Social capital – how to succeed

4th International COPSOQ WorkshopGent, September 19-20, 2013

Tage S Kristensentsk@task-consult.dk

The development of work environment

factors

Noise, smoke, chemicals

Monotonous,

repetitive work

Expo-

sures

Organization

of workrepetitive work

Work in teams

Workplace

social capital

of work

Relations

Networks,

trust

Organizational social capital”The three diamonds”

Collaboration

The core

TrustJustice

The core product

or service

Important point about workplace social capital

• Some work environment factors are at job-level. (For instance demands, influence, meaning, variation, etc.)variation, etc.)

• Others are at department level. (For instance quality of leadership, predictability, recognition, social support, etc.)

• Social capital is primarily at company level, e.g.

a characteristic of the whole company.

(The distinction between department and company cannot be made beforehand)

How we usually measure social capital

Justice

• Are conflicts resolved in a fair way? *

• Is the work distributed fairly? *• Are employees appreciated

Trust (vertical)

• Does the management trust the employees to do their work well? *

• Can you trust the information • Are employees appreciated when they have done a good job?

• Are all suggestions from employees treated seriously by the management?

• Can you trust the information that comes from the management? *

• Does the management withhold important information from the employees?

• Are the employees able to express their views and feelings?

* Short questionnaire

Important findings

• Workplaces with the same conditions have very different social capital

Quality of leadership

70

Social capital and quality of leadership in the schools of a Danish municipality

CB

A

D

E

60

50

40

50 60 70 80Social capital

E

G

F

H

I

J

K

L

DK

Important findings

• Workplaces with the same conditions have very different social capital

• Social capital is always strongly associated with job satisfaction, stress, etc.with job satisfaction, stress, etc.

G

Intentionto quit

Social capital and intention to quit

A50

60

Units are municipal institutions in the city ofOdense, Denmark

30

50 7060 80

Social capital

20

H FB E

C

D

Social capital project, 2009.

40

Social capital and the prevalence of cardiovascular

disease among nurses in Chinese hospitals

2,854 nurses

in 12 hospitals

Jian Li & TS Kristensen, 2011.

Important findings

• Workplaces with the same conditions have very different social capital

• Social capital is always strongly associated with job satisfaction, stress, etc.with job satisfaction, stress, etc.

• Social capital ”overrules” the influence of job factors

Job satisfaction

70

Social capital and job satisfaction in schools of the same municipality

60

50

40

50 60 70 80Social capital

DK

r = 0,881; p = 0,000

Quantitative demands

60

Social capital and quantitative demands at work in the schools of a Danish municipality

50

40

30

50 60 70 80Social capital

C

B

A

DE

F

G

H

IJ

K

LDK

Social capital og job satisfaction in call

centres

Mathiesen & Wiegman, 2009

(In)Justice and depression*

A Finnish prospective study of 1,786 female hospital employees

Relative risk

1,0 1,0

1,24

1,73

1.5

Kivimäki et al. Psychol Med 2003;33:319-326.

* Diagnosed by MD

Proceduraljustice

1,0 1,0

0.5

1.0

+ – + –

Respect

Important findings

• Workplaces with the same conditions have very different social capital

• Social capital is always strongly associated with job satisfaction, stress, etc.with job satisfaction, stress, etc.

• Social capital ”overrules” the influence of job factors

• Social capital is mainly the result of quality of leadership

Development of social capital and quality of leadershipduring a one-year intervention project

Quality of leadership

70

Social capital and quality of leadership in hospital wards

The Region

75

OBS

65

60

55

50 60 70 80Social capital

The hospital

26.529.7

32.7

44

54

70

20

30

40

50

60

Profit before tax (mio. DKK.)

7574

The economic development of Irma supermarkets 1996-2010

Josefsenstarts

Recent numbers:2009: 50.6 mio2010: 78.5 mio

-5.9

0.9

-29.0-34.8

6.9

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

År

1996 97 98 99 2000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Irma was in deep crisis and about to close down. Josefsen builtup the social capital of Irma, and the economic results followed

Conclusions

• Social capital is a characteristic of the workplace, which reflects leadership and cooperation

• Workplaces with high social capital have • Workplaces with high social capital have high job satisfaction, low stress, and low absence rates

• Social capital is not the result of economic or material conditions – it can be improved though local actions

Thank you for your attention

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