Learning from Parallel Organizational Development Efforts in Two Public Sector Settings

Abstract

As part of a workplace health improvement program, a pilot study organizational development intervention was carried out in two post offices m the Norwegian Postal Service. The intervention activities reflected three strong OD traditions: (1) the literature on participation and workplace democracy; (2) the literature on workplace stress, especially focusing on job redesign/environmental factors; and, (3) the literature on organizational learning This article descnbes and evaluates the intervention actions that were taken. The OD effort featured a uniform model for implementation, but significant variations between the two offices were observed. Generally, the OD effort was viewed as a success by employees, their supervisors and external consultants. They all tended to agree that the 12-week intervention had created new insights and led to concrete improvements in the workplace m both offices studied.