Employee Morale and Organizational Climate in Schools: The Importance of Affective Coworker Relationships

Abstract

Purpose – Organizational and work studies consistently find an interrelationship between employees' relationships with coworkers to their morale, as indicated by their satisfaction and commitment levels. This same research shows organizational climate, as indicated by levels of trust and shared values and norms in the organization, strongly benefiting from satisfied and committed employees.Methodology/approach – This chapter concretizes workplace relationships using multipanel network data from 15 Indianapolis charter school teachers.Findings – With these data, network traits related to network cohesion, strong ties, and in-group identity identified as central processes undergirding affective relationships are directly tested. A feedback loop between organizational climate and employee morale, where both mutually reinforce the other, is also discussed.Implications – These findings show that affective relationships with coworkers improve employee morale and organizational climate.

Citation

Price, H.E. (2013), "Employee Morale and Organizational Climate in Schools: The Importance of Affective Coworker Relationships", Mcdonald, S. (Ed.) Networks, Work and Inequality (Research in the Sociology of Work, Vol. 24), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 207-236. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-2833(2013)0000024011