Organisations exist. An organisation is not just a group of people, a workplace, a structure or system; it is a combination of these and many other aspects involved in its operation. In recent years, the nature and needs of organisations have changed dramatically, challenging them to rethinking how they organise themselves and accomplish their goals in a sustainable manner. This is an important, but not easy, task. The research presented in this thesis aims to contribute to organisational development theory and practice, in terms of how to articulate collective organisational values, and upon which to establish a sustainable workplace framework to govern and improve organisational performance. The research was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 focused on researching organisational values, which is considered as a critical step towards the development of sustainable workplaces. A values and behaviours study was conducted in the UK offices of the sponsoring company. Schwartz's values survey instrument and values theory are, for the first time, applied extensively in an organisational context, as opposed to the comparative intercultural research conducted at the national/cultural level. The study used a structured, mixed methods approach which Involved virtually all employees, whose values profiles were collected and analysed through an organisation-wide survey. Follow-up workshops and post workshop activities with a company Values Group faCilitated the sharing of common values; they then helped staff representatives develop their own organisational values statements, independent of senior management, before a final stage of negotiation. Meanwhile, a set of core-values-related workplace behaviours and relevant mechanisms were identified and communicated across the whole organisation. The core organisational values are fundamental in governing the workplace behaviours, and the mechanisms represented desirable work practices. This values-based approach facilitated the identification of the grassroots demand for continuous improvement of workplace environmental, social and economic performances, hence formed a foundation for the development of sustainable workplaces. The findings from the first phase revealed the core values of the organisation, highlighted the importance of applying the principles of sustainable development to the workplace context, which prompted further research into the nature of a sustainable workplace (phase 2). Although there is an increasing interest in sustainable workplace development, as an emerging and fast developing area, the body of research is still fragmented and unbalanced. In order to establish a holistic and balanced approach to the development of sustainable workplaces, available guidance documents were systematically categorised, compared and synthesised within a clear framework, to facilitate easy understanding and practice. This revealed that, at present, emphasis tends to be placed on environmental impacts arising from workplace activities, and hence the promotion of environmental awareness among the workforce. Whilst this may be appropriate in itself, it is of concern that other key aspects of sustainable development (Le. social and economic aspects) have been overlooked to a significant extent. A sustainable workplace framework was therefore established which provides a balanced approach for governing all aspects of the workplace development. The data obtained from phase 1 not only highlighted the need for such a balanced approach, but also inform the identification and prioritisation of the indicators within the framework, which offer useful measures for organisational behaviours. Meanwhile, the framework can be used as a tool to facilitate the integration of values into workplace development. The research concludes that to develop an organisation in a sustainable manner, a set of collective organisational values must be articulated, which will serve as guiding principles of work place behaviours and practices, and therefore dictate workplace performance. The shaping of collective organisational values should be based on a clear understanding and communication of employees' personal values, and that Schwartz's circumplex model of human values and associated survey instrument are helpful neutral framing devices to initiate and structure such a debate. As all the elements of sustainability are rooted in values, the identification of the collective organisational values could be considered as a critical step towards the development of sustainable workplaces. Furthermore, the research highlighted that the sustainable workplace is a multidimensional concept which requires holistic thinking. The conceptual framework developed in this research joins together the key aspects/criteria of sustainable workplaces, with the aim to balance the workplace environmental, social and economic performances. By linking the organisational values and related key business issues to workplace sustainable development criteria, the development towards sustainable workplaces could consequently enhance organisational values, therefore improving organisational perfonnance as well as employees' quality of life at work.

Cette thèse a pour objectif de montrer que les valeurs de développement durable de l’ONU (liberté, égalité, solidarité, tolérance, respect de la nature et partage des responsabilités) existent dans les traditions gabonaises et sont donc bien plus anciennes que ce nouveau concept. Pour cela, trois hypothèses générales ont été testées à travers six études. La première hypothèse (Les valeurs de développement durable existent au sein des sociétés traditionnelles et rurales gabonaises et sont donc plus anciennes que le concept de développement durable) fait appel à deux études complémentaires basée sur l’analyse documentaire des premiers dictionnaires linguistiques Myènè (étude 1) et des entretiens menés avec trois orateurs traditionnels gabonais (étude 2). La deuxième hypothèse (Les populations rurales gabonaises portent des valeurs de développement durable au regard de leurs pratiques qui sont différentes de celles de l’ONU) s’appuie sur l’analyse documentaire d’ouvrages historiques gabonais (étude 3) et photographique du milieu rural actuel (étude 4). La troisième hypothèse (Les valeurs prioritaires pour les populations gabonaises sont différentes de celles de l’ONU) est explorée par une enquête par questionnaire menée auprès d’étudiants (étude 5) et de salariés (étude 6) gabonais. Les résultats obtenus aux différentes études et permettent de conclure que les valeurs de développement durable préconisées par l’ONU doivent se décliner en fonction des contextes culturels. Ainsi, en Afrique, et plus spécifiquement au Gabon, les valeurs en lien avec les pratiques traditionnelles qu’on peut considérer comme durables doivent être intégrées et articulées avec celles retenues par l’ONU afin d’y impulser un développement durable véritable. / The aim of this thesis is to show the UN’s sustainable development values (freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect of nature, responsibility sharing) exist in Gabon’s traditions and are thus much older than this recent concept. Three general hypotheses were tested in six studies. The first (Sustainable development values exist in traditional and rural Gabonese society and thus pre-date the concept of sustainable development) involved two complementary studies based on documentary analysis of the first Myènè linguistic dictionaries (study 1) and interviews with three traditional Gabonese orators (study 2). The second hypothesis (Rural Gabonese customs have sustainable development values that differ from those of the UN) is examined through documentary analysis of historical Gabonese works (study 3) and photographs of present-day rural Gabon (study 4). The third hypothesis (The priority values of the Gabonese people differ from those of the UN) is explored through a questionnaire completed by Gabonese students (study 5) and workers (study 6). The findings of the studies are discussed and lead to the conclusion that the sustainable development values recommended by the UN should be adapted to the cultural context. Thus, in Africa, and more specifically in Gabon, values linked to traditional practices that can be considered as sustainable should be incorporated and linked to those upheld by the UN in order to foster real sustainable development.