| Abstract [eng] |
Contemporary social services organizations operate in an environment characterized by continuous change, increasing public expectations, limited resources, growing requirements for service quality, and complex client needs. Therefore, these organizations need not only to ensure service provision but also to search for new working methods, forms of service organization, operational processes, and modes of cooperation. Innovation in social services organizations is closely related to employee activity, initiative, and engagement. The importance of employee engagement in innovation is emphasized by Elamin et al. (2024) and Ghani et al. (2023), while the impact of working conditions on employee well-being, motivation, and work experience is analyzed by Schmacher and Fidlerova (2025), Nappo (2019), Borst and Kruyen (2017), and Borst et al. (2019). International and national documents are also relevant to the context of social services organizations, as they emphasize occupational safety and health, appropriate working conditions, the quality of social services, employee competence development, social innovation, and organizational improvement. The novelty of the project lies in the analysis of the links between working conditions and employee engagement in innovation by integrating the job demands-resources theoretical perspective, the concept of employee engagement, and the specific characteristics of public sector social services organizations. This master’s final degree project, The Impact of Working Conditions on Employee Engagement in Innovation at X Social Services Organization, analyzes the impact of working conditions on employee engagement in innovation at X Social services organization. The research problem is: what working conditions influence employee engagement in innovation in social services organizations? The object of the research is the impact of working conditions on employee engagement in innovation in a social services organization. The aim of the project is to identify the working conditions that influence employee engagement in innovation at X Social services organization. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: to develop a theoretical model of the impact of working conditions on employee engagement in innovation in social services organizations; to examine the international and national legal regulation of working conditions and employee engagement in innovation in social services organizations; and to investigate the impact of working conditions on employee engagement in innovation at X social services organization. The research methods used in the project include scientific literature analysis, analysis of strategic documents and legal acts, analysis of organizational documents, a questionnaire survey, descriptive statistics, assessment of the internal consistency of research scales using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and Spearman correlation analysis. A case study strategy was selected for the empirical research, applying methodological triangulation by combining qualitative document analysis and a quantitative questionnaire survey of employees of X social services organization. In order to avoid disclosing information that could identify the organization and the municipality in which it operates, the terms X social services organization and Y municipality are used in the project. The questionnaire survey involved 127 employees of X social services organization. The results of the correlation analysis are interpreted as statistical relationships rather than direct causal effects. The research results showed that employees evaluate their work engagement positively; however, their participation in innovation and the expression of innovation results in the organization are evaluated more moderately. The results of Spearman correlation analysis revealed positive statistical relationships between working conditions, employee work engagement, participation in innovation, and innovation results. It was found that the most significant working conditions for employee engagement in innovation are organizational, social, and psychosocial working conditions: clear work organization, appropriate management of workload and emotional strain, employee autonomy, opportunities to propose ideas, managerial and collegial support, cooperation, feedback, psychological safety, meaningful work, and trust in the organization. The research results can be used to improve managerial decisions at X social services organization, strengthen mechanisms for employee involvement in innovation, improve the quality of social services, and develop further research on employee engagement in innovation in social services organizations. The first chapter of the final project, after conducting an analysis of scientific literature, creates a theoretical model of the influence of working conditions on employee involvement in innovation creation in a social service organization, the second chapter analyzes international and national legal regulation, the third chapter presents the research methodology, document analysis and analysis of the results of the questionnaire survey. The project ends with conclusions, recommendations, lists of literature and information sources, and appendices. |
