Joy Research Statement

Joy Research

A Summary of the Research Objectives, Methods,

Current State and Next Phase

Version 1.0

December 18, 2020

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Everyone’s point of

view is valid, even if

I disagree or don’t

understand it.

Joy Research Statement

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Table of Contents

Introduction ..........................................................

Research Plan …....................................................

Impacts …...............................................................

Current State .......................................................

Conclusion …..........................................................

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Introduction

Organizational culture is often described as a critical component of the success

of an organization. This idea is embodied in the phrase “Culture eats strategy

for breakfast.” The goal of this research is to understand if the concept of joy is

an indicator of the kind of culture that will have a significant impact on the

success of an organization.

There are two important components to define: success and culture. For the

purposes of this research, success will be defined by the leaders of the

organization instead of using a constant external measure such as profit or

market capitalization. This will allow the research to include nonprofit and

governmental organizations. This research will use the definition of culture

given by Edgar Schein in his book, Organization Culture and Leadership (4th

Edition):

“A pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved

problems of external adaptation and internal integration (…) A product of joint

learning.”

The goal is to understand if the pattern of shared basic assumptions includes

notions of joy at work, then will the organization achieve greater success. The

motivation is based on the experience of the researchers as corporate

practitioners in change management and decision analytics as well as leaders

in larger organizations where outcomes varied greatly based on their

perception of the level of joy at work with an organization. Understanding the

dynamics of joy at work to culture and organizational success will set the stage

for further research but also for definition of particular interventions to help

organizational leaders achieve the goals of the organizations for which they

have responsibility.

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Research Plan

Hypothesis

The research hypothesis:

Joy at Work is a measurable state of being (for both

an individual and an organization) that indicates to

what extent the culture of an organization

contributes to its success.

Approach

The approach is to apply grounded theory which was

developed by two sociologists: Barney Glaser and

Anslem Strauss. Through the coding of interviews

with CEOs and senior executives, patterns will be

sought and then hierarchies of answers created. An

initial 30 interviews revealed ten dimensions of Joy at

Work that are related to each other as shown in

Figure 1.

The interviews will focus on validating and updating

this hierarchy and examine in what settings it may

differ.

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Expected Outcome

The goal of this research is to reveal not only the relationship and interaction

of the ten dimensions to Joy at Work but also what drives each of those ten

dimensions. This would then lead to a more analytical assessment that could

be used across an organization to judge its level of Joy at Work as expressed by

the ten dimensions.

Impacts

Intellectual Merit

This work will bring together aspects of psychology and sociology with a strong

analytical foundation so that the implications of the research can drive the

fields of group decision-making and change management. Collectively, this

will have implications for organizational development and organizational

design as disciplines that can help set the stage for organizational success.

Furthermore, this research will move the study of organizations away from a

benchmark approach and more to the underlying causal models that are

valuable for prediction. This will enable organizational leaders to examine

their culture and then act.

Broader Impacts

Collectively the ten dimensions may be the descriptive factors in determining

if an organizational culture will be successful. Will the organizational culture

“eat strategy for breakfast.” If that is true, then the implication of this research

is to discover the interventions needed to improve upon these dimensions

such that Joy at Work is increased, and the success of the organization

becomes more likely.

This would bring the assessment of culture into the toolkit of organizational

leaders as has occurred for process improvement, project management, and

other aspects of organizational success.

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Current State

In 2020, 35 interviews were completed and recorded.

Demographic highlights:

• 30 male executives

• 5 female executives

• 1 executive of color

• All executives lead teams or companies of at least 40, some as large as

10K.

• For-profit and non-profit companies are represented as well as a variety

of industries: Software, Banking, Insurance, Marketing, Architecture,

Commercial Real Estate, Retail, Food Service, Manufacturing and social

good non-profit.

Next Phase

Interview work will continue into 2021 with the goal to complete a minimum

of 100 CEO and senior executive interviews. Female executives and executives

of color will also be sought to improve perspective representation.

Emerging Opportunities

Opportunities for further research are noted as the research progresses. Here

are a few examples:

• Interviews with influencers inside work cultures: How do influencers

contribute to joy in the workplace? Are there differences in impact based on

the type of influencer (for example, expert versus tenured influence)? What

happens to a company when an influencer conflicts with formal leadership

or company culture?

• Interviews with employees across tenure time periods: Is there a

relationship between employee longevity and joy at work? How do

employee descriptions of joy at work change based on longevity? What signs

indicate inertia versus joy at work based on employee longevity?

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• Interviews with leaders and employees inside of cultures: How does the

leader’s description of joy at work compare with the employees in their

company?

Conclusion

This research is ambitious, both in the scope of the research and specificity of

the tools that can become organizational interventions. The motivation of the

researchers, based on their corporate experience and now consulting

experience, drives this scope. Success is possible but it does not seem to come

from incrementalism. Instead, a new point of view is necessary for leaders to

employ in order to achieve the level of success that will drive economies

forward and make improvements to the lives of people generally. If this

research can point the way to that goal, then the energy spent on it will have

been well worth it.

We are a change and culture company focused on joy at work.

Roxanne Brown, CEO and Co-Founder, is a renowned change expert

with more than 20 years of experience in technology, policy and

culture change and related disciplines. She’s also the former

President of the Board of the Association of Change Management

Professionals (ACMP).

Ed Cook, President and Co-Founder, is an experienced leader of

teams and large organizations. He’s a former Navy pilot who spent a

year in Iraq nation-building. Ed’s also a Visiting Professor at the

University of Richmond and has his PhD in Systems Modeling and

Analysis.

About

The Change Decision

@thechangedecision

@joyatworker

@ed-cook

@roxanne-brown

thechangedecision.com

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Joy Research Statement