Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example

Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example

An organizational change project refers to the changes in an organization’s operations and structure to enhance its performance and resilience against external forces that may impede its operations (Buchanan & Badham, 2020). Change projects are elements of major projects often integrated into other projects to facilitate an organization’s pursuit of its strategic objectives. Therefore, conducting change management to reduce workplace stress among employees is necessary for employee performance and achievement of organizational objectives. This essay will assess workplace stress as an organizational problem and explore it using a force field analysis. It will also identify and explore the recommended course of action for reducing workplace stress at the hospital. It will examine the course of action taken based on its effectiveness, shortcomings and the type of social skills and knowledge required to accomplish it. The last part will identify the follow-up activities necessary for the change project.

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Assessment of the Problem

Workplace stress occurs due to the non-alignment of job expectations with the employees’ capacities and available resources (Badu et al., 2020). Foster et al., 2020) observe that it is a prevalent issue affecting employees’ health, productivity, and the success of organizations. It is caused by factors like long working hours, low wages, conflict at work, and job insecurity, leading to pressure in performing duties (Badu et al., 2020). The failure to resolve stressful issues results in the body’s constant state of activation, which increases its rate of biological processes and causes the deterioration of an individual’s health.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Force Fields Analysis

Force field analysis is a change management technique organizations, and businesses utilize to diagnose their performance and the need for change (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2021). The technique was proposed by Kurt Lewin, a German-American psychologist who doubles as the founder of contemporary psychology. Based on the psychologists’ force field theory, the driving and restraining forces affect an organization’s path to change implementation. Dawson and Andriopoulos (2021) illustrate that when implementing the diagnostic tool, Lewis proposes that individuals either strengthen the driving forces or weaken the restraining forces to implement change successfully. The need for change can remain a threat until the organization implements it by acting on the driving or retraining forces (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2021). In this case, the force field analysis can be used to identify and propose solutions to workplace stress at the hospital. The analysis steps include the following:(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

1. Definition of project change objectives

The change project’s main objective is to improve employees’ positivity and happiness at the workplace. Positivity and happiness constitute the core elements determining employees’ success within an organization (Buchanan & Badham, 2020). Happiness and positivity are associated with good health, improved performance, and job satisfaction which are critical for an organization’s success.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

• Identification of the driving forces behind the change

The driving forces for reducing workplace stress within the organization include a decline in employee morale, the need for improved output, increased employee turnover, increased hospital readmission rates, and increased miscommunication across hospital units (Pfeffer & Williams, 2020). Other drivers for change include increased cases of harassment, increased workload, and poor organizational culture.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

• Identification of forces pushing against change

The forces against the change include fear of the unknown, loss of staff overtime, disruption of activities, and poor attitudes towards the change, like the “that is not how it should be done.”(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

• Assigning scores 

Each of the forces has varying degrees of impact on the organization. The scores will be assigned on a scale of 1-5, with one being the weakest and 5 being the strongest. The scores are shown in the table below. The driving forces for reducing workplace stress within the organization include a decline in employee morale (5), the need for improved output (3), increased employee turnover (1), increased hospital readmission rates (4), and increased miscommunication across hospital units (5). The scores for forces against change include fear of the unknown (5), loss of staff overtime (1), disruption of activities (4), and poor attitudes towards the change (4), like the “that is not how it should be done.”(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

• Analysis and Application

The analysis and application step determines whether to proceed with the change project (Buchanan & Badham, 2020). The project should be implemented when the total scores for driving forces outweigh those of the opposing forces. The step is necessary to determine the strategies for strengthening the drivers for change to achieve positive organizational outcomes.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

The Course of Action to Address the Problem

The primary course of action for addressing workplace stress is through awareness. Cvenkel (2020) explains that conducting stress awareness campaigns at the workplace is essential in managing the negative impacts of stress. It enables employees to understand and seek help earlier. It also enhances employees’ stress-coping strategies, leading to positive management outcomes. It also boosts employees’ morale and positivity, which is necessary for achieving positive outcomes.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Action Steps

The steps taken during workplace stress awareness campaigns include the identification of the stressors. The step involves determining the causes of workplace stress, including longer working hours, staff shortage, job uncertainty, and employee conflicts. Afterward, the reason for the stressors is determined (Pfeffer & Williams, 2020). They include low wages, miscommunication, poor work-life balance, lack of morale, and poorly defined duties and responsibilities. The last step of the action plan involves implementing the stress management strategy.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

In this case, workplace stress awareness measures to implement include educating employees on stress, its signs, its effects, and how to manage it. Employee education can be conducted by installing posters about stress across different workplace places, like hallways, on the walls across hospital units, and at the canteen (Foy et al., 2019). It can also be achieved through seminars and conferences, where the employees can be taught about stress, its effects, and personal and organizational level management strategies. Pfeffer and Williams (2020) observe that it is also important to recognize stress as a prevalent problem among employees that requires joint solutions. This can boost employees’ confidence to disclose their experience with stress, making it easy to solve the mental health problem.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Social Work Skills and Knowledge

The social work skills utilized in workplace stress awareness campaigns include effective communication and active listening for sharing thoughts and ideas about stress management. Besides, empathy was also crucial in understanding and identifying the feelings of employees based on the concept of stress (Cvenkel, 2020). Respect and cooperation also facilitate a conversation about stress with senior colleagues. Also, networking is necessary for establishing relationships and improving communication on issues of common interest, like stress awareness at the workplace. Lastly, extensive knowledge about stress, its causes, signs, effects, and management are crucial during workplace stress awareness campaigns since it improves the credibility and reliability of the information provided during the awareness campaigns (Cooper & Kelloway, 2021).(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Effectiveness of Course of Action

The workplace stress awareness process constitutes good planning, establishing a culture of focusing on employee well-being, establishing communication channels for employees, developing a work-life balance, and exercising and Nutrition.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

What aspects of your action were effective? Why do you think it was effective?

 Stress awareness promotes effective planning. It ensures that assignments are finished on time and lowers workplace stress. Planning and maintaining an up-to-date calendar can help to reduce workplace stress since the amount of stress experienced at work may be related to the overall planning of an individual (Cooper & Kelloway, 2021). Effective planning among individuals and within the organization also encourages a culture that prioritizes the welfare of its workforce. Cooper and Kelloway (2021) identify various tools that can be applied to align employee performance with an organization’s priorities. They include employee feedback, surveys, engagement factors, and platforms facilitating administrative duties. For example, organizations need to issue scoresheets or questionnaires assessing employee mental health every month to maintain checks and inform task scheduling. Besides, Karacsony (2019) observes that stress awareness facilitates the establishment of communication channels for staff members to discuss their experiences. Every workplace relies on a wide range of expert communication tools to connect (with) its employees, which can be utilized to provide a forum for workers who want to talk about their “stress stories.” For example, the organization could allow blogs on the company intranet specifically for staff to discuss work-related stress.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Additionally, workplace stress awareness facilitates the creation of a support network at the workplace. It helps develop a network of allies for receiving assistance from others, particularly in the individualistic culture of the Westernized world (Cooper & Kelloway, 2021). Some employers might offer stress management tools, including therapy, internet resources, and referrals to mental health specialists as needed. Finally, it can assist in finding a work-life balance, such as identifying an employer’s policy on working from home and having flexible hours might help determine whether an individual can make some accommodations for their needs. Cooper and Kelloway (2021) explain that it is important to free up more time by learning to say “no” to things that are not necessary, like serving on a committee. Respecting personal time and keeping the employer informed of conflicts with other obligations or family matters can help obtain needed support, especially scheduling flexibility.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

What aspects of your action were not effective?

Exercise and Nutrition would not be effective in reducing stress among the employees. Exercise and Nutrition are especially effective methods to increase mood, health, and energy and relax the mind and body (Cooper & Kelloway, 2021). However, it would not be effective among the employees since the hospital is struggling with other issues like staff shortage and underfunding, making it challenging to schedule adequate exercise time. Similarly, underfunding makes it challenging to manage good wages, which can facilitate adherence to a balanced diet among employees. As a result, when raising awareness about stress management at the workplace, it would be suitable to include simple nutrition and exercise measures that employees can adopt, especially at the workplace, such as providing balanced meals for employees at work and scheduling 30-minute daily exercise activities. Also, it is important to provide the employees with simple, balanced meal patterns to supplement their nutritional needs.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Follow-up

Follow-up is essential in ensuring the implementation of the identified stress management measures. The organization’s employees will be given questionnaires about the impact of the workplace stress awareness campaign, problems they may have encountered implementing the coping strategies, and their opinions on whether the campaigns should be intensified (Cvenkel, 2020). These questions will identify areas of improvement in the awareness campaigns.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Conclusion

Workplace stress is a phenomenal problem across any organization. The problem is often exacerbated by inadequate measures to curb it, including limited knowledge about its identification, effects, and management. The paper utilized a force field analysis to identify workplace stress at a hospital, with the main course of action for addressing the problem being raising awareness. Workplace stress awareness can help give employees the confidence to talk about their struggles and seek help. It facilitates good planning, establishing a culture focusing on employee well-being, establishing communication channels for employees, developing a work-life balance, and exercising and Nutrition. Henceforth, organizations should prioritize the well-being of their employees by engaging them through consistent mental health assessment processes to enhance productivity and positivity at the workplace.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

References

Badu, E., O’Brien, A. P., Mitchell, R., Rubin, M., James, C., McNeil, K., … & Giles, M. (2020). Workplace stress and resilience in the Australian nursing workforce: A comprehensive integrative review. International Journal of mental health nursing, 29(1), 5-34. (Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12662

Buchanan, D., & Badham, R. (2020). Power, politics, and organizational change. Sage. ISBN: 9781529725926

Cooper, C. L. & Kelloway, K. (2021). A Research Agenda for Workplace Stress and Well-being. United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN: 9781789905021(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Cvenkel, N. (2020). Well-Being in the Workplace: Governance and Sustainability Insights to Promote Workplace Health. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. ISBN: 9789811536199(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Dawson, P. & Andriopoulos, C. (2021). Managing Change, Creativity, and Innovation. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. ISBN: 9781529766653, 

Foster, K., Roche, M., Giandinoto, J. A., & Furness, T. (2020). Workplace stressors, psychological well‐being, resilience, and caring behaviors of mental health nurses: A descriptive correlational study. International Journal of mental health nursing, 29(1), 56-68.(Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example) https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12610

Foy, T., Dwyer, R. J., Nafarrete, R., Hammoud, M. S. S., & Rockett, P. (2019). Managing job performance, social support, and work-life conflict to reduce workplace stress. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 68(6), 1018-1041. (Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2017-0061

Karacsony, P. (2019, May). Examining the Relationship Between Workplace Stress and Organizational Commitment. In Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Management Science and Industrial Engineering, 26-30. (Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://doi.org/10.1145/3335550.3339898

Pfeffer, J., & Williams, L. (2020). Mental health in the workplace: The coming revolution. McKinsey Quarterly, 8. (Organizational Change Project Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)https://www.anuarioseguros.lat/admin/storage/files/Salud_mental.pdf