Well-being as a lever for competitiveness: employee needs and organisational innovation – a case study

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to integrate two usually separate lenses – enterprise competitiveness and employee well-being – into one analytical framework. Competitiveness is operationalized through specific organizational innovations classified according to the Oslo Manual (2018), while well-being is conceptualized using Martin Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model and empirically grounded in employees’ stated needs. The theoretical foundations are drawn from positive psychology and strategic human resource management. Design/methodology/approach: An anonymous PERMA-based online survey (April 2025) yielded 49 usable replies from 139 invited office employees. The instrument combined 10-point Likert items with open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics, inter-item correlations and Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.91) confirmed internal consistency. The analysis identified which PERMA dimensions required the greatest support and, on that basis, matched the revealed needs with organisational-innovation. The resulting set of innovations is intended to address the priority well-being gaps while simultaneously enhancing the firm’s competitive advantage. Findings: The study shows that employees rate sense of purpose and awareness of personal strengths highest (mean = 7.9 on a 1-10 scale). The lowest scores concern the ability to engage co-workers (6.5) and regulation of negative emotions (6.7). Fully 96 % of respondents believe that raising well-being will directly enhance the firm’s competitiveness. Open-ended comments most often mention the need for better stress-management techniques, practical opportunities to use talents and a more systematic, goal-oriented work style. These gaps were mapped onto the four organisational-innovation types defined in the Oslo Manual (2018): workplace organisation, business practices, external relations, knowledge management. Research limitations/implications: The study is confined to a single organisation, relies on one-time data collection and uses employee self-assessment measures. Triangulation with complementary data sources is therefore advisable. Future work should adopt longitudinal designs and hard performance indicators to track post-implementation effects of the proposed innovations. Practical implications: The recommended innovations are expected to boost employee engagement, retention and creativity, thereby improving process efficiency and strengthening the company’s employer brand. Social implications: Fostering a well-being culture may translate into healthier lifestyle habits among employees and reinforce the organisation’s social-responsibility profile.