MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

MAKERERE UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL

MASTER OFBUSINESS AMOINISTRATION

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2019/2020

YEAR ONE

SEMESTER ONE
COURSE WORK

COURSE NAME: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

TOOL: ENABLING A POSITIVE WORKING LIFE

FACILITATORS: PROF. J.C. MUNENE.

MS. ELIZABETH LAMUNU.

GROUP MEMBERS
S/N NAME REG. NO STUDENT SIGNATURE
NO.
1 WAMPANDE AISHA 2019/HD10/25853U 1900725853

2 NAMATOVU EVERLYN 2019/HD10/25677U 1900725677

KULABAKO
3 KINOBE MOSES 2019/HD10/25768/U 1900725768

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 2

1.0 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 2

1.2 STATEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY.......................................................................................... 2

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ...................................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER TWO....................................................................................................................................... 10

EXPLANATION OF THE VARIABLES ............................................................................................ 10

2.1 COACHING.................................................................................................................................... 10

2.2 STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE .......................................................... 11

2.3 MINDFULNESS ....................................................................................................................... 13

2.4 WORK LIFE BALANCE. ......................................................................................................... 14

2.5 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ...................................................................................................... 15

2.6 A POSITIVE WORKING LIFE. .................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................................................... 18

3.1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHING AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT................. 18

3.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK

PLACE AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT .................................................................................. 23

3.4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHARACTER STRENGTH AND WORK- LIFE

BALANCE ........................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

CASE STUDY............................................................................................................................................ 29

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 34

ii
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This write up focuses on a tool of enabling a positive working life. It consists of three chapters.
Chapter one will look at the introduction, background and purpose of the study, statement of
opportunity and conceptual framework. Chapter two will explain the variables, and chapter
three will look at the relationship between the variables and the conclusion.

1.1 BACKGROUND
Positive interventions will enhance flouring human resources and their wellbeing.
Organizations are presented with opportunities in terms of continuous change, and cultural
differences that requires constant efficiency and work life balance. When individuals are aided
to strike a balance between work demands and life/ family, we shall realize flourishing
employees who have managed to achieve work-life balance and the end result is job
satisfaction, employee engagement and increased productivity.

Jinja Municipality is Uganda's second biggest town and the former principal industrial centre of
Uganda. There is a total of 20 Primary Schools in Jinja Municipal Council all spread out in
different divisions within the municipality and a total of 430 qualified teachers. In 2016 and
2017, the overall performance of pupils had deteriorated greatly seeing a decline in PLE. This
caused parents not to enroll their children in government schools in the municipality. For
parents who could not afford private schools were not enrolling their children all together.

The decline in performance was greatly attributed to a laxity of teachers in carrying out their
duties arising from low morale and little to no commitment. Absent from duty without reason,
no lesson planning and schemes of work, irregular transfers, unfair promotions, unfair rewards
and recognition of performance, posting were made with disregard of places of residence of
teachers, Alcoholism among staff, Ungranted study leaves which means performance gaps.

It was not until the promotion of Ms. Mutesi Amina to the post of Principle Education Officer
that she brought back the department to its glory. She established that a lot of these problems
could be solved by strategies that catered and centered around teachers.

2
An intensive coaching session was introduced and teachers participated in turns each of them
tasked with filling in their performance plans for the year end.

Coaching and mentoring sessions to Head Teachers especially those from poor performing
schools. Free counselling was available at health centers for all teachers who needed it as well as
rehabilitation activities for those with alcohol problems.

Staff who wanted to go for further studies were encouraged to enroll for studies in line with the
work they performed with access to the Human Resource office who helped for guidance.

Transfers were now done based on need not disciplinary measure allowing an environment that
was challenging therein boosting morale and a self-drive workforce.

Teachers who were creative and exhibited a talent for music dance and drama, and sports were
also in schools with co-curricular activities.

Performance rewards were given based on merit and recognition was given to those who
excelled in form of certificates and gifts Infront of their peers

An open-door policy was introduced and all teachers regardless or rank, age, carder, position or
experience to always come and talk to her in case of any

Workshops were set up and teachers met financial advisors from institutes like Bay Port,
Centenary Bank, Housing Finance among others.

Loans with favorable rates were granted to all teachers who joined the join Jinja Teachers’
Cooperative Society which granted loans at favorable rates.

A Retention Benefit Scheme was introduced to the teachers which enabled them have a saving
of 10% whenever they opted to leave the Municipality.

Annual general meeting re-introduced where teachers and technical staff shared ideas and
experiences in managing of business outside work.

Staff house allocations were made first priority to those who stayed far away from school
premises.

3
Lessons were timetabled in a way that allowed teachers to teach in times that was convenient
for them.

A Clinical Officer was made available to any teacher who had fallen ill priority given to them
when they went to the health centers for medical attention.

By the end of 2018, pupil’s performance had greatly improved and the enrolment had also gone
up massively, enrolment had greatly gone to 70,154, PLE performance improved with a
passing percentage of 98.7%. Moral levels had greatly gone up and absenteeism had greatly
reduced as well.

The coaching, counselling and mentoring session had become such a success that private
Schools like Glory land Primary Schools were taking up the same for their workforce.

Teachers are self-motivated and driven in their duties as these strategies have allowed an
environment that has nurtured heath competition within the education department in the
municipality.

Organizations should develop strategies that enable employees balance work and family life for
a positive working life.

1.2 STATEMENT OF OPPORTUNITY

Organizations that promote a positive working life will have better performing employees. A
positive work life can be achieved if organizations use positive interventions that enhance
work-life balance.

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The study seeks to establish the relationship between coaching, mindfulness, strengths
development at the workplace, character strengths, work life balance and a positive working
life.

4
 1.4 CONCEPTUAL MODEL

COACHING

• Goal Striving
• Flourishing
• Mental Health

STRENGH
DEVELOPMENT

• Occupation fit
• Self-driven
• Challenging work EMPLOYEE POSITIVE WORKING LIFE
ENGAGEMENT
• Positive Attitude • Self-acceptance
• Commitment and • Positive relationship
MINDFULNESS Motivation • Personal growth
• Performance • Autonomy
• Applied Positive • Purpose of Life
Psychology
• Learned
Optimism

WORKLIFE BALANCE

• Family friendly
climate
• Flexible working
Hours
• Financial
Flexibility

1.5 EXPLANATION OF THE MODEL

Coaching leads to employee engagement, which leads to a positive working life. Strength
development leads to employee engagement, which then leads to a positive working life.
Mindfulness leads employee engagement, which then leads to a positive working life. Work life
balance at the work place leads to employee engagement, which then leads to positive working
life. Finally, employee engagement leads to a positive working life.

5
1.6 THE BEST PRACTICE IN RELATION TO THE MODEL.
In order to enable a positive working life, positive intervention should be utilised and
procedures should be put in place to support employees so that the individuals can flourish
when faced with hurdles.
Coaching. In our case study it can be seen that Teachers were having problems coping with
challenges in work and life. He developed an alcohol dependency. By using positive
intervention an intensive coaching session was introduced and teachers participated in turns
each of them tasked with filling in their performance plans for the year end allowing them to set
goals that were not only challenging but also self-articulated.

Ms. Mutesi Amina the Principle Education Officer offered coaching and mentoring sessions to
Head Teachers especially those from poor performing schools as a way to guiding them into
using their skills and knowledge to grow the school and manage the teachers as well and this is
still the case even today.

Free counselling was available at health centres for all teachers who needed it and those who
were having alcohol problems were advised to attend counselling partaking in rehabilitation
activities that helped staff improve their heath physically and mentally.

Staff who wanted to go for further studies were encouraged to enrol for studies in line with the
work they performed and they were allowed access the office of the Human Resource who
helped and guided them on the available positions and advise as far as their careers were
concerned.

Mindfulness. Is the psychological process of purposely bringing one's attention to experiences

occurring in the present moment without judgment, which one can develop through the
practice of meditation and through other training. The performance rewards were given to best
performing teachers and recognition was given to those who excelled in form of certificates and
gifts infront of their peers. The teachers themselves nominated who they thought was deserving
of these rewards which allowed a level of transparency in the process. Their engagement in this
process enabled them not only aspire to excel but also boosted their moral because they knew
their work was being recognised.

6
An open-door policy was introduced and all teachers regardless or rank, age, gender, position
or experience to always come and talk to her in case of any problem in-order for them to have
someone to talk to outside their immediate supervisors.

At the beginning of every academic year, workshops were set up and teachers met financial
advisors from institutes like Bay Port, Centenary Bank, Housing Finance among others. These
encourage them to do other business outside salaried job but give them tips on how to balance
the two of them.

Strength development. In the case study, we see that Staff who wanted to go for further studies
were encouraged to enrol for studies in line with the work they performed and they were
allowed access the office of the Human Resource who helped and guided them on the available
positions and advise as far as their careers were concerned.

The transfer policy was revamped and was only done based on need. Teachers who excelled in
particular subjects were posted to schools that needed them allowing. This allowed for a work
environment that was challenging therein boosting morale and a self-drive workforce.

Teachers who were creative and exhibited a talent for music dance and drama, and sports were
also in schools with co-curricular activities. This allowed them excel in their assignments
outside classroom activities.

Work-life Balance. Ms. Mutesi Amina the Principle Education Officer encourages management
to re-introduce the annual general meeting where teachers and technical staff. Most of the
technical staff had managed to find a balance between their projects outside work and the work
itself. By organising this get together a sharing of ideas and experiences would go a long way in
encouraging the teachers that they could do it as well.

Teachers who were staying far away from school premises were given first priority in staff
houses’ allocation and encouraged an environment where they can work without worrying
about their families. This ensured that the time they spent commuting to and from work to get
home was instead used more time to spend with their families and personal life.

Lessons were timetabled in a way that allowed teachers especially new mothers to teach in
times that was convenient for them. Which meant a teacher could have time to cater to their

7
families when not at school. As much as each of them was expected to be on school premises for
a stipulated number of hours in a week, this scheduling of lessons allowed for flexibility.
Because of this morale went up and teachers were not stressed out as they could schedule their
work at a time that was convenient for them.

At all Municipal Health Centres, a Clinical Officer was made available to any teacher who had
fallen ill or had any medial issue. They were to be given priority every time they went to the
health centres for medical attention. This practice continued through to the technical staff as
well.

Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always submitted to the District Service
Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the Commission removing the Education
Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing for transparency.

Employee engagement: As indicated in the case study, Teachers who were staying far away
from school premises were given first priority in staff houses’ allocation and encouraged an
environment where they can work without worrying about their families. This ensured that the
time they spent commuting to and from work to get home was instead used more time to spend
with their families and personal life.

Moral levels had greatly gone up and absenteeism had greatly reduced as well. The coaching,
counselling and mentoring session had become such a success that private Schools like Glory
land Primary Schools were taking up the same for their workforce.

At all Municipal Health Centres, a Clinical Officer was made available to any teacher who had
fallen ill or had any medial issue. They were to be given priority every time they went to the
health centres for medical attention. This practice continued through to the technical staff as
well.

Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always submitted to the District Service
Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the Commission removing the Education
Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing for transparency.

8
Teachers are self-motivated and driven in their duties as these strategies have allowed an
environment that has nurtured heath competition within the education department in the
municipality.

A positive working life: Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always
submitted to the District Service Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the
Commission removing the Education Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing
for transparency.

By the end of 2018, pupil’s performance had greatly improved and the enrolment had also gone
up massively.

At the beginning of 2019, the was an enrolment of 70,154 pupils and in the ended Primary
Leaving Examinations (P.L.E) Jinja Municipal Council having a passing percentage of 98.7%
emerging in the top 10 Municipalities in the country.

Moral levels had greatly gone up and absenteeism had greatly reduced as well. The coaching,
counselling and mentoring session had become such a success that private Schools like Glory
land Primary Schools were taking up the same for their workforce.

Teachers are self-motivated and driven in their duties as these strategies have allowed an
environment that has nurtured heath competition within the education department in the
municipality.

9
 CHAPTER TWO
EXPLANATION OF THE VARIABLES
2.1 COACHING
Coaching as a practice that is able to facilitate people to in the period of change to enhance goal
achievement, encourage development and support them to tackle change problems. Coaching
facilitate people providing them support and accelerating the process of setting and achieving
work-related goals (Megginson & Boydell 1979, Grant 2014). According to the opinions of
different Audet and Couteret 2012; Cox 2013; Bozer et al. 2013; Page and de Haan 2014),
coaching can promote sustainable organizational change.

Coaching is defined as a collaborative relationship formed between the coach and the coachee,
for the purpose of attaining professional and/or self development outcomes valued by the
coachee (Spence &Grant, 2007). For coaching to take place and also be achieved, an individual
must consider the following; Identify desired outcome, establish specific goals, identifying
strength building self efficacy, identifying resources and formulating action plans and lastly
monitoring, evaluating the progress and modifying action plans where necessary.

Coaching is becoming increasingly popular in today’s business environment (Hamlin et al.

2011); more and more organizations are using coaching as a means of improving performance,
developing skills and capability, facilitating leadership development, as well as career
managing.

Coaching regardless of the type whether internal or external, aims at improving one of the three
aspects; skills which is a short intervention, performance where it focuses on individual
performances. It can be for a few weeks or a year where one has to assess his performance by
strategizing the goals, overcome challenges, evaluate their performance towards a goal and
lastly, developmental coaching which aims broadly on strategic thinking and it is more of personal
and self development issues.

Goal Striving
Ms. Mutesi Amina the Principle Education Officer offered coaching and mentoring sessions to
Head Teachers especially those from poor performing schools as a way to guiding them into

10
using their skills and knowledge to grow the school and manage the teachers as well and this is
still the case even today.

Flourishing
Staff who wanted to go for further studies were encouraged to enrol for studies in line with the
work they performed and they were allowed access the office of the Human Resource who
helped and guided them on the available positions and advise as far as their careers were
concerned.

Mental Health
Free counselling was available at health centres for all teachers who needed it and those who
were having alcohol problems were advised to attend counselling partaking in rehabilitation
activities that helped staff improve their heath physically and mentally.

2.2 STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE

Strengths are the abilities to consistently produce to near perfect performance on a specific task.
Strengths are composed of;

Skills: the basic abilities to perform fundamental tasks, such as operating a particular piece of
machinery. Skills do not occur naturally-they must be acquired through formal or informal
training and practice.
Knowledge: an acquaintance with, and understanding of, facts and principles accumulated
through education or experience.
Talents: natural ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, such as an inner drive to compete,
sensitivity to the needs of others, or the tendency to be outgoing at social gatherings. Talents
come into existence naturally and cannot be acquired in the way one can obtain skills and
knowledge. Some aspects of personality are situation-dependent; an individual with low
conscientiousness can occasionally act in a conscientious manner. Similarly, many persons can
exhibit a degree of discipline when it is needed, but for most, it is not a reliable trait. Talents are
reliable, natural dispositional attributes of our personalities. There is growing evidence that
these stable traits begin to develop at relatively young ages {Low, Yoon, Roberts, & Rounds,
2005) and in some respects, it is those very relatively fixed talents that define an individual, in

11
that they represent the product of all the billions of choices and circumstances that brought him
or her to the present moment. These choices and the emotions associated with them lead to
measurable neurochemical changes {Levitin, 2006) that provide a scientific basis for why talents
do not change significantly over time. Individuals can develop a heightened self-awareness,
they can add knowledge and skills, and they can stabilize their values and beliefs as means of
developing their talents into strengths. A person's most powerful talents represent the best of
his or her natural self. Accordingly, these talents are the foundation on which a person finds the
best opportunities to perform at high levels of excellence. Dominant talents naturally appear
frequently and powerfully, in a variety of situations.
• A yearning can be described as an internal force that leads one to a particular activity or
environment time and again. For example, an interviewer in a call center may be drawn to
situations that allow him to exercise his competitive nature and measure his progress against
the performance of others.
• Rapid learning reveals talent through the speed at which one anticipates the steps of a new
activity, acquires a new skill, or gains new knowledge. An attorney who can intuitively see 1the
patterns emerge as she pieces together a complex case is likely operating from an area of natural
talent.
• Satisfaction is a positive emotional response to successfully meeting challenges that engage
one's greatest talents. Consider a teacher who not only masters the course material, but is able
to effectively communicate it to students in a way that helps them succeed and apply their
learning. These energizing experiences are often evidence of a dominant talent
at work.
• Timelessness can also serve as a clue to talent. Being engaged in an activity at a deep, natural
level can result in a lack of the sense of time passing. Great writers often share experiences
where they are so engaged in their work that several hours often pass without notice. This level
of engrossment in an activity often takes place when one is operating from an area of deep
natural talent.

Employees are Self-driven/motivated to accomplish something without an external reward.

For example, you may be self-driven to be the first person to arrive at work every day even
though it doesn't result in a raise or promotion.

12
Challenging work can be a great motivator, as it can keep employees engaged and interested in
their role. For many people, having to overcome some level of difficulty in their work is much
preferable to the boredom of an easy, unchallenging job. It’s easy to find yourself feeling less
than motivated in a challenging work environment, especially if you’re not doing something
that you love. A lack of motivation at work can cause you to become depressed and angry, and
it can suck away your creativity (Bakker, A.B. & Demerouti, E., 2014),

2.3 MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment,
while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used
as a therapeutic technique. This can purposefully be achieved by focusing our attention on the
present moment in a non judgmental way. Organizations today are confronted by challenges
brought about by continuous change, globalization, growing cultural differences and a constant
need for efficacy and efficiency. Given the above nature of activities, organizations need to
‘slow down’ in order to experience the benefits of mindfulness such as wellbeing, motivation
improvement of memory and when developed properly will positively impact on performance
in an organization. (Nielsen and Nielsen, 2015).

Mindfulness promotes an approach to the present that is more inclusive and authentic. It
provides the opportunity to ‘slow down’ and observe the full range of experiences as they truly
are. This in the end enables individuals to refine their ability to focus their attention to the
present moment. Research shows that when practiced regularly, mindfulness improves
memory, motivation creativity (Langer, 1997) and job satisfaction among other psychological
factors. Consider the example of the ‘cabinet maker’ in our tool. “A cabinet-maker is intent on
putting the finishing touches on a commissioned piece of furniture. They are feeling under great strain
and pressure, the deadline is looming and they are late. The 8 hours’ work remaining must be completed
in the 4 hours available. They are so overwhelmed and so hurried that they fail to realize their chisel has
become blunt”. Some people would be so engrossed in their work and are pressed for time. They
will end up making mistakes and producing poor quality work. Most managers do this when
faced with pressing deadlines. The ideal thing to do is stop, gather energy and thoughts return
to work and as a result, produce faster, cleaner and quality work. The same thing happens
when one is trying to balance work and family (The Teachers in the case study). One needs to

13
concentrate on the present moment in a non judgmental way in order to fully enjoy an inclusive
and authentic experience

Applied Positive Psychology

The performance rewards were given to best performing teachers and recognition was given to
those who excelled in form of certificates and gifts infront of their peers. The teachers
themselves nominated who they thought was deserving of these rewards which allowed a level
of transparency in the process. Their engagement in this process enabled them not only aspire
to excel but also boosted their moral because they knew their work was being recognised.
An open-door policy was introduced and all teachers regardless or rank, age, gender, position
or experience to always come and talk to her in case of any problem in-order for them to have
someone to talk to outside their immediate supervisors.
Learned Optimism
Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always submitted to the District Service
Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the Commission removing the Education
Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing for transparency.

2.4 WORK LIFE BALANCE.

Work-life balance, deals with not only maintaining a balance with the work one does, but also
giving enough time to handle socio-cultural obligations which if not given a chance will impact
the way work is done. If there is a state of inequity between work-life and personal-life, this
may create stress / work-family conflict, which will impact on an employee’s performance.
Work-life balance is the need to balance between an individual’s work and family life. Work-life
balance is can be achieved in the ways like: Create flexible leave policies, engage with your
community, Foster a healthy work environment, train your managers to help. Offer flexible
scheduling, create a family-friendly work environment, apply change management techniques,
and consider offering creative incentives. (Benders, J. G. J. M., 2011)

Family friendly climate

Teachers who were staying far away from school premises were given first priority in staff
houses’ allocation and encouraged an environment where they can work without worrying

14
about their families. This ensured that the time they spent commuting to and from work to get
home was instead used more time to spend with their families and personal life.

Flexible working Hours

Lessons were timetabled in a way that allowed teachers especially new mothers to teach in
times that was convenient for them. Which meant a teacher could have time to cater to their
families when not at school. As much as each of them was expected to be on school premises for
a stipulated number of hours in a week, this scheduling of lessons allowed for flexibility.
Because of this morale went up and teachers were not stressed out as they could schedule their
work at a time that was convenient for them.
At all Municipal Health Centres, a Clinical Officer was made available to any teacher who had
fallen ill or had any medial issue. They were to be given priority every time they went to the
health centres for medical attention. This practice continued through to the technical staff as
well.

Financial Flexibility
At the beginning of every academic year, workshops were set up and teachers met financial
advisors from institutes like Bay Port, Centenary Bank, Housing Finance among others. These
encourage them to do other business outside salaried job but give them tips on how to balance
the two of them

2.5 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Engagement can affect employees’ attitudes, absence and turnover levels and various
studies have demonstrated links with productivity, increasingly pointing to a high correlation
with individual, group and organizational performance, a success measured through the
quality of customer experience and customer loyalty (Hemsley Fraser, 2008, cited in The HR
Director, 2008; The Conference Board, 2006). Organisations with higher engagement levels tend
to have lower employee turnover, higher productivity, Higher total shareholder returns and
better financial performance (Baumruk, 2006). Towers Perrin (2007) found that organisations
with the highest percentage of engaged employees increased their operating income by 19 per
cent and their earnings per share by 28 per cent year to‐year. Highly engaging organisational
cultures may also have an attractive employer brand, being an employer of
15
choice, which attracts and retains the best talent (eg Martin and Hetrick, 2006). By building a cul
ture that enables employees to engage in their work, organisations may benefit from staff who a
re willing to go the extra mile and achieve better financial performance (Baumruk, 2006).
Commitment and Motivation
Moral levels had greatly gone up and absenteeism had greatly reduced as well. The coaching,
counselling and mentoring session had become such a success that private Schools like Glory
land Primary Schools were taking up the same for their workforce.
Performance
At all Municipal Health Centres, a Clinical Officer was made available to any teacher who had
fallen ill or had any medial issue. They were to be given priority every time they went to the
health centres for medical attention. This practice continued through to the technical staff as
well.
Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always submitted to the District Service
Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the Commission removing the Education
Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing for transparency.

Positive Attitude

Teachers are self-motivated and driven in their duties as these strategies have allowed an
environment that has nurtured heath competition within the education department in the
municipality.

2.6 A POSITIVE WORKING LIFE.

A positive working life will result in happier employees but also a more productive
organisation. A positive working life will result in people flourishing not only their work life
but also their personal life. As will be shown, it is often difficult to gain a complete
segmentation from work and life, so if one has a positive working life it will lead to a positive
personal life. Positive psychology focuses on subjective experiences contributing to the good
life, positive individual traits and institutions that enable both (Comtois, 2012). A positive work
life will enable individuals to gain meaning in their work through the use of successful positive
interventions that will be both individual and organisational enabled.

16
Self-acceptance, Positive relationship, Personal growth, Autonomy, Purpose of Life
Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always submitted to the District Service
Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the Commission removing the Education
Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing for transparency.

By the end of 2018, pupil’s performance had greatly improved and the enrolment had also gone
up massively.

At the beginning of 2019, the was an enrolment of 70,154 pupils and in the ended Primary
Leaving Examinations (P.L.E) Jinja Municipal Council having a passing percentage of 98.7%
emerging in the top 10 Municipalities in the country.

Moral levels had greatly gone up and absenteeism had greatly reduced as well. The coaching,
counselling and mentoring session had become such a success that private Schools like Glory
land Primary Schools were taking up the same for their workforce.

Teachers are self-motivated and driven in their duties as these strategies have allowed an
environment that has nurtured heath competition within the education department in the
municipality.

17
 CHAPTER THREE

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN VARAIBLES IN THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHING AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Coaching aims at improving the work-life balance of an individual through establishing a
flourishing environment both psychologically and socially

In relation to our case, we see that teachers were going through rough times both at work and
life outside work, but after introducing the coaching intervention (internal coaching) by the
Principle Distrcit Education Officer Ms. Mutesi Amina, and rehabilitation process (external
coaching) as the organizational policy, they were able to improve from languishing to
flourishing both at work and family life. This means that when coaching intervention was
administered to the teachers, the concept of character strength was realized which enabled the
teachers to be transferred to other schools as well as being promoted to the job that were
matching with their interests and abilities thus enabling the teachers to perform better, and
earning the average income that was fair enough to take care of their family thus gaining a
work-life balance.

When explaining the relation between Coaching dimensions and work-life balance dimensions,
other areas of focus will be mental health, Goal Striving, flourishing and how they relate with
to boundary management strategies, organizational initiatives and individual coping strategies
of work-life balance.

Mental health and employee engagement

Mental health element is explained as the degree of psychological well-being, including how
much autonomy, self- acceptance, positive relations with others, purpose in life and personal
growth that is reflected by a person (Keyes 2003), boundary management strategies are simply
practices or principles that people use to separate and organize role demands and expectations
into specific realm of home and work.(Nippert-Eng,1996).

18
Coaching intervention allows individuals to learn coping mechanisms that will allow them to
be able to perform highly as well as being able to practice boundary management by separating
work and family roles (segmentation) or one being able to manage both work and family at the
same time in terms of resources (boundary integration) thus achieving work-life balance.

Goal Striving and employee engagement

According to Seldom and Ellian, (1999), they described goal striving as the extent to which an
individual set and strive for goals that are consistent with his/her interests and core values.
This is also reflected through application of positive psychology where individuals after
embracing the coaching method, and perceive it positively, they are able to recover their
strength through gaining self regulations efficacy and professional/personal development to
pursuit their own goals, as seen in our case for the teachers.

Organizational initiatives are friendly organizational programmes and policies in an effort to

help individuals cope with the demands of balancing work and family. These initiatives include
flexible schedules, and compressed work hours. (Frye &Breaugh, 2004; Sutton & Noe, 2005).

The above notions explain that an individual who sets and strives for goals that are in line with
his/her interests is able to cope with the Organizational initiatives put in place to help him/her
to perform better and flourish at both work and family demands thus being able to have work-
life balance.
Flourishing and Employee Engagement.
Undoubtedly, working conditions and the demands of the workplace can exert a direct
influence on their flourishing, and this influence will be conditioned by the degree or content of
certain personal values. Working in such an absorbing labor context, as described in this paper,
requires an important degree of generosity and altruism. Therefore, it is logical to think that the
work engagement and flourishing relationship is intensified among those nuns who prioritize
collective welfare (social justice, equity, peace, honesty, i.e., self-transcendence) over their own
personal interests (self-enhancement). This circumstance suggests that values can play a
moderating role in the work engagement and flourishing relationship.

19
Flourishing is the state of well-being psychologically and socially, and this takes us back to
mental health dimension where one with high levels of mental health is believed to be doing
well

Individual coping strategies are individual initiatives or practices that an employee uses in
order to be able to balance work and family. And these are explained in a model named SOC
(meaning selection, optimization and compensation).

Selection means setting goals and categorizing them into immediate needs (short term goals)
long term goals as it was in the case of the Teachers and the Headmasters, optimization is the
change in the allocation or redesigning of resources in order to achieve your desired goals and
compensation is the using alternative means to maintain the desired level of functioning. This
means that when an individual is in the state of well being, their mental health is high and is
able to function in line with the individual coping strategies that emphasizes one to be able to
select the short- and long-term goals, optimize the resources available and lastly compensate
with what is available. The end result is work-life balance.

3.2 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MINDFULNESS AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT.

In explaining the relation between mindfulness and employee engagement, we shall focus on
how flow, learned optimism, time perspective, stress reduction, relate with/to boundary
management strategies, organizational initiatives and individual coping strategies of work-life
balance.

3.2.1 Applied Positive Psychology and Employee engagement.

Interventions in positive psychology are a core method for affecting change in the target
individual and may be a key element of employee engagement’s foundation in positive
psychology. Interventions are a fundamental method of provoking wanted change in the target

20
individual. The basis of positive interventions is to assist the individual in identifying what they
desire and then providing tactics and tools to assist them in achieving the outcome they desire.

Applied Positive psychology is dedicated to the idea of the individual getting more of what
they want out of life versus the mainstream of psychology, which, as pointed out earlier, has
focused on the deficit side of the equation in an effort to mitigate and reduce what we do not
want in life.

Positive interventions are undertakings in which a person engages to improve their own sense
of well-being, and in our case increasing the singular elements that make up the higher
constructs of psychology Capital and thriving that can lead to an increased level of employee
engagement. The individual may act either on his or her own or in a coached manner. Positive
interventions find their grounding in the Aristotelian concept of virtue in achieving the Greek
ideal of eudemonia (Melchert, 2002).

Aristotle discusses virtue and that being a virtuous person is what will make a person a happy
person. In virtue Aristotle says we discover ethics and knowing what to do and how to live.
He states that virtue is or can be a learned experience (Melchert, 2002). The happiness of virtue
can only be achieved through an active engagement in pursuit of this excellence, as happiness is
not possible without this excellence (Melchert, 2002).

To develop excellence one must choose to develop a supportive habit in much the way William
James and Aristotle prescribe. Aristotle says the difference between natural tendency and habit
is that in nature one has a pre-determined fixed repetition, and in habits we actively acquire the
repetition (J. Pawelski, personal communication, Sept. 2014). Making the choice to act in
appropriate ways, and to intentionally practice these behaviors, leads to these decision making
habits being repeatable (Melchert, 2002). In this sense a positive intervention needs to focus on
the creation of positive habits, not the amelioration of the negative habits. For an intervention
to be considered positive it must focus on the growth of the good elements in life.

For an intervention to be positive it must intend to increase elements of well-being by

cultivating things such as pleasant affect, strengths, relationships, meaning and our sense of
purpose (J. Pawelski, personal communication, Sept. 2014).

21
A positive intervention is defined as an evidenced-based, empirically tested, intentional act
designed to provide the target with increased well-being, operating in a non-clinical manner to
enhance or augment positive feelings that supports flourishing (J. Pawelski, personal
communication, Sept. 2014). Further the definition of a successful positive intervention is based
on the components from which they are synthesized. If these elements are combined in the
proper manner, then the creation of a positive intervention for the driving of change of habits is
possible.

3.2.2 Learned optimism and employee engagement.

Learned Optimism is a source to create the best environment towards the completion of
organizational objectives. Due to optimistic piece of thinking the employees perform well with
heartedly and makethem able to make best performance (Bajah, 1979). Every business
organization laid stress on thegood relationship among the employees and also towards
employees. The good leadership styledevelops the level of performance of the employees
through motivation and creating the competitiveenvironment (Wilson, 2001).
The employees engage with on another during their job hours to ensure the commitment and
manage their work to make the better performance (Bhatti, Nawaz, Ramzan, & Ullah, 2017),
every business organization laid stress to adopt the best attitude towards the customers for the
completion of their common goals.
Teacher’s job performance is regarded as educational reforms throughout the world. It infuses
on sense of accountability and honor to work hard during job hours and based on the teacher’s
optimism and work engagement. It imposes behavioral patterns that keep in line with the
nature of work. Optimism and work management provides opportunities for teachers to
acquire autonomy and responsibilities. Optimistic ability leads to task accomplishment, from
practitioners’ point of view it is one of the managerial characteristic (Javed, Ahmad, Nawaz, &
Sajid, 2016) which influence job performance positively. Teachers’ optimism highlights to
achieve a range of benefits accruing to the institution and participants, including: improvement
of the job performance, lower absence rate for teachers and doing daily work effectively.
Performance of teachers also focuses on achieving a privileged position for the organization to
create the competitiveness environment, engagement in solving problems.

22
3.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORK PLACE
AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
The relationship between strength development in a work place and engagement shall focus on,
how strength assessment, application of strength-based development, application of strengths
in a work place, relate to boundary management strategies, organizational initiatives and
individual coping strategies of employee engagement.

3.3.1 Occupation fit and employee engagement.

Strength assessment involves identifying areas where an individual’s greatest potential for
building strengths exist. By identifying one’s top themes of talent, strength finder helps in the
identification of specific personal talent. When an individual’s talents are identified, and built
upon to develop into strengths within their roles.

Occupation fit emphasizes the match between individual knowledge, skills, abilities, and job
requirements (Zhou et al., 2011). An employee whose personal values fit better with the values
of their job description show higher levels of citizenship behavior Since innovation behavior is a
purely discretionary citizenship behavior, not mandated in formal job descriptions and roles,
the effect of person–job fit on innovation behavior warrants exploration. (Zhao and Han, 2016).
Afsar et al. (2015) and Lin and Ding (2017), respectively, adopted the perspective of innovative
self-efficacy and innovation trust to explore the link between person occupation fit and
behavior, indicating that there are multiple interpretations of this relationship. Zhao and Han
(2016) contend that employees who fit well with their job requirements have enough resources
to devote to their work, which enhances work motivation and increases job involvement.
Furthermore, where such employees are involved in the creative process, they can more
effectively identify problems or challenges and gather information, before then proposing more
efficient solutions. However, scholars have not yet theoretically modeled the relationship
between person occupation fit, job involvement, and innovation behavior. Zhang and Long’s
(2013) empirical study found that the relationship between person occupation fit and its
outcomes is influenced by individual factors and results in an incomplete conclusion if we
neglect such contingency factors. According to identity theory (Stets and Serpe, 2013),

23
employees with low levels of career commitment can be expected to display low levels of job
involvement and innovation behavior because they tend to exhibit less positive work attitudes
and behavior in general (Duffy et al., 2011; Pei and Zhao, 2015), which is not conducive to
optimizing organizational performance. Therefore, the role of career commitment must be taken
seriously. Blau (2009) contends that career commitment is becoming a better predictor of
employees’ attitudes and behaviors because it reflects behavioral choices of employees in
today’s unstable labor force. In particular, with increased levels of education, flexibility, and
mobility among employees, the organization is no longer an employee’s only commitment in
the workplace; rather, other forms of commitment, such as career commitment, are becoming
increasingly important (Cohen, 2011). Therefore, this study’s second aim is to test career
commitment as a moderator in the relationship of person–job fit with job involvement and
innovation behavior.

In relation to boundary management strategies, when an individual identifies their strengths,

they are able to draw clear boundaries between work roles and family roles. Employee
Engagement refers to “the individual’s involvement and satisfaction with as well as enthusiasm
for work”. Typically, employee engagement is comprised of both job and organizational
engagement. Job engagement focuses on “a psychological state of fulfillment with one’s task at
work” and organizational engagement focuses on “a multidimensional motivational concept
reflecting the simultaneous investment of an individual’s physical, cognitive, and emotional
energy in active, full work performance”. Work engagement is defined as “a positive, fulfilling,
work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption.

3.3.2 Self-driven and employee engagement.

The study shows an autonomy-supportive leader will: provide opportunities for staff to make
their own choices and have input into decisions; encourage self-initiated behaviors within
structured guidance and boundaries; and show interest in their perspective and demonstrate
empathic concern while avoiding controls that restrain autonomy or sanctions or rewards.

24
Autonomy support leads to positive outcomes like intrinsic motivation, wellness, engagement
and more committed and loyal employees, no matter the national culture. Managers who
encourage staff to take more control over their workflow by putting them in the driver's seat
find themselves with more competent and connected teams with motivated, engaged, high-
performing and loyal employees (Avolio and Luthans,2006).

The overall message of the Self-Driven Employee Engagement is that meaningful engagement is
achievable when leaders understand what drives their employees on an individual level.
Human resources leaders need to focus on educating all managers to create an environment
that respects individual needs and embraces self-leadership.
As employees become more engaged, they find their work more meaningful, Self -fulfilling and
inspirational and in turn, performance (Park and Gursoy, 2012). Personal traits (e.g., Self -
efficacy) due to their motivational potential are, considered to be important antecedents of work
Engagement (Tim et al., 2011).

3.3.3 Challenging work and employee engagement

This is where the employee often tends to find that challenging work is rewarding and more so,
when they are recognized for their contributions. It is no longer enough for employers to
increase the pay packages and expect the employee to do the same work over and over again.

As can be seen from the points made so far, once employees reach a state where they find that
challenging work and fulfilling work is more important than pay and perks, they tend to find
jobs that cater to these aspects.

It is no wonder that many middle level executives often quit big organizations and launch
startups or join other companies in the senior management positions because one, for pay, and
more importantly the other reason is that they have reached a stage where their need for
fulfillment is more.

It is also the case that many junior employees and especially those fresh out of college or in their
twenties favor startups and other companies for the kind of work that is being offered rather
than solely for pay and benefits.

25
This is a clear indication to the current generation of Human Resource experts that pay and
benefits are not the only motivators. This is the reason why many organizations identify
employees’ early on as high potentials and fast trackers wherein they are monitored and
mentored for higher responsibilities because the Human Resource managers and the line
managers see the potential in these employees as well as the innate need for fulfillment that
these employees have. The reason for such preferential treatment is that when two employees at
the same level are compared, it is often found that those in the category mentioned earlier tend
to add more value to the company than the latter.

3.4 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND WORK-LIFE

BALANCE.
Work life balance is about attaining a balance between the demands of work and those of one’s
social demands. Work life balance looks using boundary management theories, organization
facilitated work life balance and individual strategies to gain a positive working life.

3.4.1 Performance and work life balance

Work life balance can be achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and
outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of individual,
business and society. Thus, Work life balance accumulate decisive importance during
assessment of Quality of Work life of employees which describe the quality of relationship
between employees and working environment. Again, working environment aspects are the
major determinants of overall Quality of Life of employees.
The relationship between work-life balance practices and work engagement can be explained
using the social exchange theory (Blau, 1964). This theory states that when employers provide
care and opportunities for their employees, these employees will show certain attitudes and
behaviors. More specifically, when employees receive favorable treatment they reciprocate,
which in turn leads to beneficial outcomes for both employers and employees (Eisenberger,
Stinglhamber, Vandenberghe, Sucharski, & Rhoades, 2002).

26
3.4.2 Performance and work life balance
Bloom & Van Reenen (2006) assert that firms adopting better work life balance policies are the
ones who enjoy the benefits accruing to the concept. Paryani (2014) opined that work life
policies can improve the level of job satisfaction and increase organizational commitment
among their employees. work life balance policies are usually referred to in practice as ‘flexible
working’ having different forms of operations such as: Part-time working, job sharing, term-
time working, shift working, annualized hours, compressed hours, teleporting/e-working,
home working, career breaks, study leave, zero hours contracts and V-Time (Paryani, 2014). The
essence of the work time policies is to ensure there is a balance between employment and non-
work duties that are beneficial to both the employer and employee with the most effective
policies being those established after a dialogue between the employer and employee (Ojo,
Falola & Mordi, 2014). A number of scholars have different categories in which they classify the
work life balance policies. Morgan & Milliken (1992) classified them into three: The provision of
careers’ arrangements, alternative work arrangements and offsite working arrangements. Lobel
& Kossek (1996) categorized the concept under four categories based on time based, information
based, money based and direct services. Glass & Finley (2002) also named three classifications
of the work life balance policies as: Parental leave, alternative work arrangements and employer
supported child care. The successful formulation, execution and implementation of WLB
policies usually rely on the awareness of top management and the organization’s culture. In
recent times, there has been a concise and encompassing view of the WLB initiative. Oludayo,
Gberevbie, Popoola & Omonijo (2015) broadly mentioned the initiatives according to the
challenges employees face which include: Time usage policies as expressed by flextime,
telecommuting, job sharing and part-time work; Leave policies in organizations to cover paid
and unpaid leaves for childbirth, the care of young and other matters of importance requiring
personal attention; Dependent care policies which covers resource and referral services to
support child or elder care and; Counselling and Wellness initiative which include assistance
programmers (EAP), wellness programmers, financial counselling, relocation counselling,
educational seminars at the workplace on balancing work and family life, peer support groups,
training for supervisors to help them be more attuned to the work-family problems of
employees. All these initiatives are been classified under the formal and informal support
policies.
27
3.4.3 Commitment, Motivation and Work life balance

Quality of work-life balance depends upon job satisfaction, human relations, development, and
promotion, working conditions, compensation, grievance and stress (Subrahmanian & Anjani,
2010). A few of the demographic variables were also related to work–family climate, specifically
flexible time expectations. Managers who reported greater flexibility in their time expectations
were, on average, older, more likely to have children, and had a longer tenure in the industry
(Behav, 2009). Vloeberghs (2000) examined the direct and indirect effects of work life balance
(WLB) practices on multiple stakeholder outcomes in hospitals. Results indicate that greater use
of WLB practices enhances outcomes for hospitals, their employees and the patients they care
for. Muse et al. (2008) results revealed that providing work-life benefits that employees use
and/or value is part of a positive exchange between the employee and employer, whereby both
parties can benefit. Choudhry (2011) tested the relationship between work-life balance and
organizational commitment and found significant positive relationship between work life
conflict and employee performance.

3.5 Conclusion

Positive interventions enable individuals to focus more on what he/she values. By using the
positive interventions mentioned above and individual will be able to live a more integrated life
between work and family and thus have a more positive working life. By being able to
integrate, getting a better work life balance an individual will be able to use core strengths,
develop those strengths through coaching and mindfulness which will give one a more positive
working life. The fact today’s work and life are becoming integrated, it calls for greater work
life balance in order to gain a positive working life.

Organizational structure and processes are a significant predictive factor in determining work-
life balance. The consequential factors like Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Quality of
Working Life and Organizational Success provide the organization a feedback on the attitude
and behavior exhibited by employees as a result of its various policies. ( Das& Akhilesh, 2012).

28
CASE STUDY
HOW POSITIVE INTERVENTIONS IMPACTED PERFROMANCE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL
IN JINJA MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

Jinja Municipality is Uganda's second biggest town and the former principal industrial centre of
Uganda. There is a total of 20 Primary Schools in Jinja Municipal Council all spread out in
different divisions within the municipality and a total of 430 qualified teachers.

In 2016 and 2017, it was noted that the overall performance of pupils had deteriorated greatly
seeing a decline in PLE. Because of this parent were not enrolling their children in government
schools in the municipality and opting for private schools.

For parents who could not afford to take their children to private schools, they not enrolling
their students all together as they saw this as a waste of time. This had led to an increase in the
number of children who were appearing in town on school days selling food staffs and other
merchandise in the markets on school days.

The decline in performance was greatly attributed to a laxity of teachers in carrying out their
duties arising from low morale and little to no commitment.

Majority of them were always absent without justifiable cause or permission which left pupils
especially those of lower classes without teachers in the later time of the day. Those teachers
that bothered to show up were always late and never prepared to teach the pupils. They had no
lessons plans, schemes of work and never cared about their performances or how it impacted
their jobs.

The head teachers who were supposed to be heading the schools were instead always involved
in conflicts not only with their teachers but also management as they felt they were not being
heard.

Complaining about their low wages, most teachers were engaging in other businesses like
market vending and boda-boda business which meant they had little time for pupils at schools
and they would only be seen in class.

29
Transfers were being done in the middle of the academic year as a way to discipline teachers
which meant each term teachers were being tasked to handle different group of pupils each
time.

In addition, teachers complained that they were posted to schools that were so far away from
their places of residence making it hard to get to school on time. In case of family emergencies,
they were always absent and pupils were left unattended to.

Alcoholism became rampant especially by the male teachers who were showing up in class
drunk or found sleeping on the school compounds completely intoxicated had become a daily
affair.

Promotions and rewards were being granted unfairly. They never based on merit and always
seemed to cater to one school, Victoria Nile Primary School which only increased the discontent
among staff.

Study leaves were never granted as applications were always being misplaced in the Education
Office. Because of this, staff were leaving stations without permission which meant pupils were
being left unattended to.

Jinja Municipal Council had promoted Ms. Mutesi Amina, as a Principle Education Officer and
her major task was ensuring that she brought back the department to its glory. She knew she
had a lot to do in order for the culture to change in the department. She had done a survey and
established that a lot of these problems could be solved by strategies that catered and centred
on teachers. She met the head teachers in the municipality urging them that a lot had to change
for performance to improve. Together they analysed these problems and came up with
strategies that could be used.

An intensive coaching session was introduced and teachers participated in turns each of them
tasked with filling in their performance plans for the year end allowing them to set goals that
were not only challenging but also self-articulated.

She offered coaching and mentoring sessions to Head Teachers especially those from poor
performing schools as a way to guiding them into using their skills and knowledge to grow the
school and manage the teachers as well and this is still the case even today.

30
Free counselling was available at health centres for all teachers who needed it and those who
were having alcohol problems were advised to attend counselling partaking in rehabilitation
activities that helped staff improve their heath physically and mentally.

Staff who wanted to go for further studies were encouraged to enrol for studies in line with the
work they performed and they were allowed access the office of the Human Resource who
helped and guided them on the available positions and advise as far as their careers were
concerned.

The transfer policy was revamped and was only done based on need. Teachers who excelled in
particular subjects were posted to schools that needed them allowing. This allowed for a work
environment that was challenging therein boosting morale and a self-drive workforce.

Teachers who were creative and exhibited a talent for music dance and drama, and sports were
also in schools with co-curricular activities. This allowed them excel in their assignments
outside classroom activities.

The performance rewards were given to best performing teachers and recognition was given to
those who excelled in form of certificates and gifts infront of their peers. The teachers
themselves nominated who they thought was deserving of these rewards which allowed a level
of transparency in the process. Their engagement in this process enabled them not only aspire
to excel but also boosted their moral because they knew their work was being recognised.

An open-door policy was introduced and all teachers regardless or rank, age, gender, position
or experience to always come and talk to her in case of any problem in-order for them to have
someone to talk to outside their immediate supervisors.

At the beginning of every academic year, workshops were set up and teachers met financial
advisors from institutes like Bay Port, Centenary Bank, Housing Finance among others. These
encourage them to do other business outside salaried job but give them tips on how to balance
the two of them.

They were advised to join Jinja Teachers’ Cooperative Society which granted loans at favourable
rates. There was also the Jinja Municipal Council Cooperative Society where teachers were now
allowed to join and enjoy the benefits of getting quick and fast loans at an affordable rate with

31
favourable terms and conditions. Loans from these Society are not tied to salary alone but also
allowances.

A Retention Benefit Scheme that was introduced to Technical Staff was extended to the
teachers’ end of 2017. A 5% contribution was made from their salary, the Municipal Council
would contribute 5% to it meaning the teacher had a saving of 10% available to them whenever
they opted to leave the Municipality. This meant staff would have a lot more benefits in
addition to their mandatory retirement benefits. Even though this scheme is optional for
teachers, many opted to take it up as they understood it would be of much help in the long run

She encourages management to re-introduce the annual general meeting where teachers and
technical staff. Most of the technical staff had managed to find a balance between their projects
outside work and the work itself. By organising this get together a sharing of ideas and
experiences would go a long way in encouraging the teachers that they could do it as well.

Teachers who were staying far away from school premises were given first priority in staff
houses’ allocation and encouraged an environment where they can work without worrying
about their families. This ensured that the time they spent commuting to and from work to get
home was instead used more time to spend with their families and personal life.

Lessons were timetabled in a way that allowed teachers especially new mothers to teach in
times that was convenient for them. Which meant a teacher could have time to cater to their
families when not at school. As much as each of them was expected to be on school premises for
a stipulated number of hours in a week, this scheduling of lessons allowed for flexibility.
Because of this morale went up and teachers were not stressed out as they could schedule their
work at a time that was convenient for them.

At all Municipal Health Centres, a Clinical Officer was made available to any teacher who had
fallen ill or had any medial issue. They were to be given priority every time they went to the
health centres for medical attention. This practice continued through to the technical staff as
well.

Teachers who qualified and deserved promotions were always submitted to the District Service
Commission for consideration. Discretion was left to the Commission removing the Education
Department from the recruitment procedure and allowing for transparency.
32
By the end of 2018, pupil’s performance had greatly improved and the enrolment had also gone
up massively.

At the beginning of 2019, the was an enrolment of 70,154 pupils and in the ended Primary
Leaving Examinations (P.L.E) Jinja Municipal Council having a passing percentage of 98.7%
emerging in the top 10 Municipalities in the country.

Moral levels had greatly gone up and absenteeism had greatly reduced as well. The coaching,
counselling and mentoring session had become such a success that private Schools like Glory
land Primary Schools were taking up the same for their workforce.

Teachers are self-motivated and driven in their duties as these strategies have allowed an
environment that has nurtured heath competition within the education department in the
municipality.

Organizations should develop strategies that enable employees balance work and family life for
a positive working life.

33
 REFERENCES
Audet, J., & Couteret, P. (2012). Coaching the entrepreneur: features and success factors. Journal
of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 19(3), 515–531. Doi:
10.1108/14626001211250207.

Bakker, A.B. and Demerouti, E. (2014), “Job demands-resources theory”, in Cooper, C. and
Chen, P. (Eds), Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, pp. 37-64.

Bakker, A.B. and Van Woerkom, M (2018), “Stregnt use in Organizations: A positive approach
of occupational health. Canadain Psychology, 59, 38-46”,

Baumruk R (2006), ʹWhy managers are crucial to increasing engagementʹ, Strategic HR Review,
January/February

Berg, I. K., & Szabo, P. (2005). Brief coaching for lasting solutions. New York: Norton

Bozer, G., Sarros, J., & Santora, J. (2013). The role of coachee characteristics in executive
coaching for effective
sustainability. Journal of Management Development, 32(3), 277–294. Doi:
10.1108/02621711311318319

Clifton, D. O, & Harter, J.K (2003). Strength investment. In K.S Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R.E.
Quinn (Eds.), Positive Organizational scholarship (pp. 111-121). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Comotis K., Positive Psychology and Work-Life Integration: The Mutually Satisfying
Relationship (2012), Pennsylvania.

Cox, E. (2013). Coaching understood. A pragmatic inquiry into the coaching process (1st ed.).
London: Sage Publications Ltd

(Cskszentmihalyi & LeFevre, J. (1989). Optimal experience in work and leisure. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 56 (5), 815-822)

Delle Fave, A., & Massimini, F. (2003).Optimal experience in work and leisure among teachers
and physicians. Leisure studies, 22, 323-342.
34
Delle Fave, A., & Massimini, F. (2003). Bringing subjectivity into focus: Optimal experience, life
themes and person-centred rehabilitation. In P.A Linely & S. Joseph, Positive psychology in
practice (pp. 581-597). Hoboken, NJ Wiley.

Keyes, C., L. M. (2003). Complete mental health: An agenda for the 21st century. In C.L.M Keyes
& J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and the life well-lived (pp. 293-290). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association

Kilburg, R. R (1996). Toward a conceptual understanding and definition of executive coaching.

Consulting psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 48 (2), 65-72.

Langer, E. J (1997). The power of mindful learning. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley.

Linley P., Harrington S, Garcea N., Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work (2010),
Oxford University Press

Nielsen, M. B., and Nielsen, G. H. (2015). The impact of group-based mindfulness training on
self-reported mindfulness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mindfulness 6, 501–522.

Page, N., & de Haan, E. (2014). Does executive coaching work? Psychologist, 27(8), 582–586

Spence, G.B (2007). Further development of evidence - based coaching. Lessons from the rise
and fall of human potential movement. Austalian Psychologist, 42 (2), 255-265.

Van Woerkom, M., Bakker, A. B., & Nishii, L. H. (2016). Accumulative job demands and
support for strength use: Fine‐tuning the job demands‐resources model using conservation of
resources theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101, 141–150

www.rescueinstitute.org/feeds/338/coaching-in-the-workplace/ (2015)

www.viacharacter.org (2015)

Nielsen, M. B., and Nielsen, G. H. (2015). The impact of group-based mindfulness training on
self-reported mindfulness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mindfulness 6, 501–522.

35