Employee experience and well-being at work - from theoretical considerations to practical investigations.

Abstract

Background: The aim of the article is to show the main approaches in defining employee well-being (EWB) and employee experience (EX), their antecedents and effects within organizations and the relations between these two phenomena. The second objective is to explore human resources (HR) practitioners' knowledge of how to distinguish between the two phenomena and their approach to taking responsibility for implementing and investing in EWB and EX initiatives in organizations.

Participants and procedure: Research procedure leveraged computer-assisted web interview technique, where respondents filled out online version of the questionnaire, distributed through the LinkedIn platform. A total of 41 HR experts completed the questionnaire. Respondents represented large companies, mainly managers with more than 10 years of experience.

Results: There are significant differences between EX and EWB in the literature; however, the boundaries are blurred, especially in the context of their relations with personal and organizational outcomes resulting from increasing or maintaining the two concepts. Practitioners acknowledge the differences between the two constructs, yet the initiatives they deliver address the same goals without considering distinctions. Responsibility for managing and implementing interventions related to EWB and EX is mainly held by one subject - the HR department. Finally, no matter the approach to EX or EWB, most of the investments are focused on vocational skill development, physical health and comfortable working conditions.

Conclusions: Despite differences in the scientific literature, EWB and EX interpermeate conceptually and influence each other in the organizational environment. This leads to actions that are focused equally on both phenomena without regard to their impact on people and organizations. An in-depth investigation of the mechanisms responsible for creating and maintaining EWB and EX allows to understand the mutual penetrability.