International Handbook of Work and Health Psychology, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 14Management Development for Well-Being and Survival: Developing the Whole Person

Rosemary Maellaro and J. Lee Whittington

University of Dallas, USA

14.1 INTRODUCTION

The very competitive global environment and attendant economic pressures experienced by organizations today make managing especially challenging (Whetten & Cameron, 2002). Lawler’s (2000) new millennium prediction that the business environment would become increasingly complex has materialized in the form of a boundaryless economy, worldwide labour markets, instantly linked information and agile new organizations. Accordingly, increasing amounts of competitive pressure has shifted to the management ranks in organizations. Hence, the creation of healthy work environments that flourish in these challenging, stressful times is a priority because the one competitive advantage that remains and becomes even more important in the current business environment is an organization’s employees.

One way an organization can protect the significant investment in the human resources that provide a competitive edge is to be intentional about improving the overall well-being of their managers. Increased well-being allows managers to strike a healthier balance between their work and personal lives and thus better allocate their time, focus and energy to myriad demands made on them by all of the things that have to be done (Mariotti, 1998). Overall well-being has both physical and mental components and ‘it’s about feeling ...