Impact of Healthy Environment and Diversity on Productivity: Waitrose

This report investigates the significance of a healthy working environment and employee diversity in enhancing employee and business productivity, focusing on Waitrose as a case study. It explores aspects related to a healthy working environment, including workplace culture, occupational health and safety, and employee wellness programs, alongside dimensions of employee diversity such as age, religion, and cultural background. The research examines the roles these factors play in attracting and retaining employees, fostering positive employer-employee relationships, and boosting overall business productivity within Waitrose. Furthermore, the report identifies challenges Waitrose faces in creating a healthy working environment, such as insufficient staff resources, inadequate funding, and lack of employee interest, as well as issues in managing employee diversity, including potential biases and communication barriers. Ultimately, the study aims to provide insights and recommendations for Waitrose and other organizations seeking to leverage diversity and create a healthy workplace to improve employee morale, efficiency, and overall organizational performance.

RESEARCH
PROPOSAL

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Overview of the research ...........................................................................................................3
Research Aim, Objectives and Questions...................................................................................3
Problem statement of the research..............................................................................................4
Rationale of the research.............................................................................................................4
Significance of the research........................................................................................................5
Structure of the dissertation........................................................................................................5
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................6
What are the aspects related with healthy working environment and employee diversity?.......6
What are the roles of healthy working environment and employee diversity in acquiring
higher employee and business productivity in Waitrose?...........................................................7
What are the challenges faced by Waitrose in creating healthy working environment at
workplace?..................................................................................................................................8
What are the issues faced by Waitrose in managing employee diversity within the
organisation?...............................................................................................................................8
RESEARCH METHODS..............................................................................................................10
1. Research Design....................................................................................................................10
2. Data Collection and Analysis................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Overview of the research
Diversity in an organisation refers to the system through which inclusion and acceptance
of employees of various backgrounds are accepted. A diverse workplace is a significant asset
because it acknowledges the strengths of an individual and the potential they bring inside the
organisation. In this differences of employees are valued and come together to work. Workplace
diversity is basically respecting and valuing the differences and skills that each employee
member brings into the workspace. Employee diversity is the term used in the workplace
composed of employees with different characteristics such as different ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, race etc. A healthy working environment is defined as an environment that there is
absence of harmful situations and conditions that could cause illness and injury. In simpler
words, it is the place where workforce thrives in their work projects and feel fulfilled while also
staying mentally and physically healthy (Enders and et. al., 2021).
Creating healthy working environment is very significant in the organisation because it
assists in creating comfortable space. It leads employees to work with fuller efficiency and
effectiveness. In an organisation there many ways through which employers could improve the
workplace to keep their workforce motivated and happy. Every employee wants to stay in the
organisation that provides smooth working and stress free surrounding. Employee diversity is
another way by managers acquire employees from different backgrounds so that they could work
together and attain their defined goals and objectives. In the current investigation, investigator
has selected primary and secondary sources to collect appropriate data about employee diversity
and healthy working environment. The chosen organisation for the present research is Waitrose.
The company is known as brand of British supermarkets. The company is founded in 1904 and it
was introduced by Waite, Rose & Taylor and with time it was shortened as Waitrose.
Research Aim, Objectives and Questions
Research Aim:
“To analyse the role of healthy working environment and employee diversity in gaining
higher employees and business productivity.” A study on Waitrose
Research Objectives:
 To explore the aspects related with healthy working environment and employee diversity.

 To discern the role of healthy working environment and employee diversity in acquiring
higher employee and business productivity in Waitrose.
 To examine the challenges faced by Waitrose in creating healthy working environment at
workplace.
 To investigate the issues faced by Waitiose in managing employee diversity within the
organisation.
Research Questions:
 What are the aspects related with healthy working environment and employee diversity?
 What are the roles of healthy working environment and employee diversity in acquiring
higher employee and business productivity in Waitrose?
 What are the challenges faced by Waitrose in creating healthy working environment at
workplace?
 What are the issues faced by Waitrose in managing employee diversity within the
organisation?
Problem statement of the research
The problem that is covered in the present research is the challenges that are faced by
managers and leaders of the company while increasing diversity in the workplace. It also covers
the problems that are faced by company while creating healthy working environment.
Rationale of the research
The main reason of conducting the present research is that in the present modern time
healthy working environment is necessary. Nowadays, importance is given to every employee's
mental health because it is creating positive impact on the productivity of employee as well as
organisation. The other reason of selecting employee diversity in the organisation is it is
providing equal opportunity to every employee belonging from different backgrounds, age,
ethnicity, race etc. It is also determined that diversifying team in the workplace boosts the
productivity of company. A diverse employees team is likely to understand the needs of their
existing as well as potential customers. In simpler words, it gathers information about the
employee diversity and healthy workplace environment. They both increase the morale of
employees and in-still a desire to be more efficient and work more effectively.

Significance of the research
The topic of employee diversity and healthy workplace environment is very important for
researchers, students, stakeholders and businesses because it helps in highlighting the need of
diversity in the workplace. The report also covers different challenges that are faced by company
while creating healthy working environment and employee diversity. This provides various
strategies and ways that could be adopted by company to take advantages of employee diversity
and working environment. Hence, the research project is very significant because it would help
companies to increase and improve their productivity.
Structure of the dissertation
Introduction: Introduction is the foremost chapter that covers the basic information about
the whole research. It also covers the aim, objectives and questions of the investigation.
Literature Review: Literature review is the second chapter that focuses on answering the
defined questions of the research. In this secondary information is accumulated from the sources
like journals, articles, newspapers, books etc.
Research Methodology: Research methodology is the other chapter that covers different
types of methodologies for collecting and analysing information. The different kinds of
methodologies that will be used in the research are: research approach, research philosophy,
research strategy, research choice etc.
Data Analysis: Data analysis is the fourth chapter that focuses on forming questionnaire
and analysing the gathered secondary as well as primary information. Frequency distribution
analysis will be used by researcher to analyse quantitative piece of information without taking
longer period of time.
Conclusion and Recommendations: The other significant chapter is conclusion and
recommendations. In the chapter of conclusion, researcher summarises the whole gathered
information in a brief manner. In recommendation part, investigator focuses on suggesting
certain number of recommendations to the chosen organisation.

LITERATURE REVIEW
What are the aspects related with healthy working environment and employee diversity?
According to Gopalkrishnan (2018), a healthy working environment is quite ideal
whenever it comes to maintaining a positive result in a stressful atmosphere. The most
significant thing that influences motivation and happiness of employees is directly related to the
healthy working environment. Healthy working environment does not mean the need of medical
attention, it can be the outlook of the whole workplace and sometimes the surroundings. It
improves the company's productivity and decreases costs related to turnover, absenteeism,
medical claims and absenteeism. The four aspects of creating a healthy working environment
are:
Workplace culture: Corporate culture helps in determining value and creating standard
that workforce generally follows. When positive workplace culture is created, this shows that
workplace is healthier.
Occupational health & safety and physical environment: A health workplace
environment also includes the physical environment of the workshop or office and the
employee's occupational health and safety.
Lifestyle and health practice: Employees care for the organisation they are working for
if they know they are being looked after. Employees are known as the great asset of every
company and making efforts into employee wellness could motivate better team work, reduce
workplace accidents and increased productivity.
According to diversity refers to all the ways in which individuals differ, involving
primary characteristics such as gender, race, physical abilities and ethnicity. It also involves
secondary characteristics like education, religion, education, work experience, geographic
location etc. Some of the aspects related to employee diversity are:
Age diversity: It is one of the aspects of employee diversity because in an organisation
there are employees who are from different age group. In the present time the examples could be
defined as: GenZers, millennials and GenXers could exist in the same organisation.
Religious diversity: The other aspect of employee diversity is religious diversity. It
shows that employees work and operate together of spiritual belief and multiple religions in the
workplace.

Cultural diversity: The other aspect is cultural diversity and it is related to ethnicity of a
person. It is generally set of norms that is generally received from the society. Recruiting
employees from different cultures in the organisation is very common in multinational
organisations.
What are the roles of healthy working environment and employee diversity in acquiring higher
employee and business productivity in Waitrose?
According to Smith (2020), healthy working environment is very good step for company
as it helps in increasing sales for Waitrose. A healthy working environment plays very
significant role in acquiring higher number of employees and increasing business productivity in
Waitrose. Some of the roles of healthy working environment are:
In Morrisons, healthy working environment maintains and provides safe working
environment to employees that attracts attention of employees and they make decision to stay in
the same company. The company also performs the role of maintaining safe and easy systems at
work so that in workplace there is no confusion and chaos among employees. The other role
performed by healthy working environment is it improves the relationship between employer and
employees. This brings positive change among employees and employers and employees start
working according to the guidance of employers. When relationship between employees and
employers is improved the productivity of the company increases.
In Morrisons, employee diversity is one the great steps taken to acquire employees who
have different opinions and views regarding operations of the organisation. There are different
roles of employee diversity in increasing business productivity and acquiring high skilled
employees. Employee diversity helps in engaging large number of employees into different
operations, decision making and procedures of the company. When employees of different
backgrounds get opportunity to participate in the processes of company they achieve their targets
and objectives with fuller efficiency. This ultimately helps in increasing the productivity of
Waitrose. Morrisons acquire and recruit employees on the basis of education rather than their
age, cultural diversity, gender etc. This increases the market image of Morrisons in the market
and more number of candidates approach company to join.

What are the challenges faced by Waitrose in creating healthy working environment at
workplace?
According to Marsiglia, Kulis and Lechuga-Peña (2021), healthy workplace environment
is one of the important steps in Waitrose. This assists in aligning members of Morrisons with the
objectives and goals of company. The primary objective of Morrisons is to be profitable but they
are achieving this objective by providing healthy working environment to their employees. Some
of the challenges faced by Waitrose in the creation of healthy working environment at workplace
are explained below:
Insufficient staff resources: One of the biggest challenge for Waitrose in the creation of
healthy working environment is insufficient staff resources. The company does not invest in the
resources that could help in increasing the participation of employees in the creation of healthy
working environment. This includes high investment and cost so this is the major challenge that
is faced by organisation.
Inadequate funds: The other challenge faced by Waitrose in the procedure of healthy
working environment is inadequate funds. In this process, the company requires budget for
occasional speakers, fitness classes, training and development sessions etc. All these help in
creating positive and healthy working environment but company faces problem in making
appropriate budget.
Lack of interest from staff members: Another challenge faced by Waitrose is that the
members of company do not take interest in creating healthy working environment. Employees
get busy with their work and do not participate in the activities that help in the process of
creating healthy working environment.
What are the issues faced by Waitrose in managing employee diversity within the organisation?
According to Engelen and et. al., (2019), employee diversity is known as the process
through which company get employees from different backgrounds. There are many issues that
are faced by Waitrose in the process of managing employee diversity within the organisation are:
Cultural misunderstandings: Cultural misunderstandings is one of the challenges that
are faced by organisation because people belong from different cultures. Members of the team do
not get along with each other due to their cultural differences and this creates problem for
company while acquiring employees from different backgrounds.

Discrimination: The other issue faced by Waitrose related to employee divesrity is
discrimination. One employee discriminates other employees on the basis of their colour, gender
and caste and this creates problem in retaining those employees. Waitrose face problem in
changing behaviour and attitude of employees towards other employee.
Communication issues: The other issue related to employee diversity is communication
issues. People from different cultures speak different languages and this creates people in
understanding the things the other person is saying. So, company face issue in making people
learn different languages of the people.

RESEARCH METHODS
Research methodology is referred as the procedure of collecting and evaluating piece of
information. It is used by investigator to achieve aim and objectives of the research. It is
generally explained as creation of new knowledge and considering existing piece of information
for generating new outcomes and results. It holds great importance because it provides
framework to investigator to gather reliable information on particular research topic. This section
includes various types of research methodologies that are defined below in detailed manner.
1. Research Design
Research design is known as the framework for research techniques and methods selected
by a investigator. This is the design that allows investigators to hone in on different research
techniques and methods that are suitable for attaining defined aim and objectives. This is the
phase of a study that identifies tools for collecting data and the way it is used. The research onion
is included in the research design that also have research approach, research strategy, research
choice, research philosophy, time horizon. These designs are explained below with proper
justification (De Groot and Spiekerman, 2020).
Research Philosophy: Research philosophy is referred as the methodology that provides
certain set of beliefs that help in collecting, evaluating, examining and using information. The
philosophy is majorly classified in three main types that include: ontology, axiology and
epistemology. Researcher will choose epistemology philosophy because it provides three
significant parts that include: positivism, interpretivism and realism. Research will show
dependence upon positivism philosophy because it accommodates in accumulating numerical
information within shorter period of time. The major advantage of using positivism philosophy is
it will not take maximum time duration and large amount of money. On the other hand,
interpretivism and realism will not be chosen because it consumes longer period of time
(Coppedge and et. al., 2019).
Research Approach: Research approach is the next layer in the research onion as it is
based upon extent to which theory is quite clear at the start of the research. Research approach is
being divided into two main kinds that are: inductive and deductive approach. For achieving
objectives of the current investigation, investigator will select deductive approach as it assists in
measuring and evaluating numeric piece of information. The main reason behind using deductive

approach is it assists in measuring and evaluating numerical piece of information in the shorter
time duration. Another motive of choosing deductive approach is it assists in developing valid
summary. On the other hand, inductive approach will not be chosen by investigator because it
does not help in measuring and analysing statical data.
Research Choice: Research choice is referred as the methodology that defines the kind of
information that need to be collected and accumulated. The research choice is classified into
three main kinds that are: mono method, mixed method and multi-mixed method. Researcher
will choose mono method as one of the research choice. Mono method is also divided into three
major types that are: qualitative and quantitative method. Basically this method provides an
option to choose between qualitative and quantitative. Investigator will select quantitative
research choice because it helps in collecting numerical and statistical facts and figures. It is
defined as systematic investigation of phenomenon by collecting quantifiable piece of
information and performing mathematical, computational and statistical techniques. Survey will
be conducted by researcher to collect numerical and statistical piece of information (Koval and
et. al., 2019).
Research Strategy: Research strategy is defined as one of the useful strategies to collect
data. The research strategy has various types that include: survey, grounded theory, action
research, archival research, systematic literature review etc. Researcher will select survey as one
of the research methodologies because it facilitates in collecting numerical piece of information
and this information is also primary data. On the other hand, systematic literature review will
also be used because it helps in collecting secondary. It focuses on accumulating published data
in shorter time duration.
Time Horizon: Time is known as one of the important components because it assists in
completing activities properly. Time horizon is classified into two main parts that are: cross-
sectional time horizon and longitudinal time horizon. Researcher will select cross-sectional time
horizon because it helps in doing activities and tasks in real time situation.
2. Data Collection and Analysis
Data collection: Data collection is referred as the methodology that assists in collecting
piece of information. There are two main types of data collection that are: primary and secondary
data collection. Investigator will select primary and secondary data collection to gather
appropriate data to meet objectives. Primary data collection is used to collect first hand data from

the instrument called questionnaire. Questionnaire is very useful instrument because it assists in
gathering statistical data. On the other hand, secondary data collection is known as the
methodology that helps in collecting second-hand data from the sources such as books, articles,
journals, newspapers etc. Particular number of respondents will be selected by investigator
through probability sampling because it assists in choosing respondents randomly. 20 employers
will be chosen as respondents to gather primary piece of information (Sandoval, 2020).
Data Analysis: Data analysis is defined as the procedure of evaluating collected data
from research analytical technique. In the present investigation, quantitative piece of information
would be taken out by questionnaire. There are two types of data analysis that are: thematic
analysis and frequency distribution analysis. Researcher will select frequency distribution
analysis to evaluate numerical piece of information in shorter time period (Mitarai and Fujii
2019).
Research Limitations: There are various types of limitations in conducting investigation.
Some of the limitations that are included in the present research are: lack of time, finding
appropriate source to gather information, non-cooperation from chosen respondents etc.
Research Plan (Timescale): Time is known as one of the significant element and for this
Gantt chart is formed. Gantt chart is divided into two parts and one has activities and the other
one has proper time interval to completed those activities.

Ethical Issues: Ethics are the other important thing while conducting research.
Researcher focuses on following certain ethical principles like informed consent, maintaining
confidentiality of research information and many more (Kraay, 2018).

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Enders, F. T. and et. al., 2021. Building a framework for inclusion in health services research:
Development of and pre-implementation faculty and staff attitudes toward the Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plan at Mayo Clinic. Journal of Clinical and Translational
Science. 5(1).
Engelen, L. and et. al., 2019. Is activity-based working impacting health, work performance and
perceptions? A systematic review. Building research & information. 47(4). pp.468-479.
Gopalkrishnan, N., 2018. Cultural diversity and mental health: Considerations for policy and
practice. Frontiers in public health. 6. p.179.
Koval, V. and et. al., 2019. Methodology of ecodiagnostics on the example of rural
areas. Architecture Civil Engineering Environment. 12(1). pp.139-144.
Kraay, A., 2018. Methodology for a World Bank human capital index. World Bank Policy
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Marsiglia, F. F., Kulis, S. S. and Lechuga-Peña, S., 2021. Diversity, Oppression, & Change:
Culturally Grounded Social Work. Oxford University Press, USA.
Mitarai, K. and Fujii, K., 2019. Methodology for replacing indirect measurements with direct
measurements. Physical Review Research, 1(1), p.013006.
Sandoval, C., 2020. New sciences: Cyborg feminism and the methodology of the oppressed.
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Shkoporov, A. N. and et. al., 2019. The human gut virome is highly diverse, stable, and
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Smith, D. G., 2020. Diversity's promise for higher education: Making it work. JHU Press.