Building Community at Work: An Exploratory Study in Healthcare System Management

Abstract

Recent scholarship has demonstrated that experiences of community (i.e., a sense of community and a sense of community responsibility) can enhance employee psychological and behavioral outcomes. Recent evidence also shows that experiences of community are better able to predict employee outcomes compared to long-regarded management and public management constructs. However, very little empirical evidence exists on antecedent conditions that help build community experiences at work. To evaluate¬ this gap, we conducted interviews with executive leaders, and focus groups with administrative leaders, across four major facilities in a large non-profit healthcare system in the Eastern part of the United States. The study confirmed propositions of the Community Experience Model, and explored organizational conditions that appear to build community experiences. The findings help frame factors that scholars can empirically test in future studies, and assist executives, HR professionals, and managers throughout an organization, in building community at work.