Research
The employee-organization relationship lies at the heart of the experience of work.
The research began with a question about engagement and burnout. It ended with a framework, a diagnostic model, and a way for leaders to see the relationship behind their workforce outcomes.
STUDY 01
The Dissertation
Mixed methods research on the employee experience of work
The research examined the impact of the employee-organization relationship on engagement and burnout, and its relationship with turnover intent.
The findings identified the relationship between employees and their organizations as a central component of the employee experience.
Engagement
A higher quality relationship is associated with stronger engagement.
Burnout
A higher quality relationship is associated with lower burnout.
Turnover Intent
A higher quality relationship is associated with lower intent to leave.
From the Research
Balanced Blueprint Program™
The dissertation also produced the Balanced Blueprint™, a practical framework for understanding the intersection of work and life and the factors shaping the employee experience.
Study 02
Diagnostic Model: Measuring the Quality of the Employee Organization Relationship
Operationalizing the research for organizational use
The next stage of the research focused on whether the quality of the employee-organization relationship could be evaluated using workforce data organizations already collect.
The diagnostic model was operationalized and tested using 16,114 responses from the 2024 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The analysis examined relationship quality, employee experience, participation, leadership relationships, and workforce outcomes.
Rather than relying on survey scores alone, the analysis examined how relationship quality and different aspects of the employee experience were associated with satisfaction, performance, and turnover intent.
LEADERSHIP
Different outcomes
Different leadership relationships are associated with different outcomes.
Immediate supervisors were rated highest and showed the strongest association with performance. Senior leadership was rated lowest and showed the strongest association with intent to leave.
PRIORITIZATION
Score ≠ priority
Survey scores alone do not identify the priority.
Respect was the highest rated supervisor behavior. Support for development rated lower but showed roughly twice the association with satisfaction.
The lowest score is not automatically the highest priority.
The testing demonstrated that workforce data can be used not only to describe the employee experience, but to identify where relationship risk is concentrated, what is most relevant to the outcome leadership is trying to understand, and where attention may be warranted.
Results are based on a 2024 FEVS test sample and demonstrate the method. They are not official FEVS results or benchmarks. Client analysis is calculated using each organization's own data.
What the testing showed
RETENTION RISK
22% → 64%
Turnover intent rises sharply when relationship quality is low.
Intent to leave was 22 percent among employees reporting high relationship quality and 64 percent among employees reporting low relationship quality.
Application
Turning workforce data into management decisions
Supporting improvement in employee-organization relationships
The diagnostic model provides a structured way to evaluate the employee-organization relationship and translate workforce data into four management questions.
01
Relationship Quality
What is the quality of the relationship?
03
Participation
What are the organization and employees each bringing to the relationship?
02
Employee Experience
What are employees experiencing, and what is shaping the relationship?
04
Workforce Outcomes
What outcomes are associated with the relationship?
The goal is not another list of survey scores.
The analysis brings together current results, their relationship with the workforce outcome being examined, and organizational context. This helps leaders distinguish strengths to protect, risks to address, and priorities for attention.