Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Hyuk Kim

Abstract

Leaders play a critical role in an organization, and their presence and behavior significantly affect nonmanagement employee work performance, behavior, and well-being. Authentic leadership has a positive effect on an organization. The problem was nonmanagement employees spend so much time at work and desire meaningful experiences and relationships during the workday to counter feelings of uncertainty and a lack of job satisfaction. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of nonmanagerial employees of the architect, engineer, and construction (AEC) industry located in the Northeastern United States about work-related well-being defined as people’s feelings about themselves concerning their job. Authentic leadership theory was used to explore a leader’s purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and heart in a practical approach to authentic leadership. The research question was about the meaning of experiencing occupational well-being ascribed to by nonmanagement employees. I interviewed 22 participants during my fieldwork in one-on-one qualitative interviews and used manual and automated data analysis to provide patterns, themes, interpretations, and assertions. Key findings included a sense of community, encouragement to grow, feeling secure in my job, being technically proficient, feeling valued, connecting daily, feeling like I belong, being fair in their decisions, enjoying coming to work, and facilitating work-life balance. The potential for positive social change is unlimited, with a better understanding of leadership effects on occupational well-being, thus benefiting management, employees, and customers.

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