In another look at leadership and organizational culture, this Tip has more of a positive bent; that is, it discusses the well-being, self-efficacy, and productivity of employees. Employees with positive well-being will be more productive. Numerous theories have set out to explain how various individual or job characteristics influence well-being. According to conservation of resources theory, individuals seek to acquire and maintain resources, including physical objects, conditions, and energies.

A study by Heinitz et al focused on those constructs that could potentially impact well-being, namely self-efficacy, optimism, and hope, while also evaluating the mediating effect of coping strategies. Mediating here refers to something that comes into play, either impeding or further amplifying the relationship between two other variables. Coping is the manner in which one deals with situations. In this case, the study authors looked at flexible goal adjustment as a coping mechanism, where one alters one’s goals dependent on life circumstances. The results taken from a large database representing a variety of industries showed a statistically significant positive effect of self-efficacy and optimism on subjective well-being as well as a significant negative effect of optimism on depression over three years. All three predictors show a statistically significant relation with flexible goal adjustment.

This study was actually conducted longitudinally. In other words, the effects were gathered over time, rather than collecting the data at one point in time. Obviously, pharmacy managers must be realistic, truthful, and ethical. But this is one of several studies implicating the importance of positive energy; and more specifically, that a culture of hope and positivity has a favorable impact on the well-being of employees. Pharmacy managers can resort to any great number of tools to help promote self-efficacy, including positive performance feedback, delegation, and empowerment. Organizations would do well to provide coaching to pharmacy employees on how to employ effective coping strategies at work and in life.

Additional information about Organizational Structure and Behavior in Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice Settings, 5e. If you or your institution subscribes to AccessPharmacy, use or create your MyAccess Profile to sign-in to Pharmacy Management: Essentials for All Practice Settings, 5e. If your institution does not provide access, ask your medical librarian about subscribing.

¹Heinitz K, Lorenz T, Schulze D, Schorlemmer J. Positive organizational behavior: Longitudinal effects on subjective well-being. PLoS One; 2018; 13(6):e0198588.