items attached to it, such as a tape measure, a cup, a globe, and a brush, and a life-­‐
size bronze colored mosaic horse. Next to the front door, a sign says, “If you had a WOW experience at Dixon Schwabl, ring our bell!” Just to the side of the entryway is Lauren Dixon’s office. Her office has glass walls providing for an open feel. Her secretary is seated just next to her. The rest of the offices on this floor seat account executives, who have spacious office rooms painted in yellow including large desks and personal décor. On the other side is a large meeting space. To the other side of the entryway, there is a seating area with Mackenzie Childs style decor, and colorful wall murals, which have words including, ‘innovation’, ‘pizzaz’, and ‘vision’. The ground floor also houses the largest conference room, also called the ‘imagination room.’ It has a large granite table with black leather chairs, and a large black fireplace, over which awards and accolades are hung on the mantle. A mural on the wall states encouraging words, including ‘imagine,’ ‘make it happen’, ‘think out loud’, and ‘smart marketing’. The wall facing the greeting area is made of opaque frosted glass, which can be opened to fit more people into the space during Wednesday meetings. In a back hallway, there are two bathrooms and a kitchen. On the wall, a quote says, “We believe in discovering and developing the wow in you and me. Together we can create unstoppable innovation.” The kitchen is fairly large. It has murals with colorful fruits and vegetables all over the walls. In the kitchen, there is a good amount of counter space, on which lies a Keurig machine, a latte machine, a toaster, and a microwave. There is also a stove, and two dishwashers. Next to the counters is a large fridge, and freezer where food can be stored. On the other side of the wall is a vending machine stocked with nuts, pretzels, candy, juice, water, and soda. Just next to the stairs, which descend into the basement, there is a stone fountain, which provides a calming sound throughout the office. The basement, also known as the ‘layer of love’ houses the production, media, studio, interactive, and social media teams. The walls of the basement are brightly painted, which lightens up the space even though there are few in the hallways windows. As with other floors, employee’s offices are typically shared, and include a desk, and personal effects, including pictures and posters to make the space their own. The first floor houses the copyright, PR, events, business, and HR. It also houses the company’s president, Mike Schawbl. The top floor is home to the creative team, and the think tank, a large open room, where interns work. As with other floors, the lively space is brightly decorated, and is decked with colorful artwork, quirky furniture, and bright wall murals. 100 Figure 16: Images of the Dixon Schwabl Office
101 Figure 17: Strategy Map
102 Figure 18: Facebook Posts
103 Figure 19: Boards and Committees Where Employees Volunteer
Thomson health foundation, Ontario ARC, Greater Rochester Enterprise, CMAC, Young Entrepreneurs Academy, Monroe Community College Foundation, Rochester Business Alliance, United Way of Greater Rochester, Roberts Wesleyan College Advisory Board for Graduate Division of Business Programs, CGR Board of Trustees, Rochester Business Alliance Executive Committee, United Way Women’s Leadership Council, Lifespan Board, Lifespan Golden Wishes Program, Prism planning committee, MCC Foundation Fundraising Committee, Rochester Advertising Federation ADDY committee, Flower City Habitat for Humanity Marketing Committee, Roc Property Committee Annual gala, Mental Health Association of Rochester/Monroe County, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester NY Board, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester NY Marketing Committee, President of Victor Girls’ Lacrosse Booster Club, Lollypop Farm Purrrr Imagination Committee, Public Relations Society of America, PRSA Diversity Committee Co-­‐Chair, Bivona Child Advocacy Center Marketing/Communications Committee, Mary Cariola Children’s Center Marketing/Communications Committee, Arc of Monroe Foundation, Daystar Board of Directors Vice President, Bivona Marketing Committee, Red Tie Society Board for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester NY Young Professional group, President of the Pen-­‐Web Rotary Club, PR Chair for Rotary District 7120, Co-­‐Chair Jammin at the J, Jewish Community Center Annual Gala, Treasurer of the Victor Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Sands Canter Center Golf Classic Board, Fundraiser Janie Argenta Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund at SUNY Geneseo, Corporate Hospitality Sales Committee for the 95th PGA championship, Volunteer Standard Bearer Committee for the 85th PGA Championship, Oak Hill Country Club Men’s Invitational Committee, Participant League of the Iroquois Golf League, Pro Am Participant 2009-­‐2013, RBC Heritage PGA Tour Event, Board Member Canandaigua Family YYMCA, Chairman Naples Chapter Ducks Unlimited, Volunteer Coach Canandaigua Area Soccer League. (Sims, 2012) 104 Figure 20: Sample Employee Listing on the Website
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