Article

Span of control and the significance for public sector managers' job demands: A multilevel study

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how span of control influences seven job demands common amongst operational public sector managers. Self-administrated surveys were collected from 434 managers organized in 37 municipal operations, i.e. management teams in a set of public organizations in Sweden, and complemented with register data. Multilevel analyses were performed and it was shown unfavorable to have a large number of subordinates for the majority of job demands investigated. Furthermore, managers who were members of management teams with a higher average span of control experience some job demands to an even higher extent. Thus, the results of this study demonstrate that span of control is a key upstream component of managers' job demands and emphasize the value of a reasonable number of subordinates.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Det er forska lite på temaet leiarspenn i ein norsk, kommunal samanheng. I den internasjonale forskingslitteraturen vert omgrepet «span of control» nytta for å beskriva det talet tilsette ein leiar har ansvar for, og det vert sett på som ein strukturell faktor som er viktig for utøving av leiing(Wallin et al., 2014). I det følgjande teori-kapittelet gjer vi kort greie for forskingslitteraturen knytt til «span of control», annan relevant litteratur knytt til leiing, og vår analytiske inngang og systemiske tilnaerming for å forstå leiarane sitt handlingsrom.Det kan vera vanskeleg å finna ein eintydig definisjon på omgrepet leiarspenn. ...
... Til dømes inkluderer ein studie av skuleverket fire mål på leiarspenn, der desse måla inkluderer både talet på administrativt tilsette, talet på laerarar og talet på elevar(Theobald & Nicholson-Crotty, 2005). Andre studiar har inkludert både mellomleiarar og førstelinjeleiarar(Wallin et al., 2014). Ei årsak til at forskinga ikkje er eintydig kan vera at leiarskap vert forstått og organisert ulikt i ulike organisasjonar (jf.Børhaug & Lotsberg, 2014), noko som òg kan verka inn på korleis leiarspenn vert studert. ...
... Ein svensk studie har sett på leiarspenn blant operative leiarar i sju kommunar i Vest-Sverige, og fann at leiarspennet varierte mellom 2 og 105, med eit gjennomsnitt på 27. Dei fann størst skilnad mellom helse og omsorg (30) og tekniske tenester (16)(Wallin et al., 2014). Basert på denne studien kan ein difor rekna med at ein vil finna store variasjonar i leiarspenn, inklusive store variasjonar etter tenesteområde. ...
Research
Full-text available
Rapporten presenterer funn knytt til storleiken på leiarspenn i kommunar og fylkeskommunar, i tydinga talet på tilsette ein leiar har ansvaret for, samanhengar mellom leiarspenn, organisering, sjukefråvær og turnover, og erfaringar knytt til korleis leiarar innanfor barnehagesektor og helse‐ og omsorgstenester opplever handlingsrommet sitt for leiing.
... For instance, it is plausible that understaffed organizations increase job demands of employees as a whole who are "spread thin" by taking on the workload of multiple people (Reilly et al., 2014); they may develop shared negative thoughts and feelings leading to withdrawal behaviors, and collective turnover (Bartunek et al., 2008). Similarly, managers with a high span of control (i.e. a large number of direct reports) tend to experience work overload (Wong et al., 2015) and role conflict (Wallin et al., 2014), which may lead to higher aggregate levels of turnover. Consistent with these arguments, meta-analytic evidence has shown that resource inadequacies and role overload are associated with lower employee engagement at the individual level (Crawford et al., 2010). ...
... As the number of direct reports increases, so do managers' responsibilities for communicating, coordinating and supervising work activities (Gittell, 2001;Meier and Bohte, 2000), as well as fostering and maintaining a large number of relationships within a unit ( Jones et al., 2015). Thus, managers of larger units tend to experience more work overload (Wong et al., 2015), role conflict (Wallin et al., 2014), lack of role clarity (Holm-Petersen et al., 2017) and less perceived organizational support and decision autonomy (Laschinger et al., 2008). By consequence, jobs with higher demands and fewer resources tend to produce strain, which can lead to turnover intentions . ...
... This finding is consistent with suggestions that managers who supervise larger units tend to experience more job demands, such as within-unit coordination difficulties and conflict (Heavey et al., 2013). They also experience fewer job resources such as organizational support and lower quality relationships with subordinates (e.g. Green et al., 1996;Henderson et al., 2009;Holm-Petersen et al., 2017;Laschinger et al., 2008;Wallin et al., 2014), and these job demands and resources contribute to withdrawal attitudes and behaviors (Brown et al., 2013;Podsakoff et al., 2007). ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Using organization-level data, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and how turnover spreads at different job levels (i.e. managers, non-managers) and how vacancy rate and manager span of control precipitate continued turnover. Design/methodology/approach Organization-level longitudinal data were collected quarterly from 40 Canadian organizations on various HR metrics from 2009 to 2012, totaling 232 observations. The authors used covariate balance propensity score (CBPS) weighting to make stronger causal inferences. Findings The organization-level data provided limited support for turnover spreading at different job levels. Instead, vacancy rate predicted subsequent non-manager turnover rates, whereas span of control predicted subsequent manager turnover rates. Practical implications The implications of this research are twofold. First, to offset continued turnover among non-managers, it may be wise for organizations to fill vacancies promptly, particularly when unfilled positions affect job demands and resources of those who remain. Second, to minimize ongoing manager turnover, organizations may benefit from redesigning work units to have smaller manager-to-employee ratios. Originality/value This study adds to the collective turnover literature by demonstrating that organizational factors play a substantive role in predicting continued manager and non-manager turnover. Moreover, by using longitudinal data and CBPS weighting, this research allowed for establishing temporal precedence and greater confidence that these factors play a causal role. Lastly, this research highlights how the factors precipitating collective turnover differ between managers and non-managers.
... Therefore, managerial work based on the knowledge of how to handle the interactions of multi-component factors and conditions across organizational levels, is crucial for sustainable development. Managers also need organizational preconditions, competence, and strategies for meeting challenges in complex social and organizational working conditions, as well as for taking leadership in building the capacity for more sustainable working conditions [17][18][19]. This was also recently acknowledged by regulations in the Swedish Work Environment Authority (2015: 16). ...
... Also, self-rated health and work attendance had increased among their employees, as measured by employee questionnaires [28]. However, the health and working conditions of the managers themselves had not improved, and there were several indications of more stress, and stressful work conditions among managers [17][18][19]29,30], in addition to high turnover rates [31] for managers in the public sector. These challenges were often associated with the demands of organizational restructurings and continuous workplace changes [17,30,32]. ...
... Likewise, can organizational preconditions support managers to better perform complex daily work practices in complex human service organizations? Recent studies have pointed to the benefit of a span of control not exceeding 30 subordinates [19], shared managerial assignments [35], and support through managerial groups, colleagues, and organizational resource functions (e.g., HR, communication) [38,52]. In addition, having reasonable working hours per week and an equitable employment contract [58] have significance for managerial sustainability. ...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this article is to describe a theoretical framework, i.e., theoretical underpinnings and pedagogical principles, for leadership programs that support managers’ evidence-based knowledge of health-promoting psychosocial work conditions, as well as their capability to apply, adapt, and craft sustainable managerial work practices. First, the theoretical framing is introduced, i.e., a system theory that integrates key work conditions with a practical perspective on managerial work and organization. Second, pedagogical principles and measures for leaders’ training in integrated handling across system levels are described. Last, we present summarized results from an intervention study applying the theoretical framework and pedagogical principles. The complexity of interactions among different factors in a work system, and the variety in possible implementation approaches, presents challenges for the capability of managers to craft sustainable and health-promoting conditions, as well as the evaluation of the program components. Nevertheless, the evaluation reveals the strength of the program, in providing holistic and context-sensitive approaches for how to train and apply an integrative approach for improving the work environment.
... Regardless of the managers' position, gender, and experience, a larger span of control has been shown to increase the managers' daily job demands and workload (e.g. Wallin et al., 2014). To exemplify, a higher span of control may concern time scheduling, arranging meetings, preparing and holding developmental talks and annual salary negotiations, building a relationship and offering support to each subordinate, and resolving conflicts in the group. ...
... A potential interpretation of the findings is that with each additional member of the team, both unnecessary and unreasonable tasks increase, perhaps since having to manage more individuals with varying needs raises the likelihood of encountering technical malfunctions and bureaucratic obstacles, facing conflicting demands, and receiving insufficient resources (Kilponen et al., 2021). Additionally, with more subordinates in various work roles, it becomes more likely to identify conflicting logic or conflicting operational goals (Wallin et al., 2014) which also seems to increase the perception of illegitimate tasks. A similar pattern could be found for the subordinates, where subordinates in workgroups with more colleagues reported significantly higher levels of unreasonable but not unnecessary tasks. ...
Article
Full-text available
Illegitimate tasks violate the norms of what is considered part of the employee’s work role and have been found to harm individuals, groups and organisations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between key organisational conditions – span of control, recruitment needs, administrative support, and organisational changes – and the prevalence of unnecessary and unreasonable illegitimate tasks experienced by managers and their subordinates. Data were collected from a sample comprising 80 managers and 863 subordinates in a Swedish municipality using questionnaires to assess their perceptions of illegitimate tasks. Organisational conditions were collected from the human resources register in the municipality. Multilevel analysis results reveal a positive association between the size of workgroups and illegitimate tasks; the more subordinates per workgroup, the more unnecessary and unreasonable tasks managers reported and the more unreasonable tasks the subordinates reported. These findings hold practical implications for organisations because they indicate that illegitimate tasks can be reduced by decreasing the number of employees in larger workgroups.
... One prerequisite that has been implemented in public sector management is a span of control in which management is a functional organisation with a reasonable number of subordinates per manager (Andersson-Felé, 2008). Studies show that the span of control is a key component in a manager's job demands (Wallin et al., 2014). Furthermore, subordinates, i.e. nurses, practical nurses and nurse coordinators/specialists, have described how first-line managers (FLMs), i.e. the frontline leaders who have more than 50 subordinates, have been regarded as distant and disorganised leaders. ...
... Furthermore, Grol et al. (2013) found that a combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches are often needed to achieve sustainable change. However, the focus on the structural prerequisites regarding maximum numbers, and especially the one regarding the FLM's span of control, is highly relevant as it is a vital factor in the demands experienced by health-care managers (Wallin et al., 2014;Holm-Petersen et al., 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Management and leadership in health care are described as complex and challenging, and the span of control is known to be a key component in the manager’s job demands. The implementation of change can be a challenge in health care, and managers often have roles as implementation leaders. Little attention has been given to how managers perceive the process of implementation. Thus, this study aims to explore second-line managers’ perceptions of, prerequisites for and experiences from the implementation of changes in their manager’s work conditions. Design/methodology/approach A grounded theory–based qualitative design was used. Data were collected from a purposive sample of nine second-line managers by individual semi-structured interviews. The three stages of initial coding, focus codes and axial coding were used in data analysis. Findings Three thematic areas were identified: engagement, facilitation and achievement. The second-line managers’ descriptions suggest that the change work entails a complex challenge with an unclear result. Involvement, consideration for the context and facilitation are needed to be able to conduct a cohesive implementation process. Originality/value This study findings outline that to succeed when implementing change in complex organizations, it is crucial that managers at different levels are involved in the entire process, and that there are prerequisites established for the facilitation and achievement of goals during the planning, implementation and follow-up.
... Women work to a larger extent in the public sector and in human service organizations (e.g., schools, and social and health care) and are underrepresented as managers. Earlier research has shown differences in organizational conditions depending on the gendered context, managers in female-dominated organizations having fewer resources, less support, and larger span of control, i.e., a higher number of subordinates [27,28], and a lack of access to hierarchical networks than managers in male-dominated organizations [29]. To our knowledge, neither gender nor span of control have been investigated in earlier PSC studies. ...
... While women in the public sector mainly work within care, social work, and schools, the men are employed in more technical jobs [27]. The managerial structures differ so that managers in the female-dominated jobs have a larger span of control than managers in the male-dominated jobs [28]. As a line manager, being able to enact good PSC leadership requires, besides commitment and support from senior management, necessary prerequisites, including a reasonable span of control. ...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of the present study was to validate the short version of The Psychosocial Safety Climate questionnaire (PSC-4, Dollard, 2019) and to establish benchmarks indicating risk levels for use in Sweden. Cross-sectional data from (1) a random sample of employees in Sweden aged 25-65 years (n = 2847) and (2) a convenience sample of non-managerial employees from 94 workplaces (n = 3066) were analyzed. Benchmarks for three PSC risk levels were developed using organizational compliance with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) regulations as criterion. The results support the validity and usefulness of the Swedish PSC-4 as an instrument to indicate good, fair, and poor OSH practices. The recommended benchmark for indicating good OSH practices is an average score of >12.0, while the proposed cutoff for poor OSH practices is a score of ≤8.0 on the PSC-4. Scores between these benchmarks indicate fair OSH practices. Furthermore, aggregated data on PSC-4 supported its reliability as a workplace level construct and its association with quantitative demands, quality of leadership, commitment to the workplace, work engagement, job satisfaction, as well as stress and burnout. Thus, the Swedish version of PSC-4 can be regarded as a valid and reliable measure for both research and practical use for risk assessment at workplaces.
... Good social relations at work have been shown to be an important psychosocial prerequisite for managers' health and leadership (Lundquist, 2013). Another study has shown that the larger the number of subordinates, the higher the job demands for municipal frontline managers (Wallin, Pousette & Dellve, 2013). ...
... Their responsibility for staff, budget, and daily operational activities are as important as for the other groups. A large span of control has the same negative effect on the managerial workload in masculinized as in feminized public services (Wallin et al., 2013). Managers responsible for human services would probably benefit more from administrative and advisory support than technical managers, given the elusive character of the work. ...
Article
Full-text available
In contrast to much research concerned with differences in male and female managers’ leadership strategies, this study focuses on how organizational arrangements vary for managers in differently genderized contexts; it explores the opportunities for frontline managers in municipal services to fulfil their assignment. The organisational preconditions for over 400 managers of municipal health and social care, education and technical services are analysed in a cross-level and comparative research design. The results indicate that managers of feminized care services work in an environment with fewer resources, less organisational support and larger spans of control, than managers in masculinized municipal services. These results shed light on meso-level mechanisms involved in the unequal distribution of health risks among men and women in working life.
... Spanish public administration requires that all the public managers have a university degree and pass a knowledge exam and tenure is taking into account as well. Criteria to distinguish both groups of managerial positions, low rank and high rank, were considered in terms of the number of people under their responsibility (Wallin et al., 2014), based on the idea that the higher the number of subordinates, the greater the level of responsibility. The sample was then divided into two levels of responsibility, in accordance with the threshold of 10 subordinates per manager established by Davison (2003). ...
Article
Full-text available
Public administrations are facing the challenge of continuous improvement of processes to meet both ethical andcompliance standards. This study examines the extent to which non-job relevant factors (gender and tenure) may havea greater impact on managers’ positions than job-relevant factors (skills and job performance) in the public sector. Ourstudy with 412 public incumbent managers in different rank positions revealed that tenure and the innovation orientationskill, and gender are the main predictors to upper positions. Moreover, men have shown higher levels of counterproductiveperformance than women. This highlights the need for a review of human resources processes and the implementation ofcompetency-based management models to achieve fairer procedures and improved ethical public governance (PDF) Are there Gender Differences between Skills and Job Performance in Public Management Positions?. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382897899_Are_there_Gender_Differences_between_Skills_and_Job_Performance_in_Public_Management_Positions [accessed Nov 15 2024].
... First-line managers that were structuring, being present, were not workoverloaded and had good interactions with employees were associated with trends of lower or decreasing sickness absence (Dellve and Fällman 2020). Thus, the shown trends of increasing sickness absence among first-line managers (Figure 7.5), their high work overload and time conflicts (Figure 7.9), as well as being responsible for a high numbers of employees (Wallin et al. 2014) during the years of intensive restructuring and rationalisations of care organisations can also have a crucial impact for their employees' work-related health. ...
... First-line managers that were structuring, being present, were not workoverloaded and had good interactions with employees were associated with trends of lower or decreasing sickness absence (Dellve and Fällman 2020). Thus, the shown trends of increasing sickness absence among first-line managers (Figure 7.5), their high work overload and time conflicts (Figure 7.9), as well as being responsible for a high numbers of employees (Wallin et al. 2014) during the years of intensive restructuring and rationalisations of care organisations can also have a crucial impact for their employees' work-related health. ...
... Another, more organizational explanation may be that first-line managers do not meet with their employees often enough to build reciprocal trust, disseminate their own trust in top management, or support horizontal trust building in the unit. Previous studies have shown that a high span of control and staff that are scattered in time and place may weaken the relationship between the manager and the employees (e.g., Holm-Petersen, Østergaard, and Andersen 2017; López et al. 2021;Thompson, Buch, and Glasø 2019;Wallin, Pousette, and Dellve 2013). ...
... Helping employees who struggle emotional problems could also lead to role overload for managers (Bolino et al., 2015) and have detrimental consequences for them, such as citizenship fatigue and work-family conflict (Toegel et al., 2013;Lanaj and Jennings, 2020). Having too many employees to supervise could also negatively impact managers' workload (Wallin et al., 2014). highlighted the role of employees in creating a good work environment for their leaders. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Like many other countries, healthcare services in Canada face numerous organizational changes with the main objective of doing more with less. The approach taken within different healthcare networks has brought about a reform in healthcare facilities in Quebec, leading to several mergers and eliminating over 1,000 managerial positions. As a result, this has placed a progressively heavier workload on the shoulders of the remaining managers. Research on mental health in the workplace has mainly focused with the workforce and generally neglects managers. However, studies have shown that workload is a risk factor for managers. Therefore, the objectives of our study are to (1) better understand the elements that make up a manager’s workload and the factors that influence it and (2) identify the coping strategies used by managers to deal with their workloads. Methods Employing a qualitative approach, we analyzed 61 semistructured interviews through an abductive method, utilizing diverse frameworks for data analysis. The participants came from the same Quebec healthcare establishment. Results Our findings align with the notion that workload is a multifaceted phenomenon that warrants a holistic analysis. The workload mapping framework we propose for healthcare network managers enables pinpointing those factors that contribute to the burden of their workload. Ultimately, this workload can detrimentally impact the psychological wellbeing of employees. Conclusion In conclusion, this study takes a comprehensive look at workload by using a holistic approach, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon. It also allows for the identification of coping strategies used by managers to deal with their workloads. Finally, our results can provide valuable guidance for the interventions aimed at addressing workload issues among healthcare network managers in Quebec by utilizing the specific elements we have identified.
... The number of employees has been repeatedly highlighted as one of the challenges for first-line managers to cope with in their mission (Hagerman, 2019;National Board of Health and Welfare, 2021;Wallin, Pousette, & Dellve, 2014). ...
Thesis
Full-text available
The overall aim of this thesis is to contribute knowledge about first-line managers’ learning in everyday work within the context of elderly care. The study was carried out in four elderly care organisations. Forty first-line managers were interviewed, 10 of whom kept a time-use diary. The findings show that managers’ learning happened in a stream of varied tasks and interactions shaped by conditions in the workplace. The work was characterised by unpredictability and changing circumstances, which meant that the managers continuously had to learn how to handle new situations and expand their repertoire of practices. Three conclusions are drawn from this study. First, managers took great responsibility for their own learning. Self-directed learning allowed the managers to choose action alternatives based on their preferences, which usually involved relying on informal networks and personal relationships. Second, work relationships played a significant role in managers’ learning. The relationship with other first-line managers provided support for learning through, for example, knowledge exchange and joint discussions, and constituted emotional support. Relationships with subordinates were also significant for managers’ learning and could result in solutions to complex issues regarding daily operations. Third, gendered expectations affected managers’ work and learning in different ways. Male managers could more easily gain approval and legitimacy among their subordinates, while female managers had to navigate between expectations associated with femininity and the managerial role. Female managers had more opportunities to find like-minded first-line managers and establish influential positions, while male managers could encounter challenges in establishing relationships and becoming part of the first-line manager community.
... Although it is stated that 'public sector innovation is often seen through the lens of private sector frameworks' (Bugge and Bloch 2016), there still exists some differences between innovation in the private and public sectors. For instance, management and decision-making in the public sector is different from the business sector; compared to private sector managers, public sector managers are, usually, responsible for larger units and are influenced not only by their supervisors, but also by the political trends governing their sector and organization (Höckertin 2007;Wallin, Pousette, and Dellve 2014). Decision-making processes in the public sector might appear to be hefty and time-consuming (Wereda and Lopes 2014). ...
... No doubt, several studies have already highlighted the importance of increased knowledge regarding eldercare development [36], but size is seldom included or considered. Previous studies on size have focused on the size of units and challenges shaping the operational work of managers with large numbers of employees [37]. Tis study shows the importance of size when it comes to gathering resources for development work in a poor sector when it comes to shaping a high road for development work that may suit diferent contexts, and also that knowledge concerning contextual conditions among development leaders is poor. ...
Article
Full-text available
Eldercare is facing current demands to develop due to changing demographics with increasing populations of elderly over the age of 85 combined with smaller populations of young people able to provide care and contribute to care via their taxes. The need for development of quality and safety was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Swedish government subsidies aimed at developing municipalities responsible for publicly managed eldercare have only been evaluated to a limited extent and the realisation of visions of future eldercare is shrouded in mystery. The study aims to explore the development work and strategies in Swedish municipal eldercare organisations, specifically in terms of alignment between democratic visions at political and strategic levels and operationalisation at operational levels. 28 interviews with development leaders were conducted in 14 Swedish municipality organisations between March and October 2021. The interviews focused on supporting roles and functions, responsibilities and collaborations, visions and operationalisations, and the follow-up and evaluation of eldercare development. A thematic analysis resulted in the main theme “top-down handling of unmanageable alignment” and the subthemes “shaping a high road for change;” “sticking to visions, hopes, and respect for practice;” and “self-serving focus on politics.” The quality of alignment strategies and putting the strategic vision into practice were related to organisation size and resources. A gap between strategic and operational levels was accentuated in terms of inconsistent responsibilities in following through with development projects and development being characterised by top-down initiatives and resources at the strategic level but strained implementation abilities at operational levels. Peripherally located change agents with legitimacy at multiple organisational levels are suggested to ease top-down as well as bottom-up drive, which could increase a vertical alignment of visions and practice.
... If customers are not satisfied with their work, quasi-governmental organizations are indirectly punished by political actors, such as Congress. Many studies explore the effect of span of control on performance in terms of effectiveness (Pabst, 1993), employee satisfaction and engagement (Cathcart et al., 2004), job satisfaction (Davison, 2003;Kwan et al., 2015;Lee & Cummings, 2008;Morash et al., 2005), job demands (Wallin et al., 2014), turnover (Moon & Park, 2019) and safety (Hechanova-Alampay & Beehr, 2001). However, there is a lack of empirical studies on how span of control affects both upperlevel agency's evaluation scores and customer satisfaction and whether there is any difference. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the early era of the study of public management, Luther Gulick (1937) argued that span of control determines organizational performance. Theoretically, span of control has a non-linear relationship with performance as its marginal benefit diminishes due to transaction costs. Meier and Bohte (2000) revisited this argument and showed empirical evidence that an optimal span of control enhances organizational performance using hundreds school districts in the United States. However, it is necessary to expand the scope of study to examine whether Gulick’s theory can be generalizable to public service organizations in non-western countries. Using Korean quasi-governmental organizations, this study explores how span of control affects performance and whether the effect differs depending on structural levels and performance indicators (archival performance scores by the government and customer satisfaction). Four years pooled data for 101 Korean quasi-governmental organizations were analyzed using multivariate models. The findings show that a wider span of control at top-level management is positively associated with the government’s performance scores, but it is negatively associated at mid-level management. On the other hand, span of control has no significant relationship with customer satisfaction. The findings of this study contribute to the generalizability of Gulick’s theory in a new context, and highlight that the impact of span of control on performance can differ based on structural levels and who evaluates organizations.
... While performance information is often used at an aggregate level, and the literature so far has focused on the relationship between the manager and individual employees, we still expect a larger span of control to increase the managers' need for information, also on the aggregate level. This argument could be supported by research showing that increased span of control correlates positively with managers' perceptions of the difficulty of the job facing them (Wallin et al., 2014). Hence, we include span of control as a control variable to ensure that any correlation between hierarchical position and use of performance information does not in fact stem from the fact that managers of employees typically have a much larger span of control (Ledelseskommissionen, 2017). ...
Article
Public organizations increasingly produce performance information. However, quite often this information is not put to use. In this paper we study how different organizational echelons use performance information. We use a representative survey among Danish public managers to compare the extent to which different organizational echelons use performance information. We find that top managers generally use performance information – information on outcomes and user satisfaction in particular – more than other echelons. These findings are important, because performance management systems are often designed at the top of public organizations, even though they are intended to be used for different purposes at different organizational echelons. Our findings raise important questions regarding the use and design of performance information that are relevant for frontline managers and executives alike.
... The findings corroborate with those by Wallin, Pousette, and Dellve who did a multilevel study on the span of control and the significance for public sector managers' job demands [35]. The results of the study demonstrated that span of control is a key upstream component of managers' job demands and emphasize the value of a reasonable number of subordinates. ...
Article
Full-text available
In the recent past, many state corporations in Kenya have been facing dismal performance trends, a situation that has derailed the sustainability of most of these crucial institutions. While some state corporations have been known to consistently perform well, others have been noted to perennially underperform, over rely on the exchequer, and lose viability in equal measure. Organizational structure is an essential element of any organization. Numerous studies conducted by scholars illustrate that, it is one of the most significant organizational elements in facilitating and increasing innovation, service delivery and performance in organizations. The role of organizational structure however has not been adequately addressed as far as performance of the state corporations is concerned and this study therefore sought to fill the existing gaps by assessing the relationship between organization structure and the performance of state corporations. The study purposed to establish the influence of organizational structure on the performance of state corporations in Kenya. The study reviewed organizational structure as the independent variable and performance of the state corporations as the dependent variable. The study performed a theoretical review of Contingency theory and the New Public Management (NPM) theory. This was followed by an empirical review in tandem with the purpose of this study. It provided a review of scholarly works done in the past identifying the studies, authors, areas of investigation and the findings reported. The study adopted a descriptive research design with an exploratory approach to collect data from 189 state corporations in Kenya. The unit of analysis was all the state corporations in Kenya while the unit of observation was the Heads of Human Resources in each corporation. The study used a sample of 96 state corporations and collected primary data using a self-administered questionnaire. Documentary review was also used to compliment the data collected. To get the most efficient representation of the population the study adopted stratified sampling and Cochran's (1977) formula was applied to calculate the sample size of 95 Heads of Human Resources departments. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. SPSS Version 26 was used. The study concluded that organizational structure had a significant and positive influence on the performance of state corporations in Kenya and recommended that most state corporations should consider leveraging and optimizing key aspects of organizational structure such as concentration of authority degree of bureaucracy and the span of management ratio.
... Against the background of the high value of this leadership style for effective leadership, especially in times of change and crisis, an important step would be to consider reducing the workload of the supervisors. As Wallin et al. (2014) show, reducing the management span of control is a particularly effective way of reducing demands and strains on the supervisors in the public sector. A second step toward improving leadership conditions that would enable supervisors to lead transformationally is to increase the leaders' scope of action. ...
Article
Full-text available
Lockdown regulations during the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in abrupt changes to work situations and presented new leadership challenges. This short report explores how leaders perceived their options for leading transformationally when their teams were forced to rapidly switch to virtual collaboration. We interviewed 20 supervisors using semistructured telephone interviews who described their general leadership behavior before the lockdown and the evaluated possibilities and difficulties of leading transformationally during the lockdown. The article provides insights into the preconditions for transformational leadership in the public sector during change processes. High workload, time pressure, and role conflicts, combined with restricted freedom of action, restrained their options of transformational leadership. Communicative problems further hindered the transfer of transformational leadership behavior to new working arrangements during the Covid-19-crisis. The article derives implications for ways of helping managers to employ the potentials of transformational leadership in virtual settings and during change processes in the public sector.
... It increases stress and creates an excessive workload. Control over work and job satisfaction decreases (Stewart 2009, Wallin et al. 2013, Wong et.al. 2015 The size of the working group affects a manager's ability to interact with their employees and be present at and involved in their work. ...
Chapter
Full-text available
This chapter discusses the gendered nature of managers’ working conditions in the care sector. The chapter explores managers’ experiences of managing large working groups in complex operations in times of austerity. The chapter furthermore discusses how this way of organizing work is associated with New Public Management (NPM), and is an expression of the gendered structuring of the labour market. Furthermore, the chapter investigates the consequences of large areas of responsibility on the managers’ work environment, room for manoeuvre, and health. The results show that the managers’ working conditions translate into various kinds of health risks at work.
... Overall, these findings imply that a) it is important to consider a wider range of demands and resources (i.e. physical, psychological, working time-related aspects) in order to characterize leaders' working conditions well (Wallin et al. 2014), and that b) sector-specific analyses can make the picture even clearer (Zimber et al. 2015). Hence, we consider all demands and resources which were assessed in the BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey and compare them across three service sectors. ...
Article
This study investigates the job demands, job resources, and health of leaders in three service sectors. The analyses are based on data of the 2018 BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey, a representative sample of the German labour force. The three service sectors trading, finance, and public services varied significantly in how leaders perceive job demands, job resources, psychosomatic health complaints, and musculoskeletal health complaints. Hardly any variation was found, however, in how demands and resources are associated with psychosomatic and musculoskeletal health complaints. These findings imply that service leaders’ perceptions provide sector-specific patterns of demands and resources, which are well reflected in stress theory. The findings further imply that there is no need for sector-specific theories predicting health complaints. The article concludes with a discussion of practical implications for health promotion in the three service sectors and the promotion of leaders’ health.
... This result is consistent with observations in many public sector organizations and government agencies there is a pressure to increase efficiency and cut costs (Bozeman, 2010), which may potentially have negative health consequences for the middle managers who are responsible for implementing the changes:. Our finding is also in line with another Swedish study that reported excessive workload and increased administrative burden for public sector managers after reorganization (Wallin et al., 2014). In our study the managers were also the ones who were directly affected by the change, at the same time as they had to carry out the implementation of the change process, which likely added to their perception of job demands being high. ...
Article
Full-text available
An intra-organizational change process involving all middle managers was studied in a public sector organization in Sweden over three time points, spanning two years in total. Using sensemaking and the person-environmental fit literature as well studies on promotion and demotion, hypotheses about the effects of managerial status loss and being offered a non-preferred role (non-preference) on change reactions (job satisfaction, turnover intentions, mental health) are made. Data from 140 middle managers was analyzed with path models, where two process factors (perceived organizational support during the change, procedural justice of the change) and two job characteristics (job demand, job control) were tested simultaneously as mediators. Results revealed that managerial status loss had negative effects on work attitudes but mental health was positively affected over time through decreased job demands. Non-preference had negative consequences for all outcome variables and these effects were mediated through lower procedural justice of the change, lower job control, and for some outcomes, lower perceived organizational support during the change. The results provide insight into how middle managers react to change, and suggest that process justice and job characteristics play an important part in shaping these reactions.
... Ett exempel på resursförstärkning är anställning av fler första socialsekreterare eller seniorhandläggare med uppgift att fungera som medhandläggare och ge socialsekreterare konkret stöd i handläggningen av ärenden, samt att avlasta befintliga första socialsekreterare och chefer. Vidare har resursförstärkningen också handlat om att anställa fler chefer med syfte att cheferna ska få en mer balanserad arbetssituation och ett bättre kontrollspann med färre antal underställda medarbetare (se också Wallin, Pousette & Dellve, 2014). I intervjuerna framkommer också att verksamheterna har skapat nya tjänster för att hantera administration, men också för att utveckla verksamhetens kvalitet (exempelvis metodhandläggare). ...
Article
Full-text available
Drawing on the definition of trust-based management and using social services case studies, the study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how trust-based management is relevant for achieving sustainable working environments in the welfare sector. The results show that a sustainable working environment can be linked to the organization’s capacity to ensure ability, integrity and benevolence. Dialogue, systems perspective, an integration of working environment and service quality and long-term financial management are important management practices for ensuring these three aspects. Management practices that ensure employees’ trustworthiness also lead to good and healthy working environments.
... In this interpretation, frequent organizational changes may reduce the opportunity for middle managers to perform their leadership in a change-oriented manner. Frequent changes, particularly of the kind that stem from NPM inspired policies, could impose too many demands on these managers for them to be able to prioritize these leadership activities (Wallin et al., 2014). The content of these changes may also impact their decision latitude negatively, leaving them relatively more powerless in shaping a change-oriented leadership at the department level. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose This paper aims to fill gaps in our knowledge of the impact of organizational change on two outcomes relevant to hospital service quality (performance obstacles and physician job satisfaction) and in one’s knowledge of the role of middle manager change-oriented leadership in relation to the same outcomes. Further, the authors aim to identify how physician participation in decision-making is impacted by organizational change and change-oriented leadership, as well as how it mediates the relationships between these two variables, performance obstacles and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design including data from Norwegian hospital physicians ( N = 556). A hypothetical model was developed based on existing theory, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out in order to ensure the validity of measurement concepts, and the structural model was estimated using structural equation modelling. Findings The organizational changes in question were positively related to performance obstacles both directly and indirectly through participation in decision-making. Organizational change was also negatively related to job satisfaction, both directly and indirectly. Change-oriented leadership was negatively related to performance obstacles, but only indirectly through participation in decision-making, whereas it was positively related to job satisfaction both directly and indirectly. Originality/value The authors developed a theoretical model based on existing theory, but to their knowledge no other studies have tested these exact relationships within one model. These findings offer insights relevant to current and ongoing developments in the healthcare field and to the question of how hospitals may deal with continuous changes in ways that could contribute positively towards outcomes relevant to service quality.
... Nurse managers who supervised or managed more than 2 units reported higher levels of toxic leadership behaviour, which could be explained by the fact that, as the purview of their management increases, the quality of leader-subordinate relationships deteriorates, making it more likely that a leader will develop destructive or toxic behaviour (Schyns, Maslyn & Weibler, 2010). Further, a wide range of studies has suggested that when workplaces expand in size, the positive effects of leadership styles on staff and patient satisfaction reduce, and the adverse effects of ineffective leadership styles increase (Meyer et al., 2011;Wallin, Pousette, & Dellve, 2014). Theoretically, a smaller purview of control promotes creativity, autonomy, and productivity among leaders, and offers greater opportunities for inculcating effective leadership (Holm-Petersen, Østergaard, & Andersen, 2017). ...
Article
Aim: To identify predictors of toxic leadership behaviour in nurse managers. Background: Toxic leadership is becoming increasingly prevalent in nursing; however, the literature provides very limited evidence of the different factors that promote toxic leadership behaviour in nurse managers. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. Two hundred and forty nurse managers from ten hospitals in Central Philippines were included in the study. Data were collected using the Nurse Information Form and the Toxic Leadership Behaviours of Nurse Managers Scale (ToxBH-NM). Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyse the data collected. Results: The mean of average item score of the ToxBH-NM was 1.250 (SD = 0.470). Multiple regression analyses identified the years of experience in a managerial role (β = -0.165, p = 0.031), job status (part time) (β = 0.177, p = 0.002), ward census (30 patients, 40 patients, and above 40 patients) [(β = 0.231, p = 0.005); (β = 0.345, p < 0.004); (β = 0.262, p = 0.012)], number of unit managed (2 units, and > 3 units) [(β = 0.292, p < 0.001); (β = 0.235, p < 0.001), hospital type (private hospital) (β = 0.271, p = 0.007), and hospital level (secondary hospitals) (β = 0.226, p = 0.036) predicted toxic leadership behaviour in nurse managers. Conclusions: Overall, nurse managers were appraised as non-toxic leaders. Nurse Managers who held part time job status, had lower experience in the managerial role, and those who were assigned in wards or units with high patient admission reported increased toxic leadership behaviours. Further, nurse managers who managed more than 2 units, those who were employed in private hospitals, and those who worked in secondary hospitals reported increased toxic leadership behaviours. Implications for Nursing Management: Nurse administrators can consider the different predictors identified when planning and developing leadership interventions and organizational strategies (e.g., limiting the number of units per nurse manager, provision of full time job employment, assignment of assistant nurse managers, formulation of policy specific to managing toxic behaviours) may assist in the determent of toxic behaviours in nurse managers.
... Führungskräfte mit einer Füh rungsspanne ab 20 und mehr Geführten berichten überraschender Weise einen besseren Gesundheitszustand als Führungskräfte mit weniger Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern. Bisherige Studien zeig ten zwar eher, dass mit zunehmender Führungsspanne die Gesund heit der Führungskräfte(Wallin et al. 2014) und die der Geführten leidet(HechanovaAlampay u. Beehr 2001). ...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Führungsverhalten steht je nach Ausprägung positiv oder negativ mit dem Wohlbefinden und der Gesundheit von Beschäftigen im Zusammenhang. Wie eine Führungskraft agiert, hängt unter anderem auch von den Rahmenbedingungen in der Organisation ab – von Strukturen, Klima und Organisationskultur. In dem Projekt „Führung und Organisation im Wandel“ geht die BAuA daher unter anderem der Frage nach, welchen Einfluss die Rahmenbedingungen der Organisation auf die Arbeitsbedingungen der Führungskräfte, ihr Führungsverhalten, das Wohlbefinden und die Gesundheit der Führungskräfte selbst sowie der Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter haben. Der vorliegende Bericht adressiert in diesem Zusammenhang diverse Lücken in der Forschung. Zur begrifflichen Einordnung definieren wir zunächst strukturelle Aspekte als objektivierbare Merkmale einer Organisation (u.a. Größe, Branche, Aufbau- und Ablauforganisation). Klima verstehen wir als die geteilte und bewusste Wahrnehmung von Praktiken und Prozeduren in einer Organisation. Angelehnt an Schein (2017) verstehen wir Kultur als die von den Organisationsmitgliedern geteilten, aber impliziten Überzeugungen und Werte. Eine theoretische Einordnung von Fragestellungen, die sich simultan auf mehrere Ebenen der Organisation bezieht, wird aufbauend auf organisa­tionsbezogenen Theorien und solchen, die den Zusammenhang von Arbeitsbedingungen und Individualauswirkungen betrachten, in einem für unsere Studien relevanten Forschungsmodell adressiert. Auf Basis eines systematischen Literaturreviews und eines repräsentativen Datensatzes mit kombinierten Betriebs- und Beschäftigtendaten kann erwartungsgemäß gezeigt werden, dass positive Klimata mit hohen Ausprägungen von Gerechtigkeit oder Unterstützung der Beschäftigtengesundheit zuträglich sind. Negative Klimata, die etwa geprägt sind durch Diskriminierung, wirken demgegenüber beeinträchtigend. Die wenigen existierenden Studienergebnisse zum Zusammenhang von Kultur und Gesundheit können als Hinweise gewertet werden, dass unterschiedliche Kulturtypen zu förderlichen Ergebnissen für die Beschäftigten führen können. Die Studienlage zu Zusammenhängen struktureller Merkmale und den interessierenden Out­comes war sehr heterogen. In den meisten Fällen waren die Befunde unklar. Im Rahmen der Sekundärdatenanalyse konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich Führungskräfte im Vergleich zu Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeitern ohne Führungsverantwortung gesünder zu fühlen scheinen. Im Hinblick auf den Zusammenhang organisationaler Charakteristika mit Gesundheit konnte festgestellt werden, dass das reine Vorhandensein potenziell gesundheitsförderlicher Strukturen (Gesundheitsförderung, regelmäßige Mitarbeitergespräche) erst einmal nicht mit Gesundheit im Zusammenhang steht. Das Klima und die Arbeitsbedingungen hingegen weisen einen sehr klaren Zusammenhang mit Mitarbeitergesundheit auf. Interessanterweise ist die für Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter gesundheitsförderliche soziale Unterstützung für die Führungskräfte selbst scheinbar durchaus eine Belastung, die mit gesundheitlichen Beeinträchtigungen einhergeht. Die festgestellte hohe Bedeutung von Klimaaspekten für die Gesundheit der Beschäftigten lässt sich auch als „gelebte Unterstützungsstruktur“ interpretieren. Schlüsselwörter: Struktur – Klima – Kultur – Führung – Wohlbefinden – Gesundheit
... Swedish public sector managers' leadership is also highly complex, leading to a high turnover of executives (Cregård & Solli 2008). Compared with private sector managers, public sector managers are often responsible for larger units (Wallin, Pousette & Dellve 2014;Höckertin 2007) and are affected not only by their own superiors but also by the political process, which governs both the sector and the organisation. Borins (2002) argues that if the political leadership has a trusting relationship with the administration, this will encourage bottom-up innovation as well as appropriate crisis response and agency turnarounds; if not, bottom-up innovation, such as EDI, will be stifled. ...
... Bu nedenle yaş (18-30 = 1, 31-40 = 2, 41-50 = 3, 51 ve üstü = 4) ve kıdem (sürekli değişken) değişkenleri her iki düzeyde de (D1, D2) kontrol edilmiştir. Denetim alanı yüksek olan yöneticiler çalışanlara gerekli ilgi ve zamanı ayırmakta zorlanabilir ve bu hem yöneticilerin hem de çalışanların tükenmişliğini arttırabilir (Wallin, Pousette ve Dellve, 2014). Dolayısıyla yöneticinin denetim alanı (1-10 kişi = 1, 11-20 kişi = 2, 21-30 kişi = 3, 31 kişi ve üzeri = 4) ikinci düzeyde (D2) kontrol edilmiştir. ...
Article
Full-text available
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of employees’ procedural justice perceptions in the relationship between supervisors’ and their employees’ emotional exhaustion. Based on conservation of resources and resource depletion theories, the study proposes that as supervisors become emotionally exhausted, they would be procedurally less fair to their employees due to their loss of self-control. This procedural unfairness by the supervisor, in turn, would instigate increased emotional exhaustion among employees, as it may signal the loss of an important resource for them. Using a multilevel research design (Level 1: Employee, Level 2: Supervisor), we collected data from 74 supervisors and 212 employees who report to these supervisors. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses provide support for our mediation hypothesis, suggesting that supervisors’ emotional exhaustion predicts employees’ emotional exhaustion indirectly through employees’ perceptions of procedural justice. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (Extended summary of the research starts at page 145.)
... An inevitable consequence is that the managers' availability and precondition to show commitment and to engage in the employees are limited (Astvik, 2003) and the leadership can in worst case, turn into a laissez-faire-like style. Also, more employees result in a larger work load and potentially less managerial control (Wallin et al., 2014). ...
Article
Purpose Hierarchical and flat organizational types are predominant in Spain and Sweden, respectively. To study how managers’ commitment and work overcommitment (WOC) affect employee well-being, and job perception in these different countries can shed insight on how to improve eldercare organization. The purpose of this paper was to study the association between eldercare employee exposure to managers’ commitment and WOC, and employee mental well-being and job perception and how these associations differed between Spain and Sweden. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire with validated questions on commitment, WOC, mental well-being and job perception, operationalized as the perception of quality of care and turnover intent, was sent out to eldercare managers and employees in Spain and Sweden. t-Tests, χ² and linear regression were applied to study the associations and differences between the countries. Findings Interaction analyses revealed that Spanish employees’ mental well-being and job perception were influenced by their managers’ commitment and WOC in that manager commitment improved and WOC impaired well-being and job perception. However, the Swedish eldercare employees were not influenced by their managers on these parameters. Practical implications The impact of managerial commitment and WOC differed between employees in Spain and Sweden, possibly because the preconditions for leadership varied due to differences in organizational type. Originality/value This study compares the managers’ impact on employee health and job perception in two countries with different organizational prerequisites. Moreover, managers’ commitment and WOC were estimated by the managers themselves and did not rely on the employees’ perception, which improved ecological validity.
... Widespread trends in working life towards downsizing and flatter work organizations have also increased the job pressures for middle managers who remain in the organization. A substantial increase in responsibilities and work tasks, as well as an increased span of control over subordinates seems to have become the 'new deal' for many middle managers (Thomas and Dunkerley, 1999;Balogun, 2003;Newell and Dopson, 1996;Wallin et al. 2014). It is perhaps not that surprising that a number of studies have highlighted that middle managers are a risk group for job-related ill health, such as stress, burnout, fatigue and poor well-being (Peter and Siegrist, 1997;Huy, 2002;Hunt, 1986;Berntson et al., 2012). ...
Book
Full-text available
Over the past few decades, scholars have paid increasing attention to work of site managers in the construction industry. In particular, the work situations of site managers have been increasingly depicted as demanding and stressful. The reasons for these situations have been explained as arising from macro-level characteristics of the industry itself. This includes, for instance, the influence of structure (loose coupling) and culture (masculinity and paternalism) that is suggested to promote a particularly demanding work situations characterized by overwork, stress, fragmentation and pressure to be in control of all activities on site. This thesis takes a critical perspective on the assumption that the everyday work practices of site managers can be explained as causally derived from macro-level characteristics of the industry. Instead, a need to take into account the managers experiences, meaningmaking and responses is called for. The aim of the thesis is to explore practical manifestations of site managers’ everyday work and how they experience and cope with their work life situations. For this aim, an interview study design with an exploratory and interpretative approach has been chosen. The thesis discusses findings based on three appended papers. By applying an everyday practice lens on the managers work, the discussion highlights the emergence of four separate yet interrelated conceptualized phenomena that warrant further research. These are reproduction, normalization, autonomy and resistance. These phenomena are discussed in order to highlight nuances, complexities and paradoxes underlying site managers work and to conceptualize new understandings of work in the construction industry. Instead of viewing site managers work as derived from macro-level characteristics, the thesis argues for a need to increasingly consider how issues of overwork and workaholism become reproduced and resisted in context where these tendencies seem to be normalized. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the need for future research on site managers work situations to critically elaborate on the relationship between, on one hand masculine culture and identities vis-à-vis practices of (over)work, and on the other hand autonomy and resistance vis-à-vis control.
... However, there is no exact rule in determining the exact number of subordinates per one superior (Delbecq, 1968;Staats et al., 2012;Davison, 2003;House and Miner, 1969;Nasrallah, 2015;Pendharkar et al., 2009;Holm-Petersen et al., 2017;Wallin et al., 2014;Walter and Zimmermann, 2016) because the size of the span influences several determinants that deviate from industry, enterprise size, type of organizational structure, performance of the organization (Staats et al., 2012). Zagoršek (2014) is also dedicated to a team's performance in terms of individual performance. ...
Article
Full-text available
The span of control expresses how many subordinates correspond to one manager, while determined by many factors and unable to be expanded indefinitely. The study monitors the impact of determinants, like the functional area of control, the level of management, the duration of managerial position, the age of the manager, the size and composition of the team. The results of non-parametric testing (Chi-Square Test of Independence) and rates of association between variables (using Cramér’s V and Phi coefficient and for ordinal variables, Kendall’s tau-b, Goodman-Kruskal’s Gamma, Kendall’s tau-c and Somers’ d) indicate that the team size is not related to the level of management, which does not confirm the assumption that the largest teams work at the lowest management level and vice versa, that the team leader at the top level is in charge of the smallest number of people. Instead the size of the team depends on the functional area of control. The assumption that increasing age, and so increasing experience also increases the size of the team, has not been confirmed. However, the fact that the manager works longer in the leading position has been confirmed. With the current manner of managing an organization, the age of the manager is the weak indicator of the duration of the managerial position. © 2018, Economic Laboratory for Transition Research. All rights reserved.
... Similarly, reducing the number of management layers may be the right solution for a firm with a tall hierarchy, but if one flattens the structure too much, it may lead to work overload for managers, which in turn has a negative effect on performance (Wallin, Pousette, & Dellve, 2014;Wong et al., 2015). ...
... Job strain described in research is characterised by limited opportunities for development, lack of support from managers and insufficient resources in terms of personnel, materials and time (Stranz, 2013). The situation is compounded by the large number of subordinates directly supervised by each manager (Wallin et al. 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
Aim: To investigate relationships between first-line managers' ratings of structural and psychological empowerment, and the subordinates' ratings of structural empowerment, as well as their ratings of the managers' leadership-management performance. Background: Work situations in elderly care are complex. To date, few studies have used a longitudinal, correlational and multilevel design to study the working life of subordinates and managers. Method: In five Swedish municipalities, questionnaires were answered twice during 2010-12 by 56 first-line managers and 769 subordinates working in nursing homes or home-help services. Results: First-line managers' empowerment at Time 1 partially predicted subordinate's structural empowerment and ratings of their managers' leadership-management performance at Time 2. Changes over time partially revealed that the more access managers had to structural empowerment, i.e. increase over time, the higher the ratings were for structural empowerment and managerial leadership-management performance among subordinates. Conclusions: Findings strengthen research and theoretical suggestions linking first-line managers' structural empowerment to their subordinates' structural empowerment and ratings of their manager's leadership-management performance. Implications for nursing management: Managers with high access to structural empowerment are more likely to provide subordinates access to structural empowerment.
... The results of this study make it possible to identify shared leadership as an important health and well-being resource. According to the Job Demands-Resources model (Demerouti & Bakker, 2011), in work environment research, resources are thought to buffer or balance stressing demands at work (Wallin, Pousette, & Dellve, 2013). It is evident that the sharing of principalship functioned as a stress-reducing resource, making the assignment possible to manage. ...
Article
Full-text available
A school principal’s workload is recognised as being heavy, with an imbalance between demands and resources. This paper contributes to the development of collective leadership. The principalship constellations of six schools in Sweden were studied with the aim of strengthening the current knowledge about structures and experiences of shared principalship. The empirical basis is qualitative data from interviews with principals and vice-principals. The analytical focus was on how the sharing structures were organised and how the shared principalship was experienced. The results point to a considerable variation in the organisational structures of shared principalship. Despite the type of model, form and constellation, the principals and vice-principals voiced a striking sense of relief in not feeling alone in their duties, as problems and troubles became manageable. An intensified interaction level in the principalship constellation created opportunities to develop competence. Theoretically, this study broadens the invited leadership concept to include horizontal invitations across unit boundaries between principals in different units within the same school. The knowledge contribution of this study is useful in discussing the legal possibilities for shared principalship, which may be especially relevant in times when the Swedish school system is being criticised for not delivering good student outcomes.
... Also, a study by Wallin et al. shows that demands and burdens increase in relation to the number of co-workers. A clear gender difference can be established where managers in female-dominated areas of activities such as school, nursing and care have twice the amount of co-workers as managers in technical, male-dominated areas of activities (Wallin et al., 2014). ...
Article
The purpose of this article is to explore how a group of managers construct their reality, more specifically what it means to work as a manager in a municipal organization. The empirical data for the study were obtained from a Swedish medium-sized municipality and the study takes as its research approach grounded theory, as developed by Glaser and Strauss. Consequently, the empirical data formed the basis for the research, which takes a multi-methodical and theory-generating approach. The methods used in the study include the use of a questionnaire study, interviews in focus groups, observations, reflective work diaries, and the creation of feedback sessions. The result shows that the managers work in an organization where conflicting and competing value systems act together. These can be interpreted as environmental factors and external bounds on a structural societal level, which cannot be influenced. A point of analysis is that these factors and external bounds to a high degree permeate the manager’s workday and can therefore be seen as a plausible explanation for the boundless nature of the managerial task. For most of the managers of the study, this was expressed as uncertainty as to how to define and interpret goals and as to what the managerial role includes with regard to areas of responsibility. It is interesting to ask, however, whether these conditions are not characteristic of the role of managers and work life in general. The results also show that the substantive theory of the study was not judged to be valid for the municipal companies. These managers do not express as ambivalent an approach to competing value systems as the managers in other sections of the municipality do. Nor do they appear to question their professional knowledge, the work content or managership. Another empirical important finding is that the managers believe that the organizational conditions limit ability to carry out the manager task, but that, despite this, they indicate, paradoxically, that they like their work and the social work environment.
Article
Purpose Set in the construction industry, this study aims to better understand managers’ work–family conflict (WFC) and their challenges regarding work–family (WF) issues, and to compare site workers’ and managers’ perceptions of work–family balance (WFB) practices in this male-dominated industry. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-method participatory design (qual-QUAN), this study was conducted in Quebec’s (Canada’s) construction industry. Semi-structured interviews with managers ( n = 17) and workers ( n = 20) were conducted, along with a survey of managers ( n = 692) and workers ( n = 789). Findings Triangulation of results shows that managers have significantly higher levels of WFC than workers and that the factors contributing to their WFC are similar (e.g. heavy workload, unsupportive organizational culture). The results suggest a discrepancy between workers’ and managers’ perceptions. While managers report offering a wide variety of WF measures, many of which stem from collective agreements, workers report little use of those measures. Practical implications Results highlight the contrast between availability and accessibility of WF measures in the construction industry and question both managers’ and workers’ possible lack of awareness of WFB measures and practices. Originality/value These results contribute to the literature by characterizing issues managers themselves face in the construction industry. The study also discusses managers’ support of workers in the context of their own organizational, interpersonal and individual constraints. Finally, this study contributes by paralleling data from managers and workers in the industry regarding WFB measures and policies.
Article
Purpose Maintaining a healthy and productive workforce is a challenge for most organizations. This is even truer for health organization, facing staff shortages and work overload. The aim of this study is to identify the resources and constraints that influence managers' mental health and better understand how they are affected by them. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was chosen to document the resources, the constraints as well as their consequences on managers in their day-to-day realities. The sample included executive-, intermediate- and first-level managers from a Canadian healthcare facility. A total of 62 semi-structured interviews were conducted. The coding process was based on the IGLOO model of Nielsen et al . (2018) to which an employee-related level was added (IGELOO). Findings Results highlight the importance of considering both resources as well as constraints in examining managers' mental health. Overarching context, organizational constraints and the management of difficult employees played important roles in the stress experienced by managers. Practical implications The results offer a better understanding of the importance of intervening at different levels to promote better organizational health. Results also highlight the importance of setting up organizational resources and act on the various constraints to reduce them. Different individual strategies used by managers to deal with the various constraints and maintain their mental health also emerge from those results. Originality/value In addition to addressing the reality of healthcare managers, this study supplements a theoretical model and suggests avenues for interventions promoting more sustainable organizational health.
Chapter
Full-text available
Resultaten indikerar att de organiserade stödresurserna hade stor betydel-se för hållbart integrerat och värdeskapande ledarskap samt för aktiva ledningsstrategier och hållbart ledarskap. Konkret innebär det att det finns stor potential om chefer har stöd genom överordnads intresse och verkliga engagemang, genom ett organiserat ledningsstöd i form av personal- och ekonomifunktionernas mer verksamhetsstödjande arbete samt möjlighet att få stöd eller handledning av extern expertis vid behov. Ett personligt ledarskap som karakteriserades av att vara utvecklingsstödjande hade betydelse för utvecklingsarbete och varierade beroende på profession och ägarförhållanden. Resultaten indikerar potential för att det ska bli effekter som har betydelse för verksamhet och hållbarhet om det sker en utveck-ling av organisatoriska stöd samt för chefsutveckling.
Article
Full-text available
Background Against the backdrop of worldwide increases in life expectancy, there is a growing concern about the future of health and social care services in many countries, including Sweden. This is not least due to expected cutbacks in tax revenues and increasing staff shortages in the welfare sector. Challenges such as these have spurred leadership reforms aimed at mobilizing employee engagement and promoting job attractiveness. For instance, distributed leadership, whereby leader responsibilities are distributed and shared among team members, has gained momentum in recent decades. Nevertheless, there is still limited knowledge as to whether and how organizational conditions impact first-line managers’ inclination to distribute influence and control. Objective This study aims to examine the organizational precursors of two interrelated aspects of distributed leadership among first-line managers in municipal elder- and disability care: collaborative decision-making and the presence (or lack of) a participatory leadership approach. Methods Utilizing survey data from managers working in the elder- and disability care sectors in the municipality of Gothenburg, Sweden (N = 250), associations between conditions and aspects of distributed leadership were analyzed by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results Both aspects of distributed leadership were positively and significantly associated with managers’ perceptions of having well-functioning collaborations with their employees (β=0.277 [0.122–0.432]; β=0.492 [0.346–0.637]) as well as with the managers’ active participation in development work aimed at, e.g., promoting organizational trust (β=0.242 [0.039–0.446]; β=0.251 [0.103–0.398]). No significant associations between distributed leadership and support from senior management or positive collaborations with support functions were observed in the controlled analyses. However, managers’ perceptions of organizational governance deficits were shown to be significantly and positively associated with having a more participatory leadership approach (β=0.261 [0.032–0.491]). Conclusions In line with the notion of distributed leadership as a “collective activity” that is realized in the interaction between managers and their employees, the findings demonstrate that trusting collaborations with responsible and knowledgeable employees play a key role in its practical implementation. Also, distributed leadership, and the work team relations through which it is enabled, are likely to mutually and positively reinforce each other. Additionally, the analyses revealed that managers’ experiences of poor organizational governance appear to promote certain distributed leadership practices. Potentially, this could be because such deficits encourage them to seek support and guidance from their employees, but more research exploring these mechanisms is needed.
Article
Chefer kan ha stor betydelse för anställdas hälsa, stress, engagemang i arbetet och prestation. Få tidigare studier har undersökt vilket stöd chefer behöver för ett hållbart och bra ledarskap. Artikeln presenterar resultat från en prospektiv studie om betydelsen av chefers stödresurser för hållbart ledarskap. I studien, som är en del av Chefios-projektet, ingår chefer i kommunal vård och omsorg (n = 344). Data från enkätstudier med instrumentet ”Gothenburg Manager Stress Inventory” har analyserats. Resultatet visar att ett stödjande privatliv och en personlig inställning till chefsuppdrag har stor betydelse för chefers hållbarhet över tid. Chefens kontrollspann och erfarenhet som chef påverkade betydelsen av stödresurser. För chefer med kortare chefserfarenhet eller fler underställda (> 30) har även stöd från ledning, chefskollegor och externt stöd betydelse.
Article
I syfte att predicera sjukfrånvaron på 38 vårdenheter i Västra Götalandsregionen användes enhetschefernas självrapporterade uppgifter om arbetsmiljö och arbetsrelaterad hälsa. Data analyserades med hjälp av binär logistisk regression. Utfallsvariabeln baserades på klusteranalyser av sjukfrånvaroincidens för perioden 2013-2016, där varje sjukvårdsenhet representerades av antingen en gynnsam eller en ofördelaktig trend. Analyser utfördes separat för undersköterskor och sjuksköterskor och för kombinationen av båda yrkesgrupperna inom tre olika sjukfrånvarointervall (0-7 dagar/år; 8-27 dagar/ år; ≥ 28 dagar/år). Resultaten gav få belägg för att chefers arbetssituation predicerar sjukfrånvaro på hela vårdenheter. Dock fanns vissa indikationer på att chefers burnout möjligen har en sådan effekt. In order to predict sickness absence at 38 health care units in the Västra Götaland region, the unit managers’ self-reported data on work environment and work-related health were utilized. Data were examined using binary logistic regression analysis. The outcome variable was based upon cluster analyses of incidences of sickness absence for 2013-2016, where each health care unit was represented by either a favorable or an unfavorable trend. Analyses were performed separately for registered nurses and assistant nurses and for the combination of both occupational groups within three different intervals for sickness absence (0-7 days/year; 8-27 days/year; ≥ 28 days/year). The results provided little evidence that managers’ work situation predicts sickness absence for entire care units. However, there were some indications that managers’ burnout possibly has such an effect.
Article
The demands on managers seem to have increased as a consequence of management reforms. This study evaluates interventions aimed at improving working conditions and performance of managers in the Swedish public sector by changing organizational conditions. Six intervention organizations were compared to 34 reference organizations. Organizational conditions relevant for managerial work were surveyed and the results presented to the management teams who decided on the action plans and implemented changes. Fidelity to the intentions and contextual circumstances were documented. A psychometrically tested questionnaire was used for pre- and post-measurements of effects among a sample of 303 managers. The results showed that the interventions were associated with changes in managers’ quality of work and performance. The evaluation design made it possible to show that organizational conditions can be changed in order to improve the operations managers’ situation if there is fidelity to the intentions and support from the strategic level management.
Chapter
Differentiated policy for teacher evaluation is considered using the organizational theory of span of control and the econometric concept of transaction costs. Sixty-two Alberta Canada school districts’ local human resource policies were rated for their content and characteristics in relation to fidelity, accessibility, implementability, currency, and differentiability. These ratings were then statistically regressed against school districts’ provincial budget allocations to examine if overall budgets predicted those facets of local human resource policy. The authors argue that the implementability of a differentiated policy is bound up in a host of competing considerations in school board central offices including the time required to appraise large numbers of professional staff and the complexities of evaluating staff spanning multiple subject areas and interests, regardless of career stage.
Article
In this quasi-experimental study, we examine the alignment of a job redesign initiative with leadership training aimed at increasing supervisors’ opportunities for providing support to employees. In addition, we examine intervention-mediated effects on climate for innovation through increases in perceived supervisor support. To test the hypothesized process, we used employee ratings (N = 524) of perceived supervisor support and climate for innovation collected at three time points over 2 years in the home help services in seven Swedish municipalities. Results of latent growth curve analyses showed that employees in the intervention group had a stronger and positive slope of perceived supervisor support relative to the comparison group. Further, the growth trajectories of perceived supervisor support were positively associated with climate for innovation at the 24-month follow-up. The study contributes to the human resource management literature by showing that alignment of employment practices such as training with work practices such as job redesign may be a promising strategy for achieving positive outcomes at multiple levels in organizations.
Article
Full-text available
According to the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, job demands and resources evoke two relatively independent processes: health impairment and employee motivation. The robustness of the JD-R model was tested in two different occupational samples, the first of 654 Spanish employees and the second of 477 Dutch employees. Structural equation modeling analyses provided partial evidence for the two processes. Multigroup analyses showed that the structural paths of the model were invariant across countries, although the strength of the relationships differed. We conclude that the basic structure of the JD-R model is maintained, even when applied in different national and occupational contexts, when using different ways of gathering data (computerized versus paper and pencil), and when using slightly different measures to assess the key variables of the model.
Article
Full-text available
There is extensive evidence that the prevalence of human hypertension is related to psychosocial factors, possibly including chronic exposure to stress. A tripartite model, consistent with the literature on stress and health, may help to define this relationship better. Its 3 components are environmental stressors, individual factors affecting the perception of stress, and the individual's physiological susceptibility. To date, researchers have looked at individual parts of this model, but rarely at all 3. Some models of work stress (e.g., the job strain, effort–reward, and person–environment fit models) focus on work-related stressors alone or in conjunction with individual characteristics. Other models (e.g., the defense–defeat, John Henryism, and reactivity models) focus on individual differences in response, with little attention paid to the nature of the stressors. The authors suggest that it is timely to integrate these approaches and to look for physiological mechanisms.
Article
Full-text available
Research comparing public and private organizations and examining the publicness of organizations represents a substantial and growing body of empirical evidence, relevant to many international issues in political economy and organization theory such as the privatization of public services. This article assesses several major streams in this research over the last two decades, which in some ways refute widely held a priori assumptions about similarities and differences between public and private organizations but which in some ways support such assumptions. The review covers research on goal complexity and ambiguity, organizational structure, personnel and purchasing processes, and work-related attitudes and values. The research results converge in important ways, but they also present anomalies. For example, in spite of virtually universal agreement among scholars that public organizations have more goal complexity and ambiguity, public managers do not differ from business managers in response to survey questions about such matters. Public managers do not differ from business managers on perceptions about organizational formalization, in spite of a chorus of assertions that government agencies have more red tape and rules than private firms have. Public managers do, however, show very sharp differences in response to questions about constraints under personnel and purchasing rules. The article concludes with an assessment of the credibility of these streams of research through consideration of alternative plausible hypotheses.
Article
Full-text available
Recent studies have demonstrated that Karasek's operationalization of job demands in his well-known Job Demand-Control (JD-C) model (Karasek, 1979), i.e., quantitative demands, cannot capture the complexities of working with patients or clients in health care work. In the present study on burnout among 816 Dutch oncology care providers, the model was extended by including, apart from quantitative demands, emotional job demands and organizational job demands. Moreover, the study examined the potential moderating role of three different sources of social support (colleagues, supervisor, and family) on the relationship between job demands and burnout thereby predicting a specific match between the source of social support and the type of job demand. The results showed that particularly quantitative job demands and organizational job demands significantly contributed to the prediction of burnout. In addition, social support from the family moderated the relationship between quantitative demands and depersonalization, and social support from colleagues moderated the relationship between emotional demands and depersonalization.
Article
Full-text available
As an extension of the existing literature on span-of-control relationships, we propose that public bureaucracies are typically faced with multiple goals creating potential conflicts due to structural choices. In other words, optimal span of control for one goal may not be optimal for another. Findings from an analysis of nearly 600 public bureaucracies provide some evidence that structural changes designed to improve performance on one goal may hinder performance on others. The results from our analysis also demonstrate a functional form for the span-of-control relationship that is very different from the one suggested by recent theoretical work.
Article
Full-text available
Although interest in multilevel organizational theory, research, and methods has been on the rise in recent years, vigorous debates in the literature regarding appropriate ways to conceptualize and measure multilevel constructs, justify aggregation, and analyze multilevel models have contributed to confusion. New investigators interested in testing multilevel theory are intrigued, but wary. The goal of this article is to cut through the confusion, identifying the critical choices and issues a researcher may confront as he or she shifts from a single level to a multilevel perspective. The authors address four primary choices—construct and measurement issues, model specification, research design and sampling, and data analyses— describing critical steps in conceptualizing and conducting multilevel research.
Article
Full-text available
Contemporary public management is characterized by a strong tendency to introduce performance measurement in order to reduce complexity. Public managers face two challenges when performing their work: uncertainty and ambiguity. Ambiguity is understood as the absence of or contradictory interpretations about what needs to, can and should be done, when and where. In this article we argue that the intensity and nature of ambiguity vary, depending on the public management setting. This has serious implications for the type of evaluation chosen. Performance measurement may be appropriate when ambiguity is relatively low, but it is difficult and potentially damaging in settings marked by a high degree of ambiguity. In these latter cases, evaluation approaches that acknowledge ambiguity through dialogue are more suitable. To structure this line of reasoning, we distinguish four public management settings (industrial, enforcing, professional and strategic) and relate this to different evaluation approaches.
Article
Full-text available
Managers in many public domains have to meet major challenges today, which is why it is essential to focus on their working conditions in order to develop a sustainable situation. In the present study, the aim was to explore different types of managerial situations and how they discriminate in health, motivation, and performance outcomes. Using the job demands-resources model as a framework, four demands and three resources were included in a cluster analysis in order to answer the research question. In total, 548 managers in Sweden participated, including heads of department, middle managers, firstline managers, team leaders, and functional managers. The most important finding was that the eight clusters of managerial situations that were found discriminated in a distinct way against each other regarding health, motivation, and performance. The results can be used as guidance for organizational intervention as both very satisfactory and very unsatisfactory situations are identified.
Article
Full-text available
"This paper advocates a validational process utilizing a matrix of intercorrelations among tests representing at least two traits, each measured by at least two methods. Measures of the same trait should correlate higher with each other than they do with measures of different traits involving separate methods. Ideally, these validity values should also be higher than the correlations among different traits measure by the same method." Examples from the literature are described as well as problems in the application of the technique. 36 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
Statistical procedures for missing data have vastly improved, yet misconception and unsound practice still abound. The authors frame the missing-data problem, review methods, offer advice, and raise issues that remain unresolved. They clear up common misunderstandings regarding the missing at random (MAR) concept. They summarize the evidence against older procedures and, with few exceptions, discourage their use. They present, in both technical and practical language, 2 general approaches that come highly recommended: maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian multiple imputation (MI). Newer developments are discussed, including some for dealing with missing data that are not MAR. Although not yet in the mainstream, these procedures may eventually extend the ML and MI methods that currently represent the state of the art. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
This study focuses on work engagement and its negative antipode, burnout, as well as their antecedents and consequences. According to the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, two different processes have to be distinguished: a motivational process that links job resources with turnover intention through work engagement, and an energetic process that links job demands and health complaints via the mediating role of burnout. The robustness of the JD-R model was tested in a heterogeneous occupational sample (N = 846). Structural equation modeling analyses yielded a slightly modified model with only exhaustion being indicative of burnout and vigor, dedication along with absorption being indicative of engagement. The results provide evidence for the dipartite structure of the JD-R model. Multi-group analyses revealed the model to be invariant across age and gender. Although strengths of path coefficients and factor loadings differed among white- and blue-collar workers, the basic structure of the model was also confirmed among these subgroups. Therefore, the findings underscore the robustness of the JD-R model.
Article
Full-text available
This paper focuses mainly on theoretical frameworks for understanding and investigating informal learning in the workplace, which have been developed through a series of large‐ and small‐scale projects. The main conclusions are included but readers are referred to other publications for more detailed accounts of individual projects. Two types of framework are discussed. The first group seeks to deconstruct the ‘key concepts’ of informal learning, learning from experience, tacit knowledge, transfer of learning and> intuitive practice to disclose the range of different phenomena that are embraced by these popular terms. The second group comprises frameworks for addressing the three central questions that pervaded the research programme: what is being learned, how is it being learned and what are the factors that influence the level and directions of the learning effort?
Article
Full-text available
This study among 12,359 employees working in 148 organizations tested the interaction hypothesis of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. Accordingly, employees endorse most positive work attitudes (task enjoyment and organizational commitment) when job demands and job resources are both high. Results of moderated structural equation modeling analyses provided strong support for the hypothesis: 15 of the 16 hypothesized interactions were significant for task enjoyment and 13 of the 16 interactions were significant for organizational commitment. Job resources (skill utilization, learning opportunities, autonomy, colleague support, leader support, performance feedback, participation in decision making, and career opportunities) predicted task enjoyment and organizational commitment particularly under conditions of high job demands (workload and emotional demands). These findings clearly expand the Demand-Control model and support the JD-R model. Moreover, the results illustrate what managers can do to secure employee well-being.
Article
Full-text available
Early management scholars such as Henri Fayol, Lydal Urwick, and Luther Gulick argued that principles such as specialization of labor and hierarchical leadership structures would result in optimal organizational performance. This perspective was attacked by Herbert Simon, who argued that the principles of administrative management were vague and contradictory. Simon’s devastating critique was widely accepted, and scholars soon turned their attention away from studying the principles of management. Ironically, little systematic research existed on many of the principles of management at the time Simon leveled his critique. In this study, the goal is to refocus attention on a particular principle of management, span of control, most closely associated with Luther Gulick. After discussing the importance of span of control to their understanding of organizational behavior, the authors present a theory that links span of control to organizational performance. They test their theory by examining how span of control relationships among personnel in public schools influence student performance, using data on 678 Texas school districts over a 4-year period. The findings reveal that span of control relationships among organizational personnel significantly shape student performance.
Article
Full-text available
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on home care organization employees, and examine how the interaction between job demands (emotional demands, patient harassment, workload, and physical demands) and job resources (autonomy, social support, performance feedback, and opportunities for professional development) affect the core dimensions of burnout (exhaustion and cynicism). Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested with a cross‐sectional design among 747 Dutch employees from two home care organizations. Findings Results of moderated structural equation modeling analyses partially supported the hypotheses as 21 out of 32 (66 per cent) possible two‐way interactions were significant and in the expected direction. In addition, job resources were stronger buffers of the relationship between emotional demands/patient harassment and burnout, than of the relationship between workload/physical demands and burnout. Practical implications The conclusions may be particularly useful for occupational settings, including home care organizations, where reducing or redesigning demands is difficult. Originality/value The findings confirm the JD‐R model by showing that several job resources can buffer the relationship between job demands and burnout.
Article
Full-text available
The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was used to examine the relationship between job characteristics, burnout, and (other-ratings of) performance (N = 146). We hypothesized that job demands (e.g., work pressure and emotional demands) would be the most important antecedents of the exhaustion component of burnout, which, in turn, would predict in-role performance (hypothesis 1). In contrast, job resources (e.g., autonomy and social support) were hypothesized to be the most important predictors of extra-role performance, through their relationship with the disengagement component of burnout (hypothesis 2). In addition, we predicted that job resources would buffer the relationship between job demands and exhaustion (hypothesis 3), and that exhaustion would be positively related to disengagement (hypothesis 4). The results of structural equation modeling analyses provided strong support for hypotheses 1, 2, and 4, but rejected hypothesis 3. These findings support the JD-R model's claim that job demands and job resources initiate two psychological processes, which eventually affect organizational outcomes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Article
Full-text available
Scholars of public organizations have long been interested in understanding how organizational structures shape organizational performance. This is an important question because if links between structure and performance exist, then manipulating organizational structures may lead to improvements in organizational performance. This study examines how one structural attribute, span of control, shapes performance in a large set of public organizations. Specifically, our focus is on how structure shapes performance when task difficulty varies. We hypothesize that structural attributes such as spans of control have limited effects on performance when organizations address very easy or very difficult tasks. When organizations address moderately difficult tasks, the impact of structure on performance should be greatest. Our analysis of 678 school districts in Texas covering the years 1994 to 1997 reveals that span of control variables have the greatest impact on student performance under moderately difficult task scenarios.
Article
Full-text available
The automatic or blind inclusion of control variables in multiple regression and other analyses, intended to purify observed relationships among variables of interest, is widespread and can be considered an example of practice based on a methodological urban legend. Inclusion of such variables in most cases implicitly assumes that the control variables are somehow either contaminating the measurement of the variables of interest or affecting the underlying constructs, thus distorting observed relationships among them. There are, however, a number of alternative mechanisms that would produce the same statistical results, thus throwing into question whether inclusion of control variables has led to more or less accurate interpretation of results. The authors propose that researchers should be explicit rather than implicit regarding the role of control variables and match hypotheses precisely to both the choice of variables and the choice of analyses. The authors further propose that researchers avoid testing models in which demographic variables serve as proxies for variables that are of real theoretical interest in their data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Article
Full-text available
Within the Job Demands-Resources model, the presence of job demands (e.g., work pressure) and the absence of job resources (e.g., social support) relate to burnout through a psychological energetic process, whereas the presence of job resources associates with work engagement through a motivational process. Although various mechanisms have been suggested to understand these processes, empirical evidence for these mechanisms is scarce within the JD-R framework. This study examines the role of basic need satisfaction, as defined within Self-Determination Theory, in the relationships between job demands, job resources, and employees' exhaustion and vigour, the main components of burnout and engagement, respectively. Structural equation modelling in a heterogeneous sample of 745 employees of the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium confirmed that satisfaction of basic psychological needs partially explained the relationships from job demands to exhaustion and from job resources to vigour. It fully accounted for the relationship between job resources and exhaustion. We conclude that the current study adds to the research pointing at need satisfaction as a promising underlying mechanism for employees' thriving at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Work & Stress is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. 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.)
Article
Full-text available
Leader-member exchange (LMX) refers to the relationship quality a leader shares with members of his or her work group, typically described as differentiation in quality within the group. Numerous empirical studies demonstrate that the quality of this relationship is positively related to followers' attitudes and organizational outcomes. It has been proposed that the quality of possible relationships between the leader and the led will be affected by the number of employees directly reporting to the leader, with empirical findings showing a slight negative relationship between span of control and LMX. Little is known, however, about how span of control influences variability in the quality of leader-member exchange within the context of work groups. Therefore, following a recognized assumption to strive for as many as possible leadership relations on a high LMX level, we examine how individual- and group-level (consensus in) LMX can be based on different dimensions of the LMX relationship. We suggest how LMX consensus and a high LMX level can be established even in large spans of control.
Article
Full-text available
The relationship quality that develops between leaders and those designated as followers is of longstanding interest to researchers and practitioners. The purpose of the present article is to review the more recent developments in the field of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory to identify specific issues related to leader-member agreement and follower consensus that have potentially important theoretical and practical implications. We introduce the concept of LMX excellence, which involves high-quality LMX, high leader-member agreement as well as high group consensus in LMX quality. We outline how leaders and followers' behaviour as well as context can enhance or hinder the development of LMX excellence and conclude with an overview of the practical and theoretical implications as well as future research needs.
Article
Full-text available
By using a full panel design in a representative sample of Finnish dentists (N=2555), the present study aimed to test longitudinally the motivational and health impairment processes as proposed in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. The second aim was to investigate whether home resources and home demands have an additional influence on both processes over time. The hypotheses were tested with cross-lagged analyses based on two waves over a three-year period. The results supported both the motivational process and the health impairment process. Job resources influenced future work engagement, which, in turn, predicted organizational commitment, whereas job demands predicted burnout over time, which, in turn, predicted future depression. In addition, job resources had a weak negative impact on burnout. Home demands and home resources did not influence the motivational or health impairment process over time. The results support the central role of work characteristics for health and well-being. By integrating both human thriving and ill-health in the same model, the JD-R model may help to bridge the gap between “negative” and “positive” psychology.
Book
This book helps to understand in which ways local governing elites are important for the success or failure of national democratic development. Although we know a great deal about the general importance of civil society and social capital for the development of sustainable democracy, we still know little about what specific local governing qualities or political capital that interact with democratic development. The collected data covers time series of surveys from between 15 to 30 political and administrative leaders in over a hundred middle-sized European and Eurasian cities. The study takes us across the 1980s and 1990s, going from cities in Sweden and the Netherlands - through the Baltic cities - to the cities of Belarus and Russia. The findings show the importance of local political capital based on commitments to core democratic values, informal governance networks, and the significance of initially connecting the community to global, non-economic relationships. © VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften | GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden 2006.
Article
Article
Results A total of 274 clinical directors agreed to participate in the study. The response rate was 73%. The clinical directors exposed to high job demands had a significantly higher probability of low self-rated health [OR = 3.4 and 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.6–7.0] than those who were not in this situation. Furthermore, participants who were exposed to high job demands had an increased risk of low self-rated health (OR = 3.8 and 95% CI = 1.8–8.1) irrespective of available social support inside or outside work. High average working hours more than doubled the risk of low self-rated health (OR = 2.2 and 95% CI = 1.1–4.4). Conclusion The job demands on physicians in clinical directors’ positions may exceed ordinary means of support with consequent adverse effects on self-rated health. More research is needed to investigate the interaction between job demands and support systems in this group of health care workers.
Article
This study explored relationships between the number of employees working in a unit and measures of work experience and satisfaction. Data were collected from 1608 women and men from a single large professional services firm comprising 22 units. Individuals working in larger units described their work environment more negatively and reported less satisfying work outcomes. The effects of unit size were consistent but modest. Possible explanations for the observed relationships are offered.
Article
Organizational and psychological climate research has been plagued by cross-level inference problems. This paper advocates treating the organization as the unit of theory for organizational climate while preserving the individual as the unit of theory for psychological climate. It examines multilevel conceptual problems in climate research and discusses strategies for improving the validity and assessing the reliability of measurement. Additional multilevel research on climate and other areas of organizational science, particularly organizational culture, is encouraged.
Article
There is a rich debate in organizational theory about the contribution of supervisors to group process and performance, and about the span of control needed to make that contribution. In this paper, I summarize the debate and develop competing hypotheses. These competing hypotheses are tested using multisite survey and archival measures, and interpreted using qualitative data from the same study. I find that small supervisory spans improve performance through their positive effects on group process. In particular, supervisors with smaller spans achieved higher levels of relational coordination among their direct reports. Qualitative data suggest that supervisors with smaller spans achieved these results through working with, and providing intensive coaching and feedback to their direct reports.
Article
The present study investigated the additive, synergistic, and moderating effects of job demands and job resources on well-being (burnout and work engagement) and organizational outcomes, as specified by the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model. A survey was conducted among two Chinese samples: 625 blue collar workers and 761 health professionals. A series of multi-group structural equation modeling analyses supported the two processes proposed by the JD-R model: (1) the stress process that originates from job demands and leads, via burnout, to negative organizational outcomes (turnover intention and low organization commitment); and (2) the motivational process that originates from job resources and leads, via work engagement, to positive organizational outcomes. In contrast to moderating effects, synergistic effects of job demands and job resources on burnout and work engagement were found in both samples. However, after controlling for additive effects of job demands and job resources, these synergistic effects largely disappeared. In conclusion, the hypothesized additive effects of the JD-R model were found but the evidence for additional synergistic and moderating effects was weak.
Article
In recent years academic commentators have born witness to the emergence of what has been called a New Public Management, or NPM, evident in a number of countries around the world. While the literature has sought to document its appearance and attempt to assess its impact, this article considers an aspect of the NPM which has been little explored: the human cost associated with its introduction. In examining higher education in England, one of the countries where the NPM is thought to have been embraced at least relatively enthusiastically, the article explores research on the experiences and reactions of those working in academe to recent attempts to change working practices through an analysis of the stresses and strains experienced by those subjected to the processes of managerialism. In drawing on published sources and the authors’ own empirical work it is argued that the NPM, not least in intensifying the labour of academics as intellectual workers, has provoked a range of responses which include collusion, resentment and resistance. The consequences of the NPM, it is argued, include blaming of the victim and diverting attention away from processes of control and the action of human agents who initiate stressful conditions of work by implementing the NPM in particularly harsh ways. It is further contended that attempts to encroach on professional autonomy, and operationalize the NPM in English universities in harsh ways, are being mediated by those subjected to the changes who are seeking to preserve elements of collegiality.
Article
This review article posits that the scarcity of women at the upper levels of organizations is a consequence of gender bias in evaluations. It is proposed that gender stereotypes and the expectations they produce about both what women are like (descriptive) and how they should behave (prescriptive) can result in devaluation of their performance, denial of credit to them for their successes, or their penalization for being competent. The processes giving rise to these outcomes are explored, and the procedures that are likely to encourage them are identified. Because of gender bias and the way in which it influences evaluations in work settings, it is argued that being competent does not ensure that a woman will advance to the same organizational level as an equivalently performing man.
Article
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to give a state‐of‐the art overview of the Job Demands‐Resources (JD‐R) model Design/methodology/approach – The strengths and weaknesses of the demand‐control model and the effort‐reward imbalance model regarding their predictive value for employee well being are discussed. The paper then introduces the more flexible JD‐R model and discusses its basic premises. Findings – The paper provides an overview of the studies that have been conducted with the JD‐R model. It discusses evidence for each of the model's main propositions. The JD‐R model can be used as a tool for human resource management. A two‐stage approach can highlight the strengths and weaknesses of individuals, work groups, departments, and organizations at large. Originality/value – This paper challenges existing stress models, and focuses on both negative and positive indicators of employee well being. In addition, it outlines how the JD‐R model can be applied to a wide range of occupations, and be used to improve employee well being and performance.
Article
Critics of New Public Management argue that differences between public and private organizations are so great that business practices should not be transferred to the public sector. In this paper the theoretical arguments on the differences between private firms and public agencies are reviewed, and 13 hypotheses are identified on the impact of publicness on organizational environments, goals, structures and managerial values. Evidence from 34 empirical studies of differences between public agencies and private firms is critically evaluated. Only three of the publicness hypotheses are supported by a majority of the empirical studies: public organizations are more bureaucratic, and public managers are less materialistic and have weaker organizational commitment than their private sector counterparts. However, most of the statistical evidence is derived from studies that use narrow measures of publicness and fail to control for other relevant explanatory variables. Whether the existing evidence understates or overstates the distinctiveness of public agencies is therefore unclear. A research agenda and methods are identified for better comparisons of management in public and private organizations.
Article
Purpose To extend understanding of the influence of contextual factors on: power and influence; creativity and innovation; and leadership behaviour. Design/methodology/approach The review has been compiled following a search of seven electronic databases from 1999 to 2004. The author also uses her experience as a physiotherapy manager within a children's hospital NHS Trust to reflect on some of the theories in the workplace. Findings While the literature is contradictory in places, some trends do emerge. Bureaucratic organizations can inhibit an empowering environment, as can those that are poor at disseminating information or communicating a vision. Hierarchical structures, high staff turnover and lack of resources are likely to stifle creativity and innovation. Organic structures tend to facilitate a more transformational leadership style, whereas bureaucratic structures encourage a more transactional style. The quality of leader‐member exchange is thought to be related to work group size, work group cohesiveness and organizational climate. Research limitations/implications Care is needed in applying these findings to the National Health Service as theory that is developed in one organisation or culture may not be transferable to another. The author suggests that an empirical investigation should be undertaken in different National Health Service units. Originality/value This paper explores an aspect of leadership that is often neglected. Organizations that wish to nurture and develop their leaders and managers will need to be mindful of the environmental context within which this takes place.
Article
Comparing public and private managers is a major subject in the public management literature, but there have been only a few empirical studies of the differences in their respective leadership styles. Traditionally, leadership style is explained by the characteristics of the manager, the employees, and their job. This study explains leadership by the manager's job context: the degree of job complexity, role clarity, and job autonomy. We argue that differences in job context explain the use of different leadership styles in the public and private sector. To clearly specify the importance of sector, the study investigates direct, mediating, and moderating effects. Based on a survey of Danish public and private managers with 949 respondents, this article shows that job context variables vary significantly between public and private sector managers. The article provides some explanations for why public managers use more participative leadership, while private ones use more directive leadership.
Article
This article examines the reform of public services management in Europe drawing on material from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It considers the limitations of interpreting changing public service employment relations in terms of a convergence towards the new public management and outlines an alternative interpretation of these reforms.
Article
Aim To test a model linking nurses’ perceptions of their nurse manager’s emotionally intelligent leadership style and nurses’ structural empowerment, and the impact of nurse manager span of control (number of direct reports) on the emotional intelligence/empowerment relationship. Background Hospital restructuring in the 1990s resulted in a dramatic reduction in nurse manager positions, yet nurse managers are critical to empowering nurses for professional practice. Method(s) A descriptive correlational survey design was used to test the hypothesized model in two community hospitals in Ontario. Two hundred and three nurses from two hospitals retuned useable questionnaires (68% response rate). Results Span of control was a significant moderator of the relationship between nurses perceptions of their managers’ emotionally intelligent behaviour and feelings of workplace empowerment. Conclusion The results suggest that even managers with strong emotional intelligence may not be able to empower their staff if their span of control is large. Implications for Nursing Management Every effort must be made to ensure that managers have reasonable spans of control that allow them to develop and use the leadership skill necessary for empowering their staff to practice to the full scope of their professional role.
Article
Three interwoven change elements characterize New Public Management: substantial horizontal and vertical specialization, substituting an integrated sector model for a fragmented functional model, and extensive use of contracts as part of a “make the manager manage” kind of incentive system. This article discusses the effects and implications of these reform elements on political-democratic processes in general, and on political, administrative, and public enterprise leadership roles more specifically. Examples from Norway and New Zealand illustrate the discussion.