Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Lean Management and Employee Well-Being

Reconciling Conflicting Findings and Ensuring Successful Implementation

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook on Management and Employment Practices

Part of the book series: Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences ((HDBSOHS,volume 3))

  • 1663 Accesses

Abstract

“Lean management” is a management system that focuses on ensuring the efficient use of resources and eliminating waste, for the purpose of improving product quality, efficiency of processes, and better responsiveness to customers. At every step of the lean process, the question asked is “what value is being added to the customer?”. The performance advantages of lean management have been widely studied and consensus is emerging that lean management can pay dividends for multiple stakeholders. However, the impact of lean management on employee well-being is a current topic of lively debate. There is no consensus in the literature as to whether lean management improves or impairs employee well-being. Also, how to effectively implement lean to leverage improved and sustainable employee well-being remains an important yet nascent topic of research inquiry. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the topic (and appeal) of lean management before briefly reviewing the competing theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence on its impact on well-being. Following this, the chapter has two central aims. First, it introduces a framework, based on recent empirical research, which (1) helps reconcile the aforementioned conflicting findings, (2) provides a platform for future research to more comprehensively investigate the effects of lean management on employees, and (3) helps managers understand what specific actions can maximize the benefits while minimizing the potential harmful effects of lean management. Second, the chapter discusses some of the central emerging themes explaining how lean management can be effectively implemented so that employee well-being is sustainably maintained.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adler PS, Cole RE (1993) Designed for learning: a tale of two auto plants. Sloan Manag Rev 34:85–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler P, Landsbergis P (1998) Lean production and worker health: a discussion. New Solut 8:499–523

    Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal A, Shankar R, Tiwari MK (2006) Modeling the metrics of lean, agile and leagile supply chain: an ANP-based approach. Eur J Oper Res 173:211–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson-Connoly R, Grunberg L, Greenberg ES, Moore S (2002) Is lean mean? Workplace transformation and employee well-being. Work Employ Soc 16:389–413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker AB, Demerouti E, Verbeke W (2004) Using the job demands-resources model to predict burnout and performance. Hum Resour Manag 43:83–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker AB, Hakanen JJ, Demerouti E, Xanthopoulou D (2007) Job resources boost work engagement, particularly when job demands are high. J Educ Psychol 99:274–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamber GJ, Stanton P, Bartram T, Ballardie R (2014) Human resource management, lean processes and outcomes for employees: towards a research agenda. Int J Hum Resour Manag 25:2881–2891

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batt RL, Appelbaum E (1995) Worker participation in diverse settings: does the form affect the outcome, and if so, who benefits? British J Indus Relat 33:353–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Beraldin AR, Danese P, Romano P (2019) An investigation of the relationship between lean and well-being based on the job demands-resources model. Int J Oper Prod Manag 39:1295–1322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhamu J, Sangwan S (2014) Lean manufacturing: literature review and research issues. Int J Oper Prod Manag 34:876–940

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black J, Miller D (2008) The Toyota way to healthcare excellence: increase efficiency and improve quality with lean. Health Administration Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Bortolotti T, Romano P (2012) Lean first, then automate: a framework for process improvement in pure service companies. A case study. Prod Plan Control 23:513–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown CB, Collins TR, McCombs EL (2006) Transformation from batch to lean manufacturing: the performance issues. Eng Manag J 18:3–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruno R, Jordan L (2002) Lean production and the discourse of dissent. Work USA 6:108–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter B, Danford A, Howcroft D, Richardson H, Smith A, Taylor P (2011) All they lack is a chain: lean and new performance management in the British civil service. N Technol Work Employ 26:83–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conti R, Cooper CL, Angelis JJ, Faragher B (2006) The effects of lean production on worker stress. Int J Oper Prod Manag 26:1013–1038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford E, LePine J, Rich B (2010) Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: a theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. J Appl Psychol 95:834–848

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crute V, Ward Y, Brown S, Graves A (2003) Implementing lean in aerospace – challenging the assumptions and understanding the challenges. Technovation 23:917–928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane SJ, Bosak J, Flood DE (2013) Job design under lean manufacturing and its impact on employee outcomes. Organ Psychol Rev 3:44–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane SJ, Bosak J, Flood PC, Demerouti E (2014) Job design under lean manufacturing and the quality of working life: a job demands and resources perspective. Int J Hum Resour Manag 25:2996–3015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton D, Todor W, Spendolini M, Fielding G, Porter L (1980) Organization structure and performance: a critical review. Acad Manag Rev 5:49–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danese P, Manfe V, Romano P (2018) A systematic literature review on recent lean research: state of the art and future directions. Int J Manag Rev 20:579–605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Koeijer RJ, Paauwe J, Huijsman R (2014) Toward a conceptual framework for exploring multilevel relationships between Lean Management and Six Sigma, enabling HRM, strategic climate and outcomes in healthcare. Int J Hum Resour Manag 25:2911–1925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Menezes LM, Wood S, Gelade G (2010) The integration of human resource and operation management practices and its link with performance: a longitudinal latent class study. J Oper Manag 28:455–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Treville S, Antonakis J (2006) Could lean production job design be intrinsically motivating? Contextual, configurational, and levels-of-analysis issues. J Oper Manag 24:99–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demerouti E, Bakker AB, Nachreiner F, Schaufeli WB (2001) The job demands– resources model of burnout. J Appl Psychol 86:499–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eroglu C, Hofer C (2014) The effect of environmental dynamism on returns to inventory leanness. J Oper Manag 32:347–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fournier PL, Jobin MH (2018) Understanding before implementing: the case of lean in public healthcare organizations. Public Money Manag 38:37–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graban M (2008) Lean hospitals: improving quality, patient safety, and employee satisfaction. Productivity Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Handel JM (2014) Theories of lean management: an empirical evaluation. Soc Sci Res 44:86–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasle P, Bojesen A, Jensen PL, Bramming P (2012) Lean and the working environment: a review of the literature. Int J Oper Prod Manag 32:829–849

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll SE (2002) Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Rev Gen Psychol 6:307–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holden RJ (2011) Lean thinking in emergency departments: a critical review. Ann Emerg Med 57:265–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huo M-L, Boxall P (2017) Lean production and the well-being of the frontline manager: the job demands-resources model as a diagnostic tool in Chinese manufacturing. Asia Pac J Hum Resour 55:280–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huo M-L, Boxall P (2018) Are all aspects of lean production bad for workers? An analysis of how problem-solving demands affect employee well-being. Hum Resour Manag J 28:569–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huo M.-L, Boxall P, Cheung GW (2019) Lean production, work intensification and employee wellbeing: can line-manager support make a difference?. Econ Ind Democr 1–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Johns G (2006) The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Acad Manag Rev 31:386–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones R, Latham J, Betta M (2013) Creating the illusion of employee empowerment: lean production in the international automobile industry. Int J Hum Resour Manag 24:1629–1645

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek RA (1979) Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: implications for job redesign. Adm Sci Q 24:285–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kashefi M (2009) Job satisfaction and/or job stress: the psychological consequences of working in high performance work organisations. Curr Sociol 57(809):828

    Google Scholar 

  • Kou TC, Lee BC, Wei CF (2015) The role of product lean launch in customer relationships and performance in the high-tech manufacturing industry. Int J Oper Prod Manag 35:1207–1223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landsbergis PA, Cahill J, Schnall P (1999) The impact of lean production and related new systems of work organization on worker health. J Occup Health Psychol 4:108–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawal AK, Rotter T, Kinsman L, Sari N, Harrison L, Jeffery C, Kutz M, Khan MF, Flynn R (2014) Lean management in health care: definition, concepts, methodology and effects reported (systematic review protocol). Syst Rev 19:3–103

    Google Scholar 

  • LePine JA, Podsakoff NP, LePine MA (2005) A meta-analytic test of the challenge stressor-hindrance stressor framework: an explanation for inconsistent relationships among stressors and performance. Acad Manag 48:64–775

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewchuk W, Robertson D (1996) Working conditions under lean production: a worker-based benchmarking study. Asia Pac Bus Rev 2:60–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longoni A, Pagell M, Johnston D, Veltri A (2013) When does lean hurt? An exploration of lean practices and worker health and safety outcomes. Int J Prod Res 51:3300–3320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMackin J, Flood P (2019) A theoretical framework for the social pillar of lean. J Org Effectiv People Perform 6:39–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Moraros J, Lemstra M, Nwankwo C (2016) Lean interventions in healthcare: do they actually work? A systematic literature review. Int J Qual Health Care 28:150–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumford E (2006) The story of socio-technical design: reflections on its successes, failures and potential. Inf Syst J 16:317–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker SK (2003) Longitudinal effects of lean production on employee outcomes and the mediating role of work characteristics. J Appl Psychol 88:620–634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker M, Slaughter J (1988) Management by stress. Technol Rev 9:37–44

    Google Scholar 

  • Peccei R, Van De Voorde K (2019) Human resource management–well-being–performance research revisited: past, present, and future. Hum Resour Manag J 29:539–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierce JR, Aguinis H (2013) The too-much-of-a-good-thing effect in management. J Manag 39:313–338

    Google Scholar 

  • Pil F, Macduffie JP (1996) Adoption of high-involvement work practices. Indus Relat 35:423–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Procter S, Radnor S (2014) Teamworking under lean in UK public services: lean teams and team targets in Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Int J Hum Resour Manag 25:2978–2995

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purcell J, Hutchinson S (2007) Front-line managers as agents in the HRM-performance causal chain: theory, analysis and evidence. Hum Resour Manag J 17:3–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radnor Z, Walley P (2008) Learning to walk before we try to run: adapting lean for the public sector. Public Money Manag 28:13–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Ray EB, Miller KI (1994) Social support, home/work stress, and burnout: who can help? J Appl Behav Sci 30:357–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau DM, Fried Y (2001) Location, location, location: contextualizing organizational research. J Organ Behav 22:1–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Samuel D, Found P, Williams S (2015) How did the publication of the book the machine that changed the world change management thinking? Exploring 25 years of lean literature. Int J Oper Prod Manag 35:1386–1407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli W, Taris T (2014) A critical review of the job demands – resources model: implications for improving work and health. In: Bauer G, Hammig O (eds) Bridging occupational, organizational and public health, 43–68. Springer, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli WB, Bakker AB, Van Rhenen W (2009) How changes in job demands and resources predict burnout, work engagement, and sickness absenteeism. J Organ Behav 30:893–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seppala P, Klemola S (2004) How do employees perceive their organization and job when companies adopt principles of lean production? Human Factors Ergonom Manufactur 14:157–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah R, Ward PT (2003) Lean manufacturing: context, practice bundles, and performance. J Oper Manag 21:129–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sprigg CA, Jackson PR (2006) Call centers as lean service environments: job-related strain and the mediating role of work design. J Occup Health Psychol 11:197–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taira K (1996) Compatibility of human resource management, industrial relations, and engineering under mass production and lean production: an exploration. Appl Psychol Int Rev 45:97–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend K, Russell B (2013) Investigating the nuances of change in front line managers’ work. Labour Industry 23:168–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner CM (2012) Implement a lean management system: create change through improvement. Createspace, North Charleston

    Google Scholar 

  • Van de Voorde K, Paauwe J, Van Veldhoven M (2012) Employee well-being and the HRM organizational performance relationship: a review of quantitative studies. Int J Manag Rev 14:391–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Womack JP, Jones DT (1996) Lean thinking: banish waste and create wealth in your corporation. The Free Press, Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Womack JP, Jones DT, Roos D (1990) The machine that changed the world. Rawson, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong M (2007) The role of culture in implementing lean production system. Adv Product Manag Syst 246:412–422

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Steven Kilroy

  2. DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Patrick C. Flood

Authors
  1. Steven Kilroy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patrick C. Flood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven Kilroy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Paula Brough

  2. School of Management QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Elliroma Gardiner

  3. Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Kevin Daniels

Section Editor information

  1. Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Kevin Daniels

  2. School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Paula Brough PhD

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Kilroy, S., Flood, P.C. (2022). Lean Management and Employee Well-Being. In: Brough, P., Gardiner, E., Daniels, K. (eds) Handbook on Management and Employment Practices. Handbook Series in Occupational Health Sciences, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29010-8_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation