Well-being at work in processes of organizational change: The role of informal social networks

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluates the role of social networks of support, information, and trust in well-being at work, regarding the positive and negative affects and professional fulfillment of workers immersed in processes of organizational change. Originality/value: Organizational change is characterized as a dynamic process, constituted through relationships, immersed in a context of uncertainties. The mapping of relationships can help in understanding the information flows and the assessment of resource availability. Design/methodology/approach: 151 professionals from a holding participated. This company undergoes changes in the scope of services offered and the organizational design. Links of support, information, and trust established according to the change processes were mapped. Associated with the network, the Well-Being at Work Scale was used. For data analysis, multiple regressions were used to construct explanatory models for well-being factors: fulfillment, positive and negative affects. Findings: Variables in support and information social network analysis (SNA) composed the predictive model of well-being in the three models. Among the researched ties, the support and information ties were part of the predictive model of well-being. The metrics that reveal how many times the employee is indicated and indicates others, proximity to highly cited neighbors, degree of participation in cohesive subgroups, the degree to which they assume a central position in the subgroups are indicators of actors’ positions capable of predicting well-being. The influence of the pattern of interaction between managers and employees should be considered in promoting well-being in organizations in the process of change.