Peter Nielsen Department of Political Science Aalborg University peter@dps.aau.dk

1. Professional organizations in change– consequences for innovative behavior and wellbeing in the Danish health and the education sector Peter Nielsen Department of Political Science Aalborg University peter@dps.aau.dk

2. The professional knowledge organization under pressure • Benefits of evolving professional knowledge is increasing for society and citizens • Political-administrative initiatives increase demands of performance and cost efficiency in public professional health and education organizations • How does professional knowledge and governance reform initiatives interact in the work organizations: • Have the professionals maintained operational work organizations, where they can apply their knowledge resources both in processes of change and in solving problems in daily work and what do the developments imply for the professionals’ creativity and wellbeing?

3. Professions vs. political pressure • Professions and knowledge resources • Professional power and control • An ideal type of governance • Knowledge dynamics • Political-administrative demands for change • Structural- and quality reforms • Professionalization of management • Standardization and performance management

4. Change and knowledge dynamics • Change and professional influence • Organizational change • Involvement and participation • Autonomy and discretion • Team autonomy • Task discretion • Problem solving and learning • Complex problem solving • Individual and collective learning

5. Innovative behaviour and wellbeing • Test change and knowledge dynamics dimensions as potential drivers of innovative behaviour measured as figuring out solutions for improving work, thinking up new products or services and persuade manager to support new ideas • Test change and knowledge dynamics dimensions as potential drivers of wellbeing measured as work related anxiety and depression

6. Frame of reference • Professional organizations and political pressure • Professions’ knowledge dynamics • Political performance pressure • Organizational change and knowledge dynamics • Change and influence • Autonomy and discretion • Problem solving and learning • Innovative behaviour • New solutions and active persuasion • Wellbeing • Work related anxiety and depression

7. Data and methods • Danish meadow survey • Linked employer-employee survey 2012 • 15 employees drawn from each completed employer questionnaire • Employees from public education and health • Description and testing • Descriptive analysis of potential drivers • Construction of indexes and scales as dimensions • Test of dimensions in logistic models

8. Change and influence • Organizational changes frequently affect the professional’s work – health sector most exposed • Involvement of employee’s knowledge in the change processes Personal involvement in change at the workplace by sector Question: Did you personally take part in: a) Idea development of the changes? b) Negotiation of the changes? c) Decisions on the changes? d) Implementation of the changes? • The pattern of collective participation complements the individual involvement Trade union or cooperation committee participation in change at the workplace by sector Question: Did a trade union or cooperation committee participate in: a) Idea development of the changes? b) Negotiation of the changes? c) Decisions on the changes? d) Implementation of the changes?

9. Autonomy and discretion • Autonomy through teamwork is widespread less election of team leader Ordinary team members influence by sector Question: Can ordinary team member make influence on: a) Election of team leader? b) Work goals for the team? c) Allocation of work tasks? d) How work is carried out? • Discretion is important in professional work and still frequent in the education sector Discretion in content, speed, order and method of work tasks by sector Question: What proportion of the time at your work can you choose or change: a) The content of your work tasks? b) Your work speed? c) The order in which you undertakes tasks? d) How you perform your work tasks? *) In the same way as for involvement and participation an additive index of discretion and influence on work dimensions has been calculated: High influence score 11 – 12 point, middle influence score 8 – 10 point and low influence score 4 – 7 point

10. Complex problem solving and learning • Complex problem solving – where it takes at least 30 minutes to find a good solution – is most prevalent in education sector Complex problem solving in work by sector Question: How often are you confronted with a new or complex problem that takes at least 30 minutes to find a good solution? • Individual learning is also most prevalent in education sector, but collective learning occurs more frequently in the health sector Helping co-workers to learn new things by sector Question: How often does your job involve: a) That you learn new things b) That you help your co-workers to learn new things?

11. Innovative behaviour and wellbeing • Do the employees utilize their knowledge to innovative behavior in the organizations and how are there well being? • Innovative behaviour • Figured out solutions for improving areas of your own work • Thought up new or improved products or service for the workplace • Tried to persuade your supervisor or manager to support new ideas • The innovative behaviour is most widespread in the education sector, but also frequent in the health sector • Well being • Warr & Parkers work related wellbeing scale • 3 items of work-determined anxiety • 3 items of work-related depression • Tendencies show that employees thrive less in the education sector than they do in the health sector. This despite the fact that the education sector score lower on changes, but higher on involvement and problem solving in the work.

12. Drivers of innovative behaviour and wellbeing • Which driving forces among change and knowledge dynamics dimensions can explain the pattern of innovative behaviour and wellbeing? • Driving forces of innovative behavior: • Involvement in change + • Complex problem solving + • Changes + • Learning in work (+) • Driving forces of wellbeing: • Involvement in change + • Autonomy in work + • Changes - • Complex problem solving (-)

13. Logistic regression of change, involvement, participation, autonomy, problem solving and learning on innovative behavior, controlled for sector and workplace size Logistic regression of change, involvement, participation, autonomy, problem solving and learning on wellbeing, controlled for sector and workplace size

14. Conclusion • Individual involvement in change and complex problem solving in work are strongest drivers of innovative behaviour, but change incidents and learning at work also play a role as drivers • Employee control/job resources (involvement and autonomy) are positive driving forces of wellbeing and jobdemands (changes and problem solving) are negative drivers • The results approximates updated versions of both the ‘Karasek’ model and the JD-R model