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A Behavioural Analysis for Increasing Vegetable Consumption of Children in the UK (Master's Thesis)

Overview

This qualitative study explores how distributed teams coordinate and maintain engagement when working remotely. Conducted for a consulting engagement with Company X in Spring 2024.

Background & Objectives

  • Context: Rising trend of hybrid work prompted Company X to understand challenges in remote collaboration.
  • Objective: Identify communication pain points and propose behavioural interventions to improve engagement and productivity.

Methods

  • Design: Semi-structured interviews with 20 team members across departments.
  • Data Collection: Interviews conducted via video call, recorded with consent, transcribed and anonymized.
  • Analysis: Thematic analysis using NVivo; coding framework developed iteratively.
  • Ethics: Participants provided informed consent; transcripts stored securely; identifiable data removed.

Key Findings

  1. Over-communication Fatigue: Many participants felt overwhelmed by constant messaging.
  2. Lack of Rituals: Absence of informal “watercooler” interactions decreased sense of team cohesion.

Veg Power Project Visuals

Recommendations & Impact

  • Structured Communication Windows: Suggest “focus hours” with minimal notifications; pilot with Team A resulted in a 15% self-reported increase in concentration.
  • Virtual Social Rituals: Weekly “coffee chat” sessions; feedback indicated improved team cohesion.
  • Boundary Guidelines: Developed guidelines for after-hours messaging; adopted by leadership.

Reflections & Next Steps

  • Broader rollout and measurement of longer-term outcomes.
  • Potential follow-up quantitative survey to measure impact across the organization.