Work-related stress in SMEs is an increasing problem. However, knowledge regarding stress management interventions in SMEs is limited. Often SMEs lack professional in-house facilitator resources to assist change processes. The aim of this paper is to describe the outcomes of four SMEs applying a participatory multi-level intervention model known as "PoWRS" and identify enablers and barriers related to the intervention. The companies' outcomes regard the specific intervention, influence on productivity and well-being, and unexpected outcomes. Main enabling factors included multi-level engagement in reflections, decision making and implementation of the changes through all phases, local untrained facilitators assisting the process, active line managers and senior management, continuous evaluations and adjustments and visualization of the progress.Some of the critical barriers were lack of process experience, imbalance between operations and development, and lack of management support. Implications of the findings for work-related stress preventions in SME using the model are discussed.3
Despite the growing interest for process evaluation in participatory interventions, studies examining specific methods for process evaluation are lacking. In this paper, we propose a new method for process evaluation--the Chronicle Workshop. The Chronicle Workshop has not previously been used in intervention studies. The method was tested in three small and medium-sized companies. Four to six employees participated in each Chronicle Workshop, which was the last activity of the participatory preventive intervention program PoWRS. The program aims at creating changes which have a positive effect on both productivity and well-being.In all cases we saw that the Chronicle Workshop gave valuable information about the intervention process and that it initiated a joint reflection among participants from different departments. The Chronicle Workshop makes it possible to better understand the results of the intervention, the factors affecting it, and the outcome evaluation based on a summary view of the company and interventionrelated factors that influence the intervention program and results.
Workplaces across Europe experience increasing problems with work-related strain and stress. Consequently, they are confronted with the need for stress-preventive interventions that target the sources of stress. A matter of current debate is how to continuously evaluate an organizational-level intervention and gain insight into progress and participants' perceptions of its impact; however, empirical data are lacking. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative study in three workplaces-two in information technology (IT) and one in manufacturing-to explore the design, evaluation process, perceived impact, and employees' experiences with the continuous use of a physical evaluation tool (visualization object) during an organizational-level intervention process. We conducted observations, surveys, semi-structured interviews and chronicle workshops across all three workplaces.Overall, the results showed that the visualization object proved successful as a tool to explicate and combine participants' perceptions of impact. The evaluation process also clarified that participants initially had different understandings of the intervention's purpose. However, the study also showed that the visualization object facilitated a dialog among participants, converging the different understandings to create a shared understanding and compliance of purpose. Finally, the respondents reported that the evaluation tool acted as a collective reminder of the intervention and the related changes. We conclude the study by providing recommendations for future evaluations of participatory organizational-level interventions.
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