Abstract
While it is widely acknowledged that line managers have an important role in implementing HR policy, little is known about their capacity and/or willingness to use relevant policies to support employees experiencing women’s health issues, nor about the implications for the well-being of both employees and line managers. In this paper, we adopt Bos-Nehles et al.’s (2020) framework which posits that line managers’ internal attributions (desire and competence) and external attributions (support, capacity and HR policy and procedures) are central to HR implementation effectiveness. We explore this in relation to experiences of and support around women’s health issues and argue that this is particularly important in relation to fostering a culture that supports employee well-being. We report survey data from a large National Health Service (NHS) Trust in the North of England that explored line manager views on the support they receive to manage women’s health issues, their confidence in doing so and the support they have been able to offer. We match this with data from a survey in the same Trust that explored employee experiences of women’s health issues and perceptions of support received. Specifically, we investigated fertility tests/treatments, endometriosis, pregnancy loss and menopause transition as priority areas identified by the Trust. We also explored well-being for both groups.
Early findings evidence a mixed picture for internal attributions, where line managers wanted to offer support, but were less confident in their knowledge and ability and to do so. Similarly, they felt they lacked training but had necessary experience to offer support. For external attributions, line managers were unclear as to the usefulness of policy documentation in providing the required knowledge, lacked the time and possibly authority to offer support, and had low awareness of policies for three of the four health issues. Employee responses also provided mixed evidence on the effectiveness of line managers in providing this vital support. Analysis is clearly at an early stage but nevertheless provides interesting insights into line manager attributions on HR effectiveness. The next stage of analysis will be to explore this in relation to levels of perceived organisational support for those experiencing women’s health issues and the implications of both line manager attributions and employee perceptions of support for well-being. Empirically, we contribute new and important data around this neglected issue. Theoretically, we anticipate making a contribution to understanding of the implications of HRM implementation effectiveness for well-being.