Employee voice, participatory leadership and organisational wellness in Bahraini service organisations: a SEAM-Informed multi-case study

Purpose This paper examines how participatory leadership may translate organisational wellness intentions into employee voice, work-system diagnosis and inclusive employee-relations practice in Bahraini service organisations. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports a SEAM-informed qualitative multi-case study based on 32 semi-structured interview records from eight Bahraini service organisations and one contextual HR expert interview. Template analysis and cross-case comparison were used to examine senior, middle-management and junior employee accounts. Findings Participatory leadership emerged in participants' accounts as an organisational translation capability expressed through four mechanisms: trust-building dialogue, role and workload clarification, motivational support and inclusive translation. These patterns were strongest where managers linked voice to diagnosis, negotiated priorities and visible follow-through; they were weaker where participation remained symbolic or where managers lacked authority to change work conditions. Research limitations/implications The study is analytically rather than statistically generalisable. The Bahrain-based cases illuminate how hierarchy, multicultural workforces and status differences shape employee voice and wellness, while indicating propositions for future comparative research. Practical implications The findings suggest a set of SEAM-informed participatory routines that organisations may use to surface dysfunctions, clarify action responsibility, review hidden human and operational costs and check whether support reaches differently positioned workers. These are findings-derived implications rather than a validated intervention or causal framework. Social implications Inclusive participatory leadership may help organisations examine whether wellness support reaches employees across different role levels, locations, schedules and status positions, thereby drawing attention to practical inequalities in access to organisational support. Originality/value The paper extends employee relations research by positioning participatory leadership as a SEAM-informed translation capability that connects employee voice, socio-economic diagnosis, motivational resources and organisational wellness.