As we frequently note here at Return to Work Matters, line managers and senior managers have a major influence on workplace culture. This influence has a significant effect on the levels of sickness absence and workers compensation cases.

This Swedish study focused on the quality of management and its influence on employee stress, health and sickness absence. The study used statistical methods to remove the influence of emotional demand and employee control over the workflow in the results.

Over 12,000 employees from Finland, Germany and Sweden were involved in the study. It included a range of people who worked in either an office environment or manual work.

The researchers used a questionnaire that measured the quality of management, and compared the results of this to health data and sickness absence information. 

The researchers found that poor levels of management were significantly associated with a high level of stress in all age, gender and occupation groups. Poor management was a significant impact on self-perceptions of health, and the levels of sickness absence. 

This is one of many studies that indicate management training is a key measure for reducing sickness absence and improving employee wellbeing. The implication from this line of research is that improvements in workplace productivity can be driven by positive leadership.

Authors

Westerlund H. Nyberg A. Bernin P. Hyde M. Oxenstierna G. Jappinen P. Vaananen A. & Theorell T. 

Institution

Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. hugo.westerlund@stressforskning.su.se

Title

Managerial leadership is associated with employee stress, health, and sickness absence independently of the demand-control-support model.

Source

Work. 37(1):71-9, 2010.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Research on health effects of managerial leadership has only taken established work environment factors into account to a limited extent. We therefore investigated the associations between a measure of Attentive Managerial Leadership (AML), and perceived stress, age-relative self-rated health, and sickness absence due to overstrain/fatigue, adjusting for the dimensions of the Demand-Control-Support model.

PARTICIPANTS: Blue- and white-collar workers from Finland, Germany and Sweden employed in a multi-national forest industry company (N=12,622).

METHODS: Cross-sectional data on leadership and health from a company-wide survey analysed with logistic regression in different subgroups.

RESULTS: AML was associated with perceived stress, age-relative self-rated health, and sickness absence due to overstrain/fatigue after controlling for the Demand-Control-Support model. Lack of AML was significantly associated with a high stress level in all subgroups (OR=1.68-2.67). Associations with age-relative self-rated health and sickness absence due to overstrain/fatigue were weaker, but still significant, and in the expected direction for several of the subgroups studied, suggesting an association between lack of AML and negative health consequences.

CONCLUSION: The study indicates that managerial leadership is associated with employee stress, health, and sickness absence independently of the Demand-Control-Support model and should be considered in future studies of health consequences for employees, and in work environment interventions.

PubMed Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20858989