Session 2.2 Work Climate
Total Session Time: 2 hours (90 minutes for lecture/discussion, 30
minutes for learning activities)
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
 Describe how a work climate impacts performance and retention.
 Identify at least two ways to improve their work climate.
 List at least two non-financial incentives they can integrate into their programs.
Slide 1
Introduction
The aim of this session is to help you
learn to create a work climate that
supports employee performance and
retention.
Slide 2
All pictures and images in this session
are from Microsoft Office Clip Art
Gallery, unless otherwise noted.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
227
Slide 3
Activity: Leader & Follower
Follow instructions provided by
facilitator.
Conclusion:
• Leaders and managers carry great
influence within their organizations.
We can choose to use our influence to
help foster a positive atmosphere.
Source: Management Sciences for
Health. 2002. “Creating a Work
Climate that Motivates Staff and
Improves Performance.” The
Manager. 2002, Vol. 11, No. 3.
Slide 5
Slide 4
Animation Clicks: 1
Creating a Positive Work Climate
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
228
Slide 6
Animation Clicks: 1
Slide 7
Source: Paul Wong, “The Positive
Psychology of ‘Climate
Management.’” Quoted in
Management Sciences for Health.
2005. Managers Who Lead.
Motivation and Performance
• The relationship between work
climate and employee motivation
and performance has been
demonstrated in many fields.
• When staff feel motivated they
want to work harder and bring their
full capability to the task.
• This extra effort improves their
performance, often exceeding
expectations.
Staff Retention
• A positive work climate can also
increase employee retention.
• A literature review conducted by
the Capacity Project on retention
of health workers in resource
limited settings concluded that
retention solutions must seek to
improve the work environment.
• A negative work environment is
often a significant “push” factor
for employees to leave jobs.
Source: Yumkella, F. 2005. “Retention:
health workforce issues and response
actions in low-resource settings.”
Capacity Project Resource Paper.
Available at:
http://www.capacityproject.org/images
/stories/files/retention_paper_long050
823.pdf
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
229
Slide 8
Animation Clicks: 1
Slide 9
•
•
•
•
Most managers do not have direct
influence over organizational
history and culture.
Senior level managers may have
some influence in establishing
organizational management
strategy and structure. These
factors are beyond the control of
most managers.
Managers have no influence on the
external environment that the
organization exists in.
However, ALL MANAGERS can
influence their own leadership
and management practices.
Sources:
Perry, C. et al. 2005. “Validating a
work group climate assessment tool for
improving the performance of public
health organizations.” Human
Resources for Health. Vol. 3, No. 10.
Management Sciences for Health.
2005. Managers Who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health
Services.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
230
Slide 10
As managers, you can play pivotal roles in
establishing a positive work climate.
Slide 11
Source: Stringer, Robert. 2002.
Leadership and Organizational
Climate. Prentice Hall/Upper Saddle
River. Quote found in Perry, C. et al.
2005. “Validating a work group
climate assessment tool for improving
the performance of public health
organizations.” Human Resources for
Health. Vol. 3, No. 10.
Refer to Handout 2.2.1: Work
Climate and Spheres of Influence on
page 243 of Participant Handbook.
•
•
•
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
This diagram illustrates the
importance of the leading and
managing practices and
competencies of a work group
leader in influencing work climate
and, ultimately, staff motivation
and performance.
Evidence has shown that while
organizational history, cultural,
management strategy and structure
and the external environment all
influence the work climate, a work
group manager influences the work
climate more than any other factor.
Managers of a work group can
even create a work climate that
differs from the overall
organization's culture. This can
sometimes create pressure on the
manager from the organization to
conform. However, if the
manager’s work group is
successful, the pressure may be
reduced.
Participant Handbook
231
Slide 12
Know your staff
• This is one of the most important
things you can do to develop a
positive work climate.
• The better you know your staff, the
better you can align their efforts
with yours to meet a challenge.
• You should try to learn:
o What motivates them
o What their work styles are
o What their interests are
• This helps to establish a good,
caring, and supportive relationship
with each employee.
• Positive relationships improve
employee retention.
Know what motivates you
• Know yourself – your values, what
motivates you, what drains your
energy, and what evokes strong
emotions from you.
• Your behaviour and how you
respond to stress have an impact on
your staff. It can influence their
trust and confidence in you as a
leader.
Provide Challenge, Clarity, and
Support
• You will be able to better provide
challenge, clarity, and support for
your employees based on your
knowledge of your staff, and
yourself.
• We will talk more about this in the
next few slides.
Source: Management Sciences for
Health. 2005. Managers Who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health
Services. Chapter 3, pages 56-58.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
232
Slide 13
•
•
•
Slide 15
Slide 14
•
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Challenge, Clarity, and Support are
the key dimensions of work
climate.
All three dimensions—challenge,
clarity and support—are critical for
fostering performance.
Each manager must find the right
balance for their group’s climate.
We will cover each of the three
dimensions of work climate in the
next few slides.
Source: Management Sciences for
Health. 2005. Managers Who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health
Services. Chapter 3, pages 56-58.
Sources:
Management Sciences for Health.
2005. Managers Who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health
Services. Chapter 3, page 58.
Management Sciences for Health.
2002. “Creating a Work Climate that
Motivates Staff and Improves
Performance.” The Manager, Vol. 11,
No. 3.
Sources:
Management Sciences for Health.
2005. Managers Who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health
Services. Chapter 3, page 58.
Management Sciences for Health.
2002. “Creating a Work Climate that
Motivates Staff and Improves
Performance.” The Manager, Vol. 11,
No. 3.
Participant Handbook
233
Slide 16
A climate of support is created when
group members feel their capabilities
are acknowledged, when they
participate in decisions that impact the
work group, and when they sense
appreciation and reward for both
individual and group successes.
Sources:
Management Sciences for Health.
2005. Managers Who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health
Services. Chapter 3, page 58.
Management Sciences for Health.
2002. “Creating a Work Climate that
Motivates Staff and Improves
Performance.” The Manager, Vol. 11,
No. 3.
Slide 17
Sources:
Management Sciences for Health.
2002. “Creating a Work Climate that
Motivates Staff and Improves
Performance.” The Manager, Vol. 11,
No. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
MSH. Available at:
http://erc.msh.org/TheManager/Englis
h/V11_N3_En_Issue.pdf
Business Dictionary. Motivation.
Available at:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/def
inition/motivation.html
Slide 18
Incentives for Staff Motivation
Sources:
Management Sciences for Health.
2002. “Creating a Work Climate that
Motivates Staff and Improves
Performance.” The Manager, Vol. 11,
No. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
MSH. Available at:
http://erc.msh.org/TheManager/Englis
h/V11_N3_En_Issue.pdf
Business Dictionary. Incentive.
Available at:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/def
inition/incentive.html
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
234
Slide 19
•
•
Slide 20
Follow instructions from the
facilitator.
Slide 21
•
Motivation represents energy that
we can bring to our work. It is
possible to adequately complete a
task with low motivation.
However, when our motivation is
high, we put more energy into the
task and we perform better. When
staffs are de-motivated,
performance suffers.
This “extra effort” is at the
employee’s discretion. A good
manager will create a work climate
and incentives that encourage
employees to choose to put forth
that “extra effort.”
Motivation is the energy to do
something. Incentive encourages
the mobilization of that energy.
Supervisors and managers who pay
attention to their staff may notice these
signs of low motivation.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
235
Slide 22
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
There are two types of motivation-external and internal.
External motivators are what
managers often think about first
when considering motivation and
incentives for employees.
This is motivation based on
incentives that are provided to the
employee by someone else.
Salaries and benefits are examples
of incentives provided by an
employer that come with a job.
External motivation is often
associated with financial
incentives.
Managers often under-estimate the
power of internal motivators for
their staff.
Internal motivation comes from
within the employee themselves.
Motivation is often based on
something valued by the employee
or related to their self esteem.
Internal motivation is often
associated with non-financial
incentives.
Participant Handbook
236
Slide 23
• Valance, or the perceived importance
of the work, refers to the value
someone places on the work and
tasks that they are being asked to
perform.
• If a person believes the value of their
work to be extremely high, they may
be willing to endure great hardships.
• To increase the perceived importance
of a task, managers can communicate
what they know about the impact of
the work and how clients, the
community or society and large will
benefit.
• Self-Efficacy refers to perceived
chance of success. This refers to the
extent to which we believe we can be
successful in our work. If we think
we have no chance for success, we
are unlikely to be motivated to
initiate and sustain a particular task.
• To increase self-efficacy, managers
can point out where the individual
has been successful at similar tasks
or show them how people like them
have been successful at the task in
question.
• Expectancy is what a person expects
will happen to them if the work goal
is reached. Will anyone notice? Will
anyone care? Will they be rewarded?
• Motivation is likely to suffer when
someone thinks that nobody will
notice their hard efforts or when they
see others who do not work as hard
or produce as much receiving
rewards equal to those who try
harder.
• Of the three motivational
components, expectancy is the
easiest for managers to impact
through incentives. Incentive
systems have been shown to improve
and sustain performance in numerous
studies.
Source: Luoma, M. 2006. “Increasing
the Motivation of healthcare Workers.”
Capacity Project Technical Brief No.
7.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
237
Slide 24
•
This slide gives some examples of
negative work elements that can
influence staff turnover.
Slide 25
Source: Yumkella. 2006. “Retention of
Health Care Workers in Low Resource
Settings.” Capacity Project Technical
Brief No. 1.
•
•
•
To address the problems related to
negative work environment, nonfinancial incentives are needed.
A non-financial incentive is not
necessarily provided at no cost to
the organisation.
The non-financial incentive may
require the organisation to spend
money, but the money is not
provided in the form of
compensation to individual
employees
Source: Yumkella. 2006. “Retention of
Health Care Workers in Low Resource
Settings.” Capacity Project Technical
Brief No. 1.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
238
Slide 26
•
•
•
•
•
•
Incentive systems intended to
improve team or individual
motivation to achieve a goal
should be applied openly and
transparently.
Incentives should be rewarded
contingent on reaching a wellunderstood work goal.
Managers must have the ability to
measure what is being rewarded.
Each worker should understand the
performance required for any kind
of reward and how it will be
measured.
Figuring out what to measure and
how to measure it can be the
hardest part.
The incentive system should be
applied fairly and consistently so
the rules apply to all workers
without favouritism.
Source: Luoma, M. 2006. “Increasing
the Motivation of healthcare Workers.”
Capacity Project Technical Brief No.
7.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
239
Slide 27
Animation Clicks: 1
•
•
•
•
Sources:
I-TECH.
Yumkella. 2006. “Retention of Health Care Workers
in Low Resource Settings.” Capacity Project
Technical Brief No. 1
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
•
Financial incentives are not the
sole source of employee
motivation.
As a manager you will have to
consider the best mix of financial
and non-financial incentives for
your work group.
Since it is often difficult to provide
financial incentives, managers
should think carefully and
creatively about non-financial
incentives that may be able to
provide.
For problems related to the work
environment, non-financial
incentives are often more effective.
Non-financial incentives can
include:
o Recognition of input,
contributions, and hard work
o Listening to staff ideas
o Offering appreciation and
praise for the efforts and
accomplishments of your staff
o Morale-boosting activities,
such as celebrations for
milestones, holidays, etc.
o Opportunities for professional
development, such as time for
participating in a journal club,
time for learning a new skill, or
an opportunity to participate in
a seminar, course, or other
learning activity
o Career advancement
opportunities, such as
promotions and title changes
o Staff awards, for
demonstrating problem-solving,
leadership, creativity,
teamwork, service, etc. These
can be voted on by peers,
awarded by a committee, or
awarded by managers.
Participant Handbook
240
Slide 28
Follow instructions from the
facilitator.
Slide 29
Key Points
REVIEW key points from this
session.
ASK if participants have any
comments or questions.
THANK everyone for their attention
and participation.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
241
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
242
Handout 2.2.1: Work Climate and Spheres of Influence
•
•
•
•
•
This diagram illustrates that leading and managing practices are a key factor in
influencing work climate and, ultimately, staff motivation and performance.
Evidence has shown that a work group manager influences the work climate more than
any other factor, including organizational history, culture, management strategy and
structure, and the external environment.
Managers may not have direct influence over organizational history and culture.
Some managers may influence the overall management strategy and structure.
Managers have little influence over the external environment.
All managers can influence their own
leadership and management practices!
Source: Management Sciences for Health. 2005. Managers Who Lead: A Handbook for Improving Health
Services.
See Chapter 3: Improving Work Climate to Strengthen Performance. Page 54.
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
243
Sources/Bibliography:
Refer to these materials for additional background reading, as needed.







Management Sciences for Health. 2005. Managers Who Lead: A Handbook for
Improving Health Services. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MSH.
Management Sciences for Health. 2002. “Creating a Work Climate that Motivates Staff
and Improves Performance.” The Manager, Vol. 11, No. 3. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
MSH.
Available at: http://erc.msh.org/TheManager/English/V11_N3_En_Issue.pdf
Luoma, M. 2006. “Increasing the Motivation of Health Care Workers.” Capacity Project
Technical Brief 7. September 2006.
Available at: http://www.capacityproject.org/images/stories/files/techbrief_7.pdf
Perry, C. et al. 2005. “Validating a work group climate assessment tool for improving the
performance of public health organizations.” Human Resources for Health. Vol. 3, No.
10.
Available at: http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/3/1/10
Yumkella F. 2009. “Worker Retention in Human Resources for Health: Catalyzing and
Tracking Change.” Capacity Project Technical Brief 15. March 2009.
Available at: http://www.capacityproject.org/images/stories/files/techbrief_15.pdf
Yumkella F. 2006. “Retention of Health Care Workers in Low Resource Settings:
Challenges and Responses.” Capacity Project Technical Brief 1. February 2006.
Available at: http://www.capacityproject.org/images/stories/files/techbrief_1.pdf
Yumkella F. 2005. “Retention: Health Workforce Issues and Response Actions in LowResource Settings. Capacity Project Resource Paper. Available at:
http://www.capacityproject.org/images/stories/files/retention_paper_long050823.pdf
Leadership and Management Course
Session 2.2: Work Climate
Participant Handbook
244