Analyseinstrument für gesundheits- und entwicklungsförderliches Führungsverhalten: eine Validierungsstudie

The Cross-Level Moderation Effect of Resource-Providing Leadership on the Demands-Work Ability Relationship

Employees in female-dominated sectors are exposed to high workloads, emotional job demands, and role ambiguity, and often have insufficient resources to deal with these demands. This imbalance causes strain, threatening employees’ work ability. The aim of this study was to examine whether resource-providing leadership at the workplace level buffers against the negative repercussions of these job demands on work ability. Employees (N = 2383) from 290 work groups across three countries (Germany, Finland, and Sweden) in female-dominated sectors were asked to complete questionnaires in this study. Employees rated their immediate supervisor’s resource-providing leadership and also self-reported their work ability, role ambiguity, workload, and emotional demands. Multilevel modeling was performed to predict individual work ability with job demands as employee-level predictors, and leadership as a group-level predictor. Work ability was poor when employees reported high workloads, high role ambiguity, and high emotional demands. Resource-providing leadership at the group level had a positive impact on employees’ work ability. We observed a cross-level interaction between emotional demands and resource-providing leadership. We conclude that resource-providing leadership buffers against the repercussions of emotional demands for the work ability of employees in female-dominated sectors; however, it is not influential in dealing with workload or role ambiguity.

The Role of Leaders in Designing Employees' Work Characteristics: Validation of the Health- and Development-Promoting Leadership Behavior Questionnaire

In this article, we draw upon the notion that employees’ work characteristics are an important pathway through which leaders influence employee well-being and propose a theoretical framework that integrates perspectives on leadership, occupational stress, and job design. Based on this integrative approach, we developed the health- and development-promoting leadership behavior questionnaire (HDLBQ) for assessing job demands emanating from and job resources provided through the leader. Validation of the measure in German, French, and English using an overall sample of 2,934 employees demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. An examination of the factorial structure revealed three higher-order factors: demanding, development-oriented, and support-oriented leadership. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis indicated structural equivalence across the three language versions of the HDLBQ. Correlations with employee well-being were moderate, and the HDLBQ explained unique variance in employee well-being beyond that explained by transformational leadership. Suggestions for applications of the HDLBQ and approaches to enhance employee well-being at the workplace are discussed.

Antecedents of Health-Promoting Leadership and Workload as Moderator

This study builds on the theory of planned behavior and investigates antecedents of health-promoting leadership behaviors (HPL behaviors): positive health-promoting leadership attitude (HPL attitude) as well as perceived health-promoting leadership norms (perceived HPL norms), and lack of perceived health-promoting leadership behavioral control (perceived HPL behavioral control). Furthermore, based on the conservation of resources theory, these antecedents are conceptualized as personal and job resources with managers’ perceived workload being examined as a moderating boundary condition, suggesting that workload as a job demand facilitates resource loss. A survey was administered to 315 managers. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression analysis and moderation analysis. Results revealed that HPL attitude and perceived HPL norms were positively related to HPL behaviors, whereas a lack of perceived HPL behavioral control was negatively related to HPL behaviors. Furthermore, high workload weakened the relationship between perceived HPL norms and HPL behaviors. Workload did not moderate the relationships between the antecedents HPL attitude and lack of perceived HPL behavioral control, and HPL behaviors. Organizations should offer interventions to foster positive HPL attitude, give managers opportunities for HPL behavioral control, and promote perceived HPL norms. They should acknowledge that high workload may inhibit perceived HPL norms. Intervention approaches with regard to personnel and organizational development for practitioners are discussed. This study contributes to the literature by testing direct antecedents of HPL behaviors. Moreover, this study is the first to test workload as a boundary condition.

Einflussfaktoren emotionaler Erschöpfung und Arbeitszufriedenheit

Da Gesundheit und Arbeitszufriedenheit von Mitarbeitern durch vielfältige Faktoren auf mehreren inhaltlichen Ebenen (Arbeitsplatz, Individuum, Team, Führung, Organisation) bestimmt werden, bedarf es eines Analyseansatzes, der multiple Zusammenhänge berücksichtigt. In dieser Studie wurde ein arbeitspsychologischer Ansatz in einem deutschen Unternehmen mit 1841 Teilnehmern erprobt. Mithilfe von Strukturgleichungsmodellen wurden Zusammenhänge zwischen Belastungen und Ressourcen unterschiedlicher inhaltlicher Ebenen und emotionaler Erschöpfung sowie Arbeitszufriedenheit überprüft. Die Ergebnisse belegen, dass die Faktoren der untersuchten fünf Ebenen in signifikantem Zusammenhang mit Arbeitszufriedenheit stehen. Darüber hinaus konnte gezeigt werden, dass emotionale Erschöpfung den Zusammenhang zwischen den Belastungen sowie Ressourcen und der Arbeitszufriedenheit partiell mediiert. Die Ergebnisse der Studie verdeutlichen, dass die betriebliche Gesundheitsförderung vielfältige Maßnahmen auf unterschiedlichen Ebenen verfolgen sollte, um emotionale Erschöpfung zu reduzieren und Arbeitszufriedenheit zu erhöhen. Beispiele für Interventionen der unterschiedlichen Ebenen (u. a. ergonomische und psychische Belastungsanalysen, Teamfindungsmaßnahmen) werden diskutiert.

Is Transformational Leadership Healthy for Employees? A Multilevel Analysis in 16 Nations

This study examines the potential health promoting and hampering effects of transformational, contingent reward and laissez-faire leadership across 16 countries with a multi-source dataset comprising 93,576 subordinates in 11,177 teams of a large international company. We analyze how leadership climate strength, defined as the shared perceptions of employees concerning their supervisor's leadership behavior, affects individual employees' health and if leaders who are both transformational and transactional have more healthy employees (augmentation effect). In addition, we investigate how national power distance moderates these relationships. The results of multi-level analysis provide strong support for the health promoting effect of transformational leadership ( r = .16 to r = .50), contingent reward ( r = .14 to r = .48) and the health hampering effect of laissez-faire leadership ( r = -.15 to r = -.43) within the analyzed 16 nations. Having a strong transformational leadership climate is also associated with better perceived health in eight countries. Finally, the augmentation effect was significant in six countries and we also found, as expected, that a high power distance strengthens the health promoting effects of transformational leadership. Overall, this study indicates that having a shared vision as well as clear goals, roles and rewards at work is important for promoting employees' health worldwide.

The Impact of Health-Oriented Leadership on Follower Health: Development and Test of a New Instrument Measuring Health-Promoting Leadership

Based on previous research on leadership and follower health, three questions need to be answered or clarified. These questions refer to what health-specific leadership behavior is, whether motivational and cognitive aspects provide information beyond such behavior, and what role followers play in the leadership-health link. We introduce a new concept and measure of Health-oriented Leadership (HoL). This concept combines leaders' health-specific orientation towards followers (StaffCare; i.e., health behavior, health awareness, and value of health) and followers' health-specific attributes toward themselves (SelfCare). We present tests of construct and criterion validity from two field studies. The findings of Study 1 (N = 535) provide evidence for the construct validity of the HoL instrument. Study 2 (N = 383) examined the impact of StaffCare and SelfCare on follower health. As hypothesized, StaffCare as health-specific leadership is related to followers' state of health, irritation, health complaints, and work–family conflicts. These effects were shown independently from transformational leadership indicating incremental validity. Moreover, the relationship between StaffCare and these outcomes is mediated by followers' SelfCare. The findings contribute to a more comprehensive picture of ways in which leaders can promote follower health by (a) engaging in StaffCare and (b) fostering followers' SelfCare.

Leadership Behavior as a Health-Promoting Resource for Workers in Low-Skilled Jobs and the Moderating Role of Power Distance Orientation

In this study, the authors analyze leadership behaviors as potential health-promoting resources for low-skilled workers in a highly culturally diverse work setting. The authors hypothesize that subordinates' and supervisors' individual power distance orientations will moderate the effect of subordinates' perceptions of leadership behavior and the subsequent effects on their well-being. Multilevel modeling is used to analyze a sample of data from 474 low-skilled employees (50% immigrants) and 35 direct supervisors from three German companies. Supporting the hypotheses, social support, task-related communication, and positive feedback, as expressions of esteem, are found to positively impact subordinates' well-being, but individual consideration shows no significant effects. Furthermore, results confirm that supervisors' power distance orientation moderates employees' perceptions about supervisors' positive feedback and the subsequent well-being effects. The moderating effect fails to hold for employees' power distance orientation. Results indicate that supervisors can most effectively promote the health of low-skilled workers by showing esteem through positive feedback, but if the supervisor has high individual power distance orientation, the effect is attenuated.