Employee Coping Strategies in an Uncertain Work Environment Keith Eales A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bournemouth University for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration January 2004 Bournemouth University Keith Eales Employee Coping Strategies in an Uncertain Work Environment Abstract This qualitative research investigated, on a longitudinal basis, two issues with regard to a small family business owned and managed by a husband and wife. Firstly, it considered why non-family employees sought to remain with the company despite breach of their psychological contracts following a dispute with the family members and the significantly hostile work environment that ensued. Secondly, it investigated the coping strategies adopted by employees to make the work environment more tolerable to them. Undertaken from an insider perspective, and using semi-structured interviews and participant observation to collect data, overlaying the study are insights and reflections on the challenges and difficulties faced by a manager researcher in undertaking research into sensitive issues within their own workplace. The research has made a contribution to under researched areas within the family business literature. Specifically, it has identified new factors which moderate perceptions of breach and violation of the psychological contract and encourage staff to remain with the company. These are, firstly, the way that work is organised, offering scope for individual responsibility to relatively junior members of staff and for the expression of individual identity and, secondly, the development of group unity. The research also found that staff have adopted a number of coping strategies, such as talk, unity and managing work practices and their time commitment, to deal with the hostility towards them in the workplace. The motivation of employees behind these strategieshas been identified as being to survive, to exercisea degreeof control over their work environment and their contribution to it and to assert a degree of identity. Finally, the research has contributed to personal and professional practice through identifying the vulnerability of employees in small and family businesses in the absence of developedHR policies and procedures. 2 CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements 7 Chapter 1A Research Overview 8 Introduction 8 The Company 9 The Perceptions of a New Recruit 12 The First Cycle of Research: October 2000-August 2001 14 The Second Cycle of Research: October 2001-July 2002 21 The Third Cycle of Research: October 2002-July 2003 27 Conclusions 32 Chapter 2 The First Cycle of Research: The Entrepreneur and Small Business Growth 34 Introduction 34 Business Growth as Biological Evolution 35 Business Efficiency and Growth 38 The Growth Driven Entrepreneur? 40 Entrepreneurial Goals- a More Complicated Picture 43 A Psychological Perspective on Organisational Dynamics 44 Conclusions 50 Chapter3 Methodology 52 Introduction 52 Qualitative Research 52 Action Inquiry/ Research 58 Data Collection 60 Data Analysis 62 Judging My Research 66 Ethics 68 Conclusions 72 3 Chapter 4 Emerging Themes 74 Introduction 74 Does the Divergence Exist? 74 The Growth Process 76 The Ambitions of the Chief Executive 78 A Frustrated Workforce? 81 The Children Rebel 84 A Dysfunctional Leader? 88 Conclusions 90 Chapter Five Introduction to the Second Cycle of Research 92 The Family Disintegrates 92 Chapter Six Organisational Conflict and Employee Coping Strategies: A Review of the Literature 95 Introduction 95 The Family Business as a Working Environment 96 Conflict and Coping Strategies in Family Businesses 98 Overview 106 Employee Coping Strategies 107 Conclusions 117 ChapterSeven Methodology 119 Introduction 119 Qualitative Research 119 Qualitative Researchin a Hostile Working Environment 121 Participant Observation and Ethnography 123 Data Collection 128 Data Analysis 130 Ethical Issues 132 Judging My Research 136 Conclusions 139 4 ChapterEight Living with the Enemy 140 Introduction 140 The Setting 140 Managing the CompanyWay 142 A FragmentedIdentity 149 Initial Conclusions on the Workplace 150 Coping in the Workplace 150 Managing the Workspace 151 Safety in Numbers 157 Escape 161 Conclusions 166 Chapter Nine Introduction to the Third Cycle of Research 168 Chapter Ten The Psychological Contract: A Review of the Literature 173 Introduction 173 A Useful Analytic Tool? 174 Defining the Psychological Contract 177 Contract Formation 178 Key Constructs 181 Breach and Violation of the Psychological Contract 183 Conclusions 191 ChapterEleven Methodology 192 Introduction 192 Data Collection 192 Conclusion 193 Chapter Twelve Emerging Themes 194 Introduction 194 Formation of the Psychological Contract 194 Breach and Violation 196 Situational and Moderating Influences 199 The Appeal of the Company 203 Conclusions 213 5 Chapter Thirteen Discussion 217 Introduction 217 Contribution 217 Making the Intolerable Tolerable 218 Finding Positivesin the Intolerable 220 Interacting Influences:The BatteredWorkforce Syndrome?225 Research Approach 226 Limitations 227 Conclusions 229 Chapter Fourteen Reflections 231 Introduction 231 Reflections on the First Cycle 231 Reflections on the Second Cycle 233 Reflectionson the Third Cycle 235 The Dangers of `Smallness' 236 Reflections on Reflections 237 References 241 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must begin by thanking the Company which is the subject of this study for sponsoring me to undertake this research. Whilst, regrettably, my research cannot be shared with the company, this does not detract from the generosity of the Chief Executive in supporting my studies. I must also thank the staff of the company for their contribution to my work. The very open, frank and forthright nature of so many of the views expressed to me has been at some personal risk. However, the contributions of staff have been both interesting and valuable in developing my understanding of the dynamics within the company. Finally, my warmest thanks must go to my supervisors, Dr Julia Kiely and Dr Paul Freedman. Undertaking research as an insider is not the easiest of tasks and the reader will appreciate some of the challenges and strains produced by this study. Their encouragement, support and advice over the last three years has been particularly valuable and appreciated. 7 CHAPTER ONE A RESEARCH OVERVIEW Introduction The purpose of this first chapter is to set the scene for my thesis and to give an overview of the research I have carried out over the last three years. In some sensesit seems strange writing the introductory chapter at the end of my research when my approach throughout has been to capture the evolving nature of my work by writing sections as I have gone along. However, it has become increasingly clear to me that the reader will benefit from an overview of my research at the outset. The longitudinal nature of my work, the incremental approach to identifying and addressing issues, research the use of cycles of research to address these issues and my evolving understanding of events reinforce the need for an overview at the outset. The purpose of this first chapter is to provide this overview. I will set out my perceptions on the company I joined in June 2000, my initial thoughts on what seemed to be an unrecognised goal divergence and the reasons for which formed the basis of my first cycle of research. It sets out my growing realisation of the nature of the conflict within the company and my decision to undertake research into employee coping strategies and the psychological contract to bring a degree of understanding to the dynamics, principally from the perceptions of staff, within the company. In writing this first chapter I have tried to convey my own personal feelings and reflections on the events that I was part of. My three years with the company were quite unlike anything else I have experienced within the workplace. I have tried to convey the impact of these events on me as an individual and manager, and my own sense of frustration and, indeed, inadequacies at times in not recognising or being able to respond to unfolding events in a manner which I would have liked. I should explain, at this stage, the cyclical approach to my research. My work has been carried out over three cycles of research. Each cycle, lasting about a year, was based on a research issue to be addressed, a review of the literature relevant to the issue, an explanation of the methodological approach to the collection of data and the specific approaches adopted and a discussion of the themes emerging from the research. The final two chapters draw together these cycles and represent a discussion of the main findings of my research and my reflections on the impact of the research experience on me as an individual. In presenting the cycles of research I have used the present tense. To me, this conveys to the reader a clearer sense of my decision making at the time and of my evolving perceptions and understandings as the research progressed. Initially, I will discuss briefly the company I joined in June 2000, what seemed to me to be an intriguing issue of goal divergence, which formed the basis of my first cycle of research and the growing awareness that some of the tensions I was sensing and witnessing might be attributable to deeper issues. This initial section will provide the reader with an understanding of the research context and the researcher (Stake, 1995) and establishmy credentialswithin the work setting for carrying out this study (Richardson, 2000). The Company My research is based within an organisation in which I was employed between June 2000 and May 2003. Founded in 1975 by the present Chief Executive, the company has two core areas of activity; educational work and consultancy. Most of this work takes place outside the UK. The company designs and develops educational programmes of study for use by universities, business schools, colleges and other education and training providers. Its principal markets are in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The company is also an international examinations board offering over 100 programmes and individual courses of 9 study.