UPDATE: This study has been suspended. Thank you for your interest.
Are you a current or past employee of a North American- based public- or private- sector business or nonprofit organization who has faced low morale in your workplace? If so, you are invited to participate in a study exploring:
- differences in the emotional paths and impacts of low morale environments on corporate or nonprofit employees,
- The relationship(s) between environmental triggers, emotional paths, and biological changes stemming from working in low morale environments, and
- How these relationships, paths, and biological changes are identified, reduced, or resolved through various cognitive, physical, or other processes and actions.
Traditional research on low morale points to issues centering recognition at work, social support, respect at work, work-life balance, and more (Brun & Cooper 2009, pp. 8-9); but more recent qualitative research reveals that low morale is the result of repeated and protracted exposure to emotional, verbal/written, and systemic abuse or neglect in the workplace (Kendrick 2017; access study information at http://bit.ly/2yk5lc0)
This study is being investigated by Kaetrena Davis Kendrick (Associate Professor, University of South Carolina Lancaster).
To participate in this study, you:
- Are a current or past employee of a North American public- or private-sector business or nonprofit organization and
- Believe you have experienced low morale as defined by Kendrick (in bold above),
If you choose to participate, I will conduct a telephone interview with you that will last 45-60 minutes, and you will also be asked to complete a brief survey which should only take 5-6 minutes to complete. Survey responses will be anonymous and kept separately from interview responses. Interviews will be confidential and participants will not be identified personally.
Participation in this study is completely voluntary. If you are interested in participating, please contact me directly by phone or email to set up a telephone appointment. If you know of anyone else who might be eligible and who is interested in participating, please feel free to forward this invitation to them.
Principal Investigator contact information:
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick: 803-313-7061; kaetrena@mailbox.sc.edu
If you have questions about this study, you may contact the researcher at the contact points listed above. If you have questions or concerns about your rights as a participant in this research study, you may contact the University of South Carolina’s Office of Research Compliance at 803-777-7095.
Thanks for your interest in and support of this study.
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick, M.S.L.S.
Works Cited
Brun, J. & Cooper, C. (2009). Missing pieces: 7 ways to improve employee well-being and organizational effectiveness. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kendrick, K.D. (2017). The low-morale experience of academic librarians: A phenomenological study. Journal of Library Administration, 57(8): 846-878.
