Towards an increase in employee well-being in warehouses: insights from a qualitative study.

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Title: Towards an increase in employee well-being in warehouses: insights from a qualitative study.
Authors: Cretskens, Ilse1 (AUTHOR) Ilse.Cretskens@uhasselt.be, Ramaekers, Katrien1 (AUTHOR), Van Laer, Koen2 (AUTHOR), Caris, An1 (AUTHOR)
Source: International Journal of Production Research. Mar2026, Vol. 64 Issue 5, p1709-1730. 22p.
Subjects: Employee well-being, Psychosocial factors, Logistics, Leadership, Order picking systems, Industrial hygiene, Automation, Warehouses
Abstract: Humans still play an essential role in performing tasks in warehouses, although automation and digitalisation are increasing. Academic literature on order picking focuses on optimising processes and increasing production. Yet, human factors are getting more attention in recent literature. Many studies are devoted to the physical human factors, fewer to the psychosocial ones. This study proposes an enlarged range of psychosocial factors, including new and underexposed ones like employee well-being. We also suggest broadening the 'worker health' order picking outcome in the framework of Grosse et al. (2015), going beyond the physical aspect of well-being and introducing warehouse worker well-being. We use semi-structured interviews to explore how various aspects of the order picker job influence employee well-being. We see that multiple antecedents of employee well-being, as described in the literature, are reflected in the interview data. However, we identify new antecedents, such as the example role of the team leader, frustrating interactions on the work floor and the equal level of being controlled and workload. These new insights are not only a contribution to the literature but can also encourage logistics companies to think actively about their employee well-being policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Towards an increase in employee well-being in warehouses: insights from a qualitative study.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cretskens%2C+Ilse%22">Cretskens, Ilse</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> Ilse.Cretskens@uhasselt.be</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ramaekers%2C+Katrien%22">Ramaekers, Katrien</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Van+Laer%2C+Koen%22">Van Laer, Koen</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Caris%2C+An%22">Caris, An</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Production+Research%22">International Journal of Production Research</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 64 Issue 5, p1709-1730. 22p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employee+well-being%22">Employee well-being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychosocial+factors%22">Psychosocial factors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Logistics%22">Logistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Leadership%22">Leadership</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Order+picking+systems%22">Order picking systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+hygiene%22">Industrial hygiene</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Automation%22">Automation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Warehouses%22">Warehouses</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Humans still play an essential role in performing tasks in warehouses, although automation and digitalisation are increasing. Academic literature on order picking focuses on optimising processes and increasing production. Yet, human factors are getting more attention in recent literature. Many studies are devoted to the physical human factors, fewer to the psychosocial ones. This study proposes an enlarged range of psychosocial factors, including new and underexposed ones like employee well-being. We also suggest broadening the 'worker health' order picking outcome in the framework of Grosse et al. (2015), going beyond the physical aspect of well-being and introducing warehouse worker well-being. We use semi-structured interviews to explore how various aspects of the order picker job influence employee well-being. We see that multiple antecedents of employee well-being, as described in the literature, are reflected in the interview data. However, we identify new antecedents, such as the example role of the team leader, frustrating interactions on the work floor and the equal level of being controlled and workload. These new insights are not only a contribution to the literature but can also encourage logistics companies to think actively about their employee well-being policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/00207543.2025.2560528
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 22
        StartPage: 1709
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Employee well-being
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychosocial factors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Logistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Leadership
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      – SubjectFull: Order picking systems
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      – SubjectFull: Industrial hygiene
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      – SubjectFull: Automation
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      – SubjectFull: Warehouses
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Towards an increase in employee well-being in warehouses: insights from a qualitative study.
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            NameFull: Cretskens, Ilse
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            NameFull: Ramaekers, Katrien
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            NameFull: Van Laer, Koen
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            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Text: Mar2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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