| Description |
Background: Current sick leave policies in Utah reveal significant disparities, with no mandated sick leave at the private, federal, or state levels. This situation has led to varying organizational practices, potentially creating misalignments between employer expectations and employee understanding regarding its use. Inconsistencies in the policy's application and expectations can negatively impact workplace culture, employee well-being, and organizational performance. This quality improvement project aimed to conduct a formal needs assessment of sick leave policies in Utah businesses, concentrating on leadership perspectives, identifying best practices and areas for improvement, and developing evidence-based recommendations for policy refinement. Local Problem: From a business perspective, organizational leaders in Utah should acknowledge the advantages of implementing supportive sick leave policies. These policies boost job satisfaction, enhance employee retention, and decrease presenteeism and workplace injuries. By investing in transparent and considerate sick leave practices, Utah businesses can foster healthier work environments that ultimately enhance organizational performance and lower healthcare costs for all stakeholders. Methods: This needs assessment employed a qualitative design through a grounded theory methodology to explore Utah leaders' perspectives on sick leave policies across various business sectors. To complete this, semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 participants from diverse organizations, analyzed using iterative coding processes to identify key themes, and developed into a SWOT analysis and recommendations. Interventions: This project employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews to gather data from business leaders and policy influencers. This method was selected for its ability to address key topics while allowing participants to express their perspectives freely. Interview questions were collaboratively developed and validated by individuals with similar backgrounds to enhance credibility. Purposive sampling ensured diverse representation across leadership roles and organizational sizes. Participants were recruited through professional networks, industry associations, and snowball sampling. The project was deemed exempt from ethical approval under internal quality improvement criteria by the University of Utah College of Nursing. Results: The quality improvement project identified five key themes in Utah leaders' perspectives regarding sick leave policies: balancing employee needs with organizational constraints, clearly and consistently communicating policies, adapting to context and individual needs, navigating legal and regulatory constraints, and the role of leadership in adapting policies. Leaders emphasized the importance of achieving a sustainable balance between supporting employee health and maintaining operational efficiency while acknowledging the need for clear communication, flexibility, and adaptation to specific organizational contexts. Conclusion: The qualitative findings and SWOT analysis highlight the necessity for Utah businesses to implement transparent, flexible, and employee-centric sick leave policies that effectively balance organizational and employee needs. Key recommendations involve enhancing communication strategies, addressing health equity concerns, and aligning policies with long-term economic advantages such as employee retention and reduced healthcare costs. Organizations can improve workplace culture, support employee wellbeing, and boost overall performance by adopting these strategies. Future research should further assess these recommendations within broader Utah contexts to identify optimal practices, emphasizing specific initiatives demonstrating universal benefits for consideration in state-level policy recommendations. |
