Can an elearning educational programme reduce stress and increase employee engagement?

Short, Raymond (2010) Can an elearning educational programme reduce stress and increase employee engagement? Masters thesis, Dubin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

This study was undertaken to discover if an elearning stress prevention educational programme can improve the learner's ability to responses and cope with distress at work, and increase their work engagement. Elearning has the potential to be a less costly intervention than classroom interventions. Elearning can reach a wider audience and can be available on demand. The study measured the relationship between distress and lack of employee engagement at work using a repeated measures pre and post intervention questionnaire. The participants (N= 15) were eight females and seven males who responded to a poster advertisement placed in a number of workplace locations. The participants agreed to the study and indicated that they had read the consent form by email. The participants were sent a web link to complete the on-line pre-intervention questionnaire (30 questions) which measured their level of distress, using Depression Anxiety Stress Scales - DASS with only the stress questions (18) and the Gallup 412 for engagement to measure their level of engagement. A five point likert scale was used for measurement. On completion of the questionnaire the participants were directed to use the elearning educational programme on the web, and were asked to interact with the programme at their own pace for a four week period. After this period the participants then completed the same questionnaire as the post intervention stage. Five female and two male participants completed the study out of the fifteen participants who started. The data was analysed using dependent t-Test to find if a significant change in the stress and engagement measures occurred. The results showed a significant change in lower stress levels and no significant change in employee engagement. The study had two major limitations in that the participant selection was by convenient sampling and the participants were not from a homogenous group. The number of participants completing the study (48%) was too small to make any generalisations. Further studies are suggested including a blended elearning approach, a bigger sample size and to target a working population with high stress levels.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	L Education > LC Special aspects / Types of education > E-Learning H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Performance Management > Employee Engagement R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine > Personal Health and Hygiene > Stress Management H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > Industrial Psychology > Workplace Stress
Divisions:	School of Computing > Master of Science in Learning Technologies
Depositing User:	SINEAD CORCORAN
Date Deposited:	05 Apr 2011 10:21
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2015 10:10
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/508

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