"This is How We Do it Around Here": Exploring the influence of organizational norms on subjective well-being at work in individualistic andcollectivistic cultures

Abstract

The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the influence of organizational norms on subjective well-being (SWB) at work in individualistic and collectivistic cultures using a triangulation of study design methods. In the quantitative empirical Study I, a questionnaire was used in two similar educational institutions—one in Norway (N=77) and one in Montenegro (N=39)—to investigate the relationship between organizational norms and the cognitive component of employees` SWB at work. In the qualitative empirical Study II, ten focus group interviews (N=39) were conducted to elaborate on how employees experience the influence of organizational norms on communication with the leadership on their SWB at work.

The findings from the present thesis revealed that organizational norms have both direct and indirect influence on employees’ SWB at work in both cultural contexts due to: expectations they create, their meaningfulness, their informal nature, as well as sanctions which accompany them. However, the influence is contextual, meaning that it varies through different contexts at work. Further, the influence is present both on cognitive and doing level. Because employees` self is partly shaped by culture (context-sensitive in collectivistic cultures versus independent in individualistic), individualistic and collectivistic cultures have bearing on how organizational norms, SWB at work, as well as their relationship is percieved by employees. The findigs underline that “invisible we” in terms of informal behavioral prescriptions in a psychosicial work environment influence employees`SWB at work. Consequently, more attention is needed on the informal dimensions of the work environment, both in practice and future research.

Further research is recommended in order to investigate whether suggested variables in the present explorative study shed light on how employees` SWB at work is being affected by organizational norms across cultures. Keywords: organizational norms, subjective well-being at work, psychosocial work environment, individualistic and collectivistic cultures