Summary
People often face various challenges that can affect their performance and emotional well-being. Three representatives of distinct industries were interviewed for this paper to analyze how certain individuals perceive the concepts of employee empowerment, employee engagement, and psychological safety. The first person questioned will be further identified by the pseudonym DL, and she is a registered nurse who has been operating in the position for seventeen years. The second interviewee is JD, and she has been performing as a human resource manager in the transportation industry for five years. JP is the third person surveyed, and she works in retail as a manager at 7-Eleven, where she has been employed for seven years. People have distinct definitions of employee empowerment, employee engagement, and psychological safety yet perceive the concepts as important for good workplace performance.
Employee Empowerment and Engagement
Working Definitions
Employee empowerment and engagement can impact how individuals operate in the workplace. The working definition of the former term is that it means to have the capability to make independent decisions and act accordingly (Choi et al., 2016). Consequently, the explanation for the latter concept is it is the degree to which workers are invested in their occupations (Society for Human Resource Management, 2017). Being able to resolve a matter without always having to consult upper management makes individuals more autonomous, whereas feeling connected to one’s employment increases loyalty to the job.
Interviews
The three persons who were interviewed depicted employee empowerment and engagement culture within their workplaces as staff members having governance over their actions while participating in the internal processes. DL described employee empowerment as having the authority to make independent decisions, with leaders sharing control with others. DL said that autonomy is important in her job because she has to make prompt choices to ensure patient safety, but she can also make suggestions to her manager at any time. In comparison, JD described employee empowerment as having the capability to set her own goals and control her life. JD stated that her employer provides her with the necessary tools, but she can make decisions unassisted and has been asked how to improve certain procedures. JP defined employee empowerment as having the ability to accomplish something independently and enjoying being in charge. Consequently, JP expressed that being autonomous is crucial for her as she can manage the store based on her and her colleagues’ needs. It appears that the interviewed individuals have a similar understanding of employee empowerment and engagement.
Different Industries
Workplace empowerment and engagement within healthcare organizations are comparable to other industries. Nurse empowerment is considered an essential requirement that encourages nurses to enable the best care practices and increases job satisfaction through authority and autonomy (Asiri et al., 2016; Choi et al., 2016). Within the transportation sector, employee empowerment is important to achieve agility and prosper in a constantly changing environment (Nouri & Mousavi, 2019). In the retail industry, empowered frontline workers experience a higher level of flexibility and, therefore, are more committed and perform better (Mortimer et al., 2021). Moreover, employee engagement within healthcare settings is found to be imperative for improved patient outcomes, as engaged practitioners can do beyond what is typically expected from them (Prottas & Nummelin, 2018). In transportation, engagement among staff members is important for decision-making to invite people to take individual responsibility for increasing quality (Nouri & Mousavi, 2019). Frontline employees in the retail sector must be engaged to enhance customer experience through staff members’ positive mindsets (Ellinger & Franke, 2018). Accordingly, employee empowerment and engagement in healthcare and other industries are needed to accomplish distinct goals but with an overall focus on improving performance.
Psychological Safety
Working Definition
The way individuals operate and communicate in the workplace depends on their psychological safety (PS). The working definition of the concept is that PS represents the ability to share one’s opinions honestly while reporting and admitting mistakes and errors openly to advance internal processes (O’Donovan et al., 2019). Therefore, promoting PS is needed for employees to express constructive thoughts, which may not always be positive, to increase performance.
Interviews
The interviewed persons characterized the presence of PS within their organizations based on whether they can make suggestions about internal processes. DL shared feeling comfortable about giving her opinion concerning various situations since her colleagues understand that they all have one goal within their department. JD suggested that she can communicate her thoughts quite easily and that it is her responsibility as a leader to guide her followers. JP stated that she can openly talk to her supervisor and often has to discuss problems to help her employees, who cannot always voice their concerns. Overall, PS appears to be present in the interviewed individuals’ workplaces as they can express their opinions, although JP’s organization seems to not value the views of lower-ranking workers compared to those in managerial positions.
Different Industries
PS within healthcare is represented moderately differently than in other industries. Within medical settings, PS strives for better patient outcomes and contributes to enhanced communication while leading to errors being reported more frequently and quality is continuously improved (O’Donovan et al., 2019). In comparison, those working in the transportation sector reported facing more time-related demands and not having much direct supervision than other industries (Silla & Gamero, 2018). Therefore, for those in transport occupations, especially drivers, PS diminishes time pressure, lowers the chances of burnout, and enhances health (Silla & Gamero, 2018). In contrast, it seems that there are not many studies concerning PS in the retail industry. Nonetheless, Xu et al. (2019) propose that retail employees typically work in spatially crowded environments that negatively affect the staff members’ psychological well-being and performance. Accordingly, while PS aims at better patient outcomes in healthcare and focuses on employees’ well-being in transportation, it appears to be lacking in retail.
Healthcare
Higher degrees of psychological safety, employee empowerment, and engagement are positive factors for quality care and safety issues within healthcare. Empowerment contributes to workers’ well-being, enables them to recognize the value of their goals, and encourages them to take responsibility for their actions (Rahman et al., 2020). Employee engagement enhances staff members’ soundness and raises dedication to occupation-related activities (Rahman et al., 2020). Finally, as mentioned above, PS improves patient outcomes, facilitates quality improvement, and increases safety by encouraging workers to report errors (O’Donovan et al., 2019). Therefore, employee empowerment and engagement alongside PS positively affect healthcare organizations’ safety and quality of care.
Strategies
Improving or sustaining PS, employee empowerment, and engagement require considerable effort since the three elements are not directly connected despite improving processes in healthcare institutions. For instance, Rahman et al. (2020) state that the empowerment of medical workers does not impact their engagement. Therefore, each of the three factors mandates using a specific approach. A strategy that can be recommended to enhance employee empowerment is for leaders to promote practices that grant workers greater autonomy, such as information sharing and team accountability (Yin et al., 2019). A way to increase engagement is to adopt developmental techniques through relational psychological contact (Rahman et al., 2020). Finally, to facilitate PS, healthcare managers should embrace change-oriented leadership that focuses on innovative thinking, envisions change, and enables open discussions (O’Donovan & Mcauliffe, 2020). Consequently, strategies for improving and sustaining PS, employee empowerment, and engagement in healthcare organizations require a systematic approach and distinct actions.
References
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