Health-Related Assistance Programs, Leadership Support, and Organizational Performance: Evidence From the U.S. Federal Agencies

• Published date: 01 March 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00910260231173082
• Author: Diana Al-Fayez,Doug Goodman
• Date: 01 March 2024

https://doi.org/10.1177/00910260231173082

Public Personnel Management

2024, Vol. 53(1) 6 –35

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/00910260231173082

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Article

Health-Related Assistance

Programs, Leadership

Support, and Organizational

Performance: Evidence From

the U.S. Federal Agencies

Diana Al-Fayez1 and Doug Goodman2

Abstract

This study examines the impact of health-related assistance programs as a type of

work–life balance policies on the organizational performance of U.S. federal agencies.

Drawing on the Social Exchange Theory and using the Federal Employees Viewpoints

Survey (FEVS) from 2011–2015, this study had anticipated that the two types of

health-related assistance programs, namely, the Employees Assistance Program

and wellness program, have a significant positive relationship with organizational

performance in the U.S. federal agencies and that this relationship varies in the

cases of feminine organizations (redistributive agencies) compared with masculine

organizations (distributive, regulatory, and constituent agencies). The study also

expected that leadership support has a significant positive moderating effect. The

results show that only employee assistance programs have a significant positive

impact on organizational performance and that leadership support has a significant

positive moderation effect on the relationship between organizational performance

and wellness programs in all U.S. federal agencies.

Keywords

work–life balance policies, organizational performance, employees assistance

programs, wellness programs, leadership

1University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

2University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

Corresponding Author:

Diana Al-Fayez, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Department of Public Administration,

University of Jordan, 11942 Amman, Jordan.

Email: d.alfayez@ju.edu.jo

1173082PPMXXX10.1177/00910260231173082Public Personnel ManagementAl-Fayez and Goodman

research-article2023

Al-Fayez and Goodman 7

Introduction

Today, all organizations operate in a dynamic world in which high performance is

considered a necessary condition for organizational survival and prosperity; public

organizations are no exception. Despite the debate over its definition, organizational

performance, along with the factors that contribute to improving it, has received sig-

nificant attention from public administration scholars (e.g., Amirkhanyan et al., 2014;

Boyne et al., 2005; Brewer & Selden, 2000; Hijal-Moghrabi et al., 2017; Meier et al.,

2007; Moynihan & Pandey, 2005; O’Toole & Meier, 2009; Rainey & Steinbauer,

1999; Selden & Sowa, 2004). Several policies and practices have been implemented

in the past to improve organizational performance in the public sector. Some of them

were successful, whereas others did not produce the expected outcomes (Hijal-

Moghrabi et al., 2017).

Under the banner of these practices and policies, work–life balance policies

(WLBP) are implemented as a way to help employees achieve a balance between work

and personal responsibilities and improve organizational performance (Caillier, 2016;

Durst, 1999; Ko et al., 2013; Lee & Hong, 2011). According to Caillier (2016), WLBP

can be classified into three main categories: (a) dependent care programs that include

child care and eldercare, (b) flexible work programs that include telework and alterna-

tive work schedules, and (c) health-related assistance, which includes employees’

assistance programs and wellness programs. Although WLBP have been extensively

studied (Ko et al., 2013), insufficient attention has been paid to its impact on organi-

zational performance although improving performance is one of the main goals for

introducing these policies in the public sector. A review of public administration litera-

ture reveals that few studies recognize the linkage between WLBP and organizational

performance (Bae & Goodman, 2014; Ko et al., 2013; Lee & Hong, 2011). In addition,

among all WLBP, health-related assistance programs have not received much atten-

tion, and a clear understanding of their impact on organizational performance has

almost been neglected by public administration scholars. Therefore, this study aims to

bridge this research gap. From another perspective, it may be argued that scholars may

not be neglecting the study of health-related assistance, but the research might remain

unpublished because of the lack of support for null hypotheses, which many scholars

erroneously consider unimportant (Landis et al., 2014). Indeed, there is a publication

bias against null results in social sciences (Franco et al., 2014). If research continues

to support null hypotheses, then it does indeed answer an important question about the

relationship among the variables being tested (Landis et al., 2014).

As WLBP are considered to be among the most desirable benefits that organiza-

tions provide to their employees (Caillier, 2017), this study utilizes the Social Exchange

Theory (SET) to examine the relationship between health-related assistance programs

and perceived organizational performance in U.S. federal agencies. The study uses the

Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) from the period between 2011 and 2015

because the measures of health-related assistance programs after 2015 are not avail-

able in the FEVS database, and the measures are consistent over this period. The study

also assesses how leadership support moderates the relationship and if differences can