Capstone title and abstract
Welcome to the Efficacious Factory: Improving Business Results Through Positive Workplace Relationships, Meaningful Work, and Optimism
Abstract
In manufacturing organizations, value is created through three forms of input: man/woman, machine, and material. Factories manage machine and material challenges with competence. However, industrial psychology, which addresses the human element in workplaces, has essentially pivoted away from manufacturing environments in the last several decades, leaving the human element in manufacturing largely unexplored. We propose three foci to help advance inclusive, effective workplace cultures in factories: positive workplace relationships (particularly gender diversity in manufacturing), meaningful work, and optimism. The resulting inclusive cultures, in which people provide valuable contributions both as individuals and team members, may enable organizational thriving and business performance that continuously improves. In this paper, the literature that examines positive workplace relationships, meaningful work, and optimism is reviewed. Several theoretically sound and empirically based positive interventions that can enhance desirable workplace behaviors that support improved business results are suggested. Finally, the role of leadership in setting these desirable behaviors as norms is discussed.
Keywords: manufacturing, positive workplace relationships, high-quality connections, compassion, gender diversity, allyship, meaningful work, optimism, psychological safety, norm-shifting
