Essay Sample: Employee Well-Being and Knowledge Sharing in Saudi Aramco

Introduction

Owing to changes in the domestic and global economy, increased competition, and the rapid rate of technological change, more organizations in the 21st century, are giving employee well-being more prominence. Work and well-being affect an employee's standing, sense of self-worth, and satisfaction, which provides the environment in which social interaction and friendship grow (Jayasinghe, 2017). Employee well-being (EWB) is fundamental to the success and growth of an organization (Porath et al., 2012). The importance of employee well-being is supported by various theories, including the theory of planned behavior (TPB), conservation of resources theory (COR), the theory of reasoned action (TRA), social exchange theory (SET), and positive organizational behavior (POB) theory. Maslow's hierarchy of needs also determines the levels of employee satisfaction, which, in turn, affects their perception of well-being (Jerome, 2013). According to the literature, taking care of the well-being of the employees enhances productivity, and organizational and economic performance, and also serves as a source of competitive advantage for the organization (Uly, 2003).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Organizational failure in handling change has been cited as one of the primary causes of poor employee well-being. Leaders paying less attention to employee well-being may lead to undesired outcomes (Jayasinghe, 2017). Leadership style is an important management tool, which, if properly used, can enhance positive relationships with employees, improve the organizational climate, and increase service performance (Kozak and Uca, 2008). It has been linked to worker well-being and organizational factors within the oil industry. According to Gannon (1996), a working environment that promotes significant well-being removes unfair discrimination. However, research shows only limited companies consciously introduce a program to manage employee well-being (Alilyyani et al., 2018). Besides, there is a gap in assessing the effect of a benevolent leadership style on employee well-being.

Knowledge-sharing behavior (KSB) is essential to organizational outcomes (Foss et al., 2010). It leads to the development of new knowledge and can also result in a greater individual problem-solving capability, which can be practical to the organizational degree work-related capability (Nickerson et al., 2019). Several studies agree that knowledge sharing generates a positive effect on the performance of organizations and constitutes a source of competitive advantage (Ma et al., 2017). However, it is necessary to deepen the identification of background factors, principles, and practices related to knowledge sharing.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the biggest players in the global oil industry. The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) is the state-possessed oil organization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is concerned with creation, exploration, marketing, refining, and international shipping (Alomi et al., 2018). Headquartered in Dhahran, Aramco has more than 65,000 employees (Woodman and Jaoua, 2018). Globally, Saudi Aramco holds significant projects in refinery and commerce activities in Japan, the Republic of Korea, the USA, and China, and also has market interests in urban areas of Europe, the Far East, and North America (Aldulaimi, 2016). The relationship between employees’ well-being and their knowledge-sharing behavior in the petroleum industry in Saudi Arabia has not been addressed sufficiently in the literature (Aldulaimi, 2016). According to the literature, work-challenging factors such as workplace conflict may affect the well-being of Aramco employees as an antecedent of employee well-being (Skakon et al., 2010). The literature on conflict and conflict management also rarely addresses employee well-being as an antecedent or result of workplace conflict. This study views workplace conflict from the perspective of employee well-being as a precursor (Sonnentag et al., 2013). Understanding how employee well-being would impact Aramco employees' honesty in sharing their experience will have a significant impact on the employee and human resource policies and problems connected with an employee's work satisfaction and functionality (performance) (Jayasinghe, 2017).

Saudi Aramco has embraced knowledge sharing in its quest to become the world's leading energy provider (Yeo et al., 2016). Hayman (2016) conducted a health assessment risk in Saudi Aramco and confirmed that fatigue and job hazards are the leading factors relating to health risk and absenteeism. In this context, Saudi Aramco reported several employee incidents over the years. In 2017, according to the Civil Défense agency, ten employees were killed in a fire, and in another incident in 2017, one of the company's contractors was killed and many other employees were injured in an oil pipe leaking incident (MOI, 2017). These incidents affected the company's trend toward achieving its goals by 2020. In response, Saudi Aramco adopted a leadership development designed for mid-level managers in 2018 (Aldulaimi, 2018). The aim of this study, therefore, was to gain insight into the extent of investments in employee well-being in the workplace within Saudi Aramco as well as aspects of KSB. Additionally, this knowledge could be used to provide further incentives for other organizations within and outside Saudi Arabia to devote resources to employee well-being.

Hypothesis Development

Fatigue is considered a complex issue, which includes physical, mental and emotional stress (Folkard and Tucker, 2003) as well as other aspects, all of which require further investigation if the full scope of it is to be understood. Literature shows that fatigue leads to worsening psychological WB. Thus, the following hypothesis is developed;

H1: There is a negative relationship between fatigue and psychological well-being.

Haslam et. al (2005) proved that employees’ safety was jeopardized due to their heavy workloads and different priorities. Thus, the following hypothesis is developed;

H2: There is a negative relationship between Job Hazards and Physical well-being

The association between relationship conflict and diminished well-being is more powerful compared to the association between labor conflicts and reduced well-being according to these factors. Thus, the following hypothesis is developed;

H3: there is a negative relationship between work conflict and social well-being.

High EWB (happiness) likely drives helping behavior, including KSB. Thus, the following hypotheses are developed.

H4a: There is a positive relationship between psychological well-being and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior

H4b: There is a positive relationship between psychological well-being and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior

H5a: There is a positive relationship between physical well-being and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior

H5b: There is a positive relationship between physical well-being and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior

H6a: There is a positive relationship between social well-being and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior

H6b: There is a positive relationship between social well-being and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior

Literature seems to suggest that in the presence of benevolent leaders, EWB will be enhanced even if the work conditions are changing. (i.e. fatigue, job hazard and workplace conflict). Thus, the subsequent hypotheses are as below.

H7a: Benevolent leadership moderates the relationship between fatigue and psychological well-being. In the high BL condition, fatigue and PWB relationship were weaker than in the low TL condition.

H7b: Benevolent leadership moderates the relationship between job Hazard and physical well-being. In the high BL condition, Job Hazard and SWB relationship were weaker than in the low TL condition.

H7c: Benevolent leadership moderates the relationship between workplace conflict and social well-being. In the high BL condition, workplace conflict and PWB relationship were weaker than in the low TL condition.

This study proposes that innovative organizational culture acts as an essential moderating role in reinforcing the associations between psychological, physical, and social well-being and knowledge-sharing behavior (tacit and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior). Thus, the following hypotheses are developed.

H8a: Innovative organizational culture moderates the relationship between psychological well-being and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior, in the high IOC condition, the PWB- TKSB relationship is stronger than in the low IOC condition.

H8b: Innovative organizational culture moderates the relationship between physical well-being and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior, in high IOC conditions, the PWB- TKSB relationship is stronger than in the low IOC conditions.

H8c: Innovative organizational culture moderates the relationship between social well-being and tacit knowledge-sharing behavior, in the high IOC conditions, the PWB- TKSB relationship is stronger than in the low IOC condition.

H8d: Innovative organizational culture moderates the relationship between psychological well-being and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior, in the high IOC conditions, the PWB- TKSB relationship is stronger than in the low IOC condition.

H8e: Innovative organizational culture moderates the relationship between physical well-being and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior, in the high IOC conditions, the PWB- TKSB relationship is stronger than in the low IOC condition.

H8f: Innovative organizational culture moderates the relationship between social well-being and explicit knowledge-sharing behavior, in the high IOC condition, the SWB- TKSB relationship is stronger than in the low IOC condition.

Methodology

This study used the positivist paradigm. The quantitative approach is the most suitable for this research since it seeks to examine theory-affirmed relationships (Uma et al., 2013).

The 65,000 employees of Saudi Aramco were the target population of this study (Woodman and Jaoua, 2018). A total of 400 employees in Saudi Aramco were invited to complete questionnaires. A purposive sampling technique was used to distribute the surveys to the respondents. The selection criteria required that the participants should hav...