Corporate Health Revisited

Abstract

This replication study explores the relationship between organizational dynamics and employee health. A previous study by Smith, Kaminstein, and Makadok found that using step-wise multiple regression, 20% of the variance of an aggregated health symptoms index administered to members of ASCORP, a financial services organization employing 13,000 people, was accounted for by three organizational variables (organization-person balance, organizational treatment, and discrimination) after controlling for demographics. There were several methodological problems with the first study, which meant that the conclusions were cautious. Those problems were overcome in this replication study. This article is confident about the robustness of the findings. The previous study's reporting of an R 2 of .20 was an overestimation. This replication indicates that .15 is a more accurate figure. This is still quite high given the number of variables that affect an individual's health.Our research is focused on the relationship between employee health and organizational dynamics at work. Investigators have established links between hazardous environments and particular diseases, between stress and work conditions, and between specific illnesses and personality types. However, that research was undertaken within