Effects of group performance feedback and goal-setting in an organisational energy intervention

End-user energy demand (EUED) in the workplace is affected by a complex interaction between behavioural, social, technological, regulatory and organisational factors. Designing technology-led interventions to encourage pro-environmental behaviour that acknowledge and support this complexity is a significant challenge. This paper discusses the design and evaluation of an EUED intervention implemented in the corporate infrastructure of a UK university administration department. Two intervention types, group feedback and group goal-setting were implemented. 16 participants were recruited and engaged with a four stage study (baseline, group feedback, group goal setting, and baseline) for a duration of 4 months. This study design allowed us to track clearly any changes in mid-term energy usage behaviour during and beyond intervention. Findings suggest that, surprisingly, participant energy consumption increased during the intervention period compared to baseline conditions. These results demonstrate that simple group-based behaviour change methods can be counter-productive in the workplace, illustrating the complex and unpredictable nature of intervention in this design space

Encouraging pro-environmental behaviours: a review of methods and approaches. ESRI Working Paper No. 645 December 2019

Many urgent environmental problems can be mitigated with more sustainable use of resource. An acknowledgement of which is a growing interest among policy practitioners in encouraging pro-environmental behaviour change initiatives. The effect of anthropic pressure on the environment is long known and the first pro-environmental behaviour studies date back to the middle 1970s. Despite this, the scientific literature has not yet answered several questions: what are the most suitable ways to encourage behavioural changes? What are the barriers to project implementation? What are the long run effects of behavioural change projects? With this in mind, this contribution offers a review of the existing literature on behavioural change case studies and provides a categorisation of treatments and guidelines for successful project implementation. Five different approaches have been considered: education and awareness, social influence, relationship building, incentives and nudges, which have been used in experimental studies. On balance the case studies suggest that all approaches are suitable but their selection should be based on specific objectives and target population. Interestingly, the choice of the behaviour to change is rarely discussed before project implementation. This analysis also highlights that little is known on whether behaviour change projects achieve sustained pro-environmental behavioural change over time

A socio-technical approach to improving retail energy efficiency behaviours

In recent years, the UK retail sector has made a significant contribution to societal responses on carbon reduction. We provide a novel and timely examination of environmental sustainability from a systems perspective, exploring how energy-related technologies and strategies are incorporated into organisational life. We use a longitudinal case study approach, looking at behavioural energy efficiency from within one of the UK's leading retailers. Our data covers a two-year period, with qualitative data from a total of 131 participants gathered using phased interviews and focus groups. We introduce an adapted socio-technical framework approach in order to describe an existing organisational behavioural strategy to support retail energy efficiency. Our findings point to crucial socio-technical and goal-setting factors which both impede and/or enable energy efficient behaviours, these include: tensions linked to store level perception of energy management goals; an emphasis on the importance of technology for underpinning change processes; and, the need for feedback and incentives to support the completion of energy-related tasks. We also describe the evolution of a practical operational intervention designed to address issues raised in our findings. Our study provides fresh insights into how sustainable workplace behaviours can be achieved and sustained over time. Secondly, we discuss in detail a set of issues arising from goal conflict in the workplace; these include the development of a practical energy management strategy to facilitate secondary organisational goals through job redesign

Beacons of Excellence in Stress Prevention

NoThis report describes the work of Robertson Cooper Ltd and UMIST to identify good practice in stress prevention and then identify organisations within the UK that could be called beacons of excellence in comparison to this model. Part one of this report summarises and draws conclusions from all of the substantive academic studies on stress prevention over the last decade and uses this information, as well as advice gained from a panel of international experts, to develop a comprehensive stress prevention model. Part two of the report uses this model to describe examples of stress prevention practices that Robertson Cooper Ltd has identified within a wide range of UK organisations. Case studies are presented for each aspect of the good practice model. Examples of real documentation and organisational practice are presented.Health and Safety Executive (HSE

Context, control and the spillover of energy use behaviours between office and home settings

This paper examines how office-based lighting and computer use behaviours relate to similar behaviours performed by the same individuals in a household setting. It contributes to the understanding of energy use behaviour in both household and organisational settings, and investigates the potential for the‘spillover’of behaviour from one context to another. A questionnaire survey was administered to office-based employees of two adjacent local government organisations (‘City Council’and‘County Council’)in the East Midlands region of the UK. The analysis demonstrates that the organisational or home setting is an important defining feature of the energy use behaviour. It also reveals that, while there were weak relationships across settings between behaviours sharing other taxonomic categories, such as equipment used and trigger for the behaviour, there was no evidence to support the existence of spillover effects across settings

Evidence synthesis on the occurrence, causes, consequences, prevention and management of bullying and harassment behaviours to inform decision making in the NHS

Background Workplace bullying is a persistent problem in the NHS with negative implications for individuals, teams, and organisations. Bullying is a complex phenomenon and there is a lack of evidence on the best approaches to manage the problem. Aims Research questions What is known about the occurrence, causes, consequences and management of bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace? Objectives Summarise the reported prevalence of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Summarise the empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Describe any theoretical explanations of the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Synthesise evidence on the preventative and management interventions that address workplace bullying interventions and inappropriate behaviour. Methods To fulfil a realist synthesis approach the study was designed across four interrelated component parts: Part 1: A narrative review of the prevalence, causes and consequences of workplace bullying Part 2: A systematic literature search and realist review of workplace bullying interventions Part 3: Consultation with international bullying experts and practitioners Part 4: Identification of case studies and examples of good practic

The Role of Relapse Prevention and Goal Setting in Training Transfer Enhancement

This article reviews the effect of two post-training transfer interventions (relapse prevention [RP] and goal setting [GS]) on trainees’ ability to apply skills gained in a training context to the workplace. Through a review of post-training transfer interventions literature, the article identifies a number of key issues that remain unresolved or underexplored, for example, the inconsistent results on the impact of RP on transfer of training, the lack of agreement on which GS types are more efficient to improve transfer performance, the lack of clarity about the distinction between RP and GS, and the underlying process through which these two post-training transfer interventions influence transfer of training. We offer some recommendations to overcome these problems and also provide guidance for future research on transfer of training

Piloting the Research Instrument to Identify the Conditions that Promote Coaching in Organisations

Purpose of the article: This paper aims to present both the procedure and the results of the piloting the questionnaire to identify the conditions under which coaching is likely to be promoted in the organisations. Methodology/methods: To achieve the aim of the study, the extensive literature search was undertaken based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and the conditions were identified from the selected articles. These conditions constituted the basis for the questionnaire for coaches and coaching clients. Piloting the questionnaire was conducted with a limited sample in order to check content validity. Scientific aim: The aim of the research is to identify the conditions that facilitate the promotion of coaching in the organisations of Latvia and Lithuania. Findings: As a result of piloting the questionnaire the clarity of layout and instructions were checked, irrelevant questions were identified and uncertainty and poor wording were eliminated. The experts could evaluate all conditions. The highest score got the conditions that were connected with the willingness to learn and develop Conclusions Limitation: The construct validity and the criterion validity of the questionnaire were not checked since it was not the aim of the piloting. Implications: The designed and piloted questionnaire will be used for the survey of coaches and coaching clients. Sampling list of coaches is prepared preliminarily; it is comprised of coaches from Latvia and Lithuania who are the members of associations of coaches. Sampling list of coaching clients will be created simultaneously. However, it would be done all possible to select a sample large enough for statistical analysis

Health initiatives to target obesity in surface transport industries: review and implications for action

Lifestyle-related chronic diseases pose a considerable burden to the individual and the wider society, with correspondingly negative effects on industry. Obesity is a particular problem for the Australasian road and rail industries where it is associated with specific cardiac and fatigue-related safety risks, and levels are higher than those found in the general population. Despite this recognition, and the introduction of National Standards, very little consensus exists regarding approaches to preventative health for surface transport workers. A review of evidence regarding effective health promotion initiatives is urgently needed to inform best practice in this cohort. This review draws together research informing the scope and effectiveness of health promotion programs, initiatives and interventions targeting overweight and obesity in safety critical surface transport domains including the truck, bus and rail industries. A number of health interventions demonstrated measurable successes, including incentivising, peer mentoring, verbal counselling, development of personalised health profiles, and offer of healthier on-site food choices – some of which also resulted in sizeable return on investment over the long term. &nbsp

Productivity measurement in a sports organisation

The purpose of this study is to establish whether the Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System (ProMES), a human resource intervention that provides feedback, can improve productivity in an Angolan female handball team. Two factors that are critical to the success of a sports team or organisation are motivation and productivity. The ProMES approach offers a method for measuring action results (in other words, team productivity) that takes this feature of typical team settings into account. The ProMES process, with its ability to aggregate participants around objectives, is suitable for application in the sport industry.Key words: productivity, ProMES, motivation, team effectiveness and development,feedback, performance, team spor