Organizational Stress and Well-being In Public Service Executives: The Role of Stewardship

Over the past few decades, we have observed a transformation of the economy and a shift to more knowledge-based and fast paced work. Against the backdrop of complex organizational issues and multifaceted job demands, research has evolved to better integrate the social context into models of organizational stress and well-being. Stewardship has been proposed as an organizational approach that emphasizes a sense of purpose towards the common good through the sharing of power, resources and information across networks to work through complex issues. The main objective of this thesis is to develop and empirically test an analytical framework examining the role of stewardship in the relationship between organizational stress and well-being. A central premise of this research is that contextual factors of the work environment can play a key role in the mitigation of work stress. More specifically, stewardship is viewed as an organizational approach that helps executives to navigate their complex demands and be more resilient to organizational stress. The predictive power of this conceptual model was evaluated through the examination of senior executives from the public service of Canada. Using a mixed-methods approach this thesis is organized around three scientific articles. Using a large sample of public service executives (N = 2314), the first study developed and tested a questionnaire measure of organizational stewardship and used this measure to investigate the relationship between this construct and established measures of organizational stressors, work resources, perceived stress and well-being. Findings supported the validity of the instrument. In addition, results indicated that stewardship was negatively associated with work stressors and perceived stress and positively associated with traditional organizational resources and indicators of individual and organizational well-being. The second study furthered the conceptualization of organizational stewardship through a qualitative approach using interviews among senior executives (N = 15). Findings revealed that organizational stewardship was conceptualized with four key elements: i) service over self-interest, ii) sustainability of the public ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS, WELL-BEING AND STEWARDSHIP iii service beyond one’s career, iii) working with a collective orientation and iv) mission-focused management of resources. In addition, the barriers and facilitators of stewardship were centred on organizational processes and practices within the public service context. In the third study (N = 1996), a multi-level analysis of survey data demonstrated that organizational stewardship played a moderating role in the relationship between role ambiguity and distress among senior executives: departmental stewardship acted as a buffer against job stressors. Overall, the findings from this thesis support stewardship as an organizational resource in the relationship between organizational stress and well-being and emphasize the need to increase our current understanding of this concept as it relates to organizational health. ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS, WELL-BEING AND STEWARDSHIP iv Acknowledgements This journey has been an enriching and rewarding adventure and I am forever grateful to those who have contributed in any and every way. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Louise Lemyre. Thank you for lending me your wisdom, resources and patience during this journey. Thank you for introducing me to the concept of stewardship and for challenging me to think beyond traditional frameworks. The practical approach to research that you share with your students is both inspiration and invaluable. It was a privilege to have worked with you and to have had you as a mentor. I would like to convey thanks to the members of my thesis committee, Drs. Jacques Barrette, Céline Blanchard, Laurent Lapierre, and to my external examiner Dr. Gloria Gonzáles-Morales, for reviewing drafts of this thesis, providing me with critical feedback, and improving the final dissertation. Professor Gilles Paquet, it was always a great pleasure discussing stewardship with you. Thank you for always having an open door and open ears. And of course, to the APEX 2012 Executive Work and Health research team, without your hard work and collaboration this thesis would not have been possible. Thank you to my colleagues at GAP-santé and to all my doctoral student colleagues (current and former) for their emotional and instrumental support throughout the entire process of this thesis. To my best friend Cece Torchia, thank you for arguing against any doubts I may have had and for all the uplifting messages that came when I needed them the most. There are no words to express my gratitude to my parents, Jan and Floyd. Thank you for the endless encouragement and always reminding me of what matters most in life. Dad, because of you I ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS, WELL-BEING AND STEWARDSHIP v will forever be a “continuous learner and lifelong student”. Mom, your unconditional support has always motivated me to reach my greatest potential. I could not have done this without either of you. Finally, I extend my gratitude to the public service executives who took the time out of their busy schedules to participate in my studies. To those who sat down with me to share their personal experiences: it was a pleasure to speak with such bright and dedicated individuals. Your insights were of great importance and I hope these results will be of benefit to you. This Ph.D. was completed with the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the University of Ottawa. Thank you for providing me with funding to engage in this meaningful research and to share my results internationally. ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS, WELL-BEING AND STEWARDSHIP vi Table of