Exploring possible trade‐offs between organisational performance and employee well‐being: The role of teamwork practices

• Author: Chidiebere Ogbonnaya
• Date: 01 July 2019
• Published date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12238

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Exploring possible trade‐offs between

organisational performance and employee well‐

being: The role of teamwork practices

Chidiebere Ogbonnaya

Department of Management, University of

Sussex Business School, Brighton, UK

Correspondence

Chidiebere Ogbonnaya, Department of

Management, University of Sussex Business

School, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 9RH, UK.

Email: c.ogbonnaya@sussex.ac.uk

Abstract

There is growing evidence linking teamwork practices to

performance outcomes. However, critics have raised con-

cerns that such outcomes are achieved at the expense of

increased job demands and stress among workers. Using

large data from a representative sample of British work-

places (N= 4,311 workers in 664 workplaces), this study

explores the pattern of relationships between teamwork

practices, organisational performance, and employee well‐

being. The study draws on a mutual gains model linking

teamwork practices to organisational performance via affec-

tive commitment, and a conflicting outcomes model associ-

ated with high job demands and job‐related anxiety. The

study also examines an interactive outcomes model that

integrates the mutual gains and conflicting outcomes

models. The study reports evidence that the performance

gains of teamwork practices may actually come at the cost

of increased job demands and job‐related anxiety. Never-

theless, these adverse outcomes tend to weaken at higher

levels of affective commitment.

KEYWORDS

affective commitment, well‐being, organisational performance,

perceived job demands,stressful work, teamwork practices

1|INTRODUCTION

As fundamental units of performance in contemporary workplaces, work teams represent a dominant feature in

human resource management (HRM). Work teams are designated groups of two or more individuals who coordinate

Received: 31 May 2018 Revised: 21 March 2019 Accepted: 22 March 2019

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12238

Hum Resour Manag J. 2019;29:451–468. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltdwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj 451

each other's work and interact adaptively towards achieving shared organisational objectives (Ogbonnaya, Tillman, &

Gonzalez, 2018; Van der Vegt, Emans, & Van de Vliert, 2000; Wageman, 1995). Managing work teams involves

teamwork practices such as task interdependence, joint decision‐making, and shared responsibility for specific goals

and objectives. These practices are associated with both performance‐related effects (e.g., Campion, Papper, &

Medsker, 1996; DeVaro, 2008; von Bonsdorff, Janhonen, Zhou, & Vanhala, 2015; Wageman, 1995) and psycholog-

ical or affective outcomes (e.g., Van der Vegt et al., 2000; van Mierlo, Rutte, Kompier, & Doorewaard, 2005; Williams,

1998). When applied consistently, teamwork practices provide the underlying social structure for workers to support

one another and accomplish more tasks than they could on their own (Wageman, 1995). Workers can integrate a

wide variety of skills, adopt creative methods in solving problems, and achieve performance improvements for the

organisation (Hollenbeck, DeRue, & Guzzo, 2004).

Although existing research has documented the performance effects of teamwork practices, it is taken for granted

that work teams often experience stressful patterns of work (Cruz & Pil, 2011; Haber, 2016; Kalleberg, Nesheim, &

Olsen, 2009). Some studies indicate that the presumed benefits of teamwork practices are actually attained at the

expense of high job demands and stress among employees (Barker, 1993; Godard, 2001; Parker & Slaughter,

1995; Robertson, Rinehart, & Huxley, 1992). When employers invest time, effort, and resources towards developing

effective work teams, they do so ultimately to maximise employees' input and boost organisational performance

(Babson, 1995; Parker & Slaughter, 1995). Consequently, employees are induced to work too hard or too much under

stressful conditions (Robertson et al., 1992). These critical arguments remain at the very heart of HRM scholarship

and highlight the possibility of a complex pattern of relationships between teamwork practices, organisational

performance, and employee well‐being.

The present study explores, for the first time, the role of teamwork practices in understanding the nature of

possible trade‐offs between organisational performance and employee well‐being (see Figure 1). The study measures

teamwork practices by three main characteristics: interdependent working, joint decision‐making, and shared respon-

sibility for outcomes. On one hand, teamwork practices promote positive employee attitudes (e.g., affective commit-

ment), leading to enhanced organisational performance. This argument aligns with the mutual gain model, stipulating

a“win–win”situation for both the organisation and employees (Ogbonnaya & Messersmith, 2018; Van de Voorde,

Paauwe, & Van Veldhoven, 2012). Conversely, teamwork practices can induce perceptions of work as being more

intense, leading to adverse well‐being consequences for employees (e.g., increased job‐related anxiety). This alterna-

tive perspective, based on the conflicting outcomes model, links teamwork practices to unfavourable outcomes for

workers (Ogbonnaya & Valizade, 2015; Ramsay, Scholarios, & Harley, 2000).

Furthermore, the study develops an “interactive outcomes model”connecting the mutual gains and conflicting

outcome perspectives. The premise of this model is that the mediating processes of mutual gains and conflicting

outcomes—that is, affective commitment and perceived job demands, respectively—can influence each other.

For example, an individual might experience a greater sense of organisational attachment, and at the same time,

perceive his/her job as being more intense. Thus, there is a possible interaction between affective commitment

FIGURE 1 Direct, indirect, and interactive effects of teamwork practices on organisational performance and job‐

related anxiety

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