Wellbeing Futures: Innovation, Policy and Research

Vol. 2 (2026)
Articles

Reconceptualizing Workforce Wellbeing: The Dynamic Workforce Wellbeing Model

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  • Pamayla E. Darbyshire
Pamayla E. Darbyshire
College of Doctoral Studies, University of Phoenix, AZ, USA, 4035 S. Riverpoint Parkway, Phoenix, AZ 85040

Published 2026-09-26

Keywords

  • Systems theory,
  • Dynamic capabilities theory,
  • Dynamic Workforce Wellbeing Model
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Reconceptualizing Workforce Wellbeing: The Dynamic Workforce Wellbeing Model. (2026). Wellbeing Futures: Innovation, Policy and Research, 2, 36-46. https://doi.org/10.65638/2978-882X.2026.2.04

Abstract

Workforce wellbeing is often conceptualized as an individual experience or as the outcome of discrete organizational practices. This paper offers a systems-oriented reconceptualization through the Dynamic Workforce Wellbeing Model (DWWM), which conceptualizes workforce wellbeing as an emergent organizational condition arising through the interaction of five organizational capabilities: adaptive leadership, organizational trust, learning and development, meaningful work, and organizational resilience. Drawing on systems theory, dynamic capabilities theory, and organizational wellbeing scholarship, the DWWM integrates these established capabilities within a framework that emphasizes interdependence, reciprocal relationships, feedback, and adaptation over time. The model does not propose five new determinants of wellbeing; rather, its theoretical contribution lies in explaining how relationships among established organizational capabilities may shape the conditions through which workforce wellbeing develops, is constrained, and is sustained. Four conceptual propositions specify expected relationships among the capabilities, the potential importance of their interaction, variation across organizational contexts, and the role of organizational resources in shaping capability–wellbeing relationships. The paper also identifies boundary conditions and potential unintended consequences, including work intensification and wellbeing washing. As a theory-based conceptual framework, the DWWM provides a basis for future longitudinal, multilevel, and mixed-methods research examining how organizational capabilities interact and how workforce wellbeing develops as an emergent condition of the organizational system.

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