The relationship between transformational leadership and effort-reward imbalance

[Mental health problems among employees: service use and costs to the German healthcare system]

BACKGROUND

Service use among employees with mental health problems and the associated costs for the health and social system have not yet been systematically analysed in studies or have only been recorded indirectly. The aim of this article is to report the service use in this target group, to estimate the costs for the health and social system and to identify possible influencing factors on the cost variance.

METHODS

As part of a multicentre study, use and costs of health and social services were examined for a sample of 550 employees with mental health problems. Service use was recorded using the German version of the Client Sociodemographic Service Receipt Inventory (CSSRI). Costs were calculated for six months. A generalized linear regression model was used to examine influencing cost factors.

RESULTS

At the start of the study, the average total costs for the past six months in the sample were € 5227.12 per person (standard deviation € 7704.21). The regression model indicates significant associations between increasing costs with increasing age and for people with depression, behavioural syndromes with physiological symptoms, and other diagnoses.

DISCUSSION

The calculated costs were similar in comparison to clinical samples. It should be further examined in longitudinal studies whether this result changes through specific interventions.

The relationships among overcommitment, effort-reward imbalance, safety climate, emotional labour and quality of working life for hospital nurses: a structural equation modeling

BACKGROUND

Quality of working life (QWL) is a highly important issue for nurses. Nurses with lower QWL tend to have lower job performance and intention to stay. The aim of this study was to apply a theoretical model to examine the structural relationships among overcommitment, effort-reward imbalance (ERI), safety climate, emotional labour and QWL for hospital nurses.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design and a simple random sampling method were used to recruit 295 nurses in a teaching hospital and used a structured questionnaire was used to collect data.

RESULTS

Overall, the nurses' QWL was moderate. Our theoretical model showed a good model fit. Overcommintment had a significant direct positive effect on ERI (β = 0.35, p < 0.001) and indirect effects on safety climate (β = -0.149, p = 0.001), emotional labour (β = 0.105, p = 0.001) and QWL (β = -0.061, p = 0.004). Additionally, ERI not only had significant direct effects on safety climate (β = -0.42, p < 0.001), emotional labour (β = 0.30, p < 0.001) and QWL (β = -0.17, p < 0.001) but also indirectly affected QWL through safety climate (β = -0.304, p = 0.001) and emotional labour (β = -0.042, p = 0.005). Both safety climate (β = 0.72, p < 0.001) and emotional labour (β = -0.14, p = 0.003) showed significant direct effects on QWL. Our final model accounted for 72% of the variance in QWL.

CONCLUSION

Our results highlight the necessity of improving the QWL of nurses. Policymakers and hospital administrators should develop policies and strategies that encourage nurses to exhibit an appropriate level of commitment, balance effort and reward, establish a climate of safety, and reduce emotional labour to improve the QWL of hospital nurses.

Quality of leadership and self-rated health: the moderating role of 'Effort-Reward Imbalance': a longitudinal perspective

OBJECTIVE

Longitudinal studies on the influence of leadership behavior on employees' self-rated health are scarce. As a result, potential mechanisms describing the impact of leadership behavior on health have not been adequately investigated so far. The present study accounts for the influence of leadership behavior on self-rated health within the framework of the Effort-Reward Imbalance model.

METHODS

The study was conducted on the basis of a cohort which comprised a random sample of healthcare workers from ten different hospitals and one elderly nursing home in Germany. A 2-level repeated measurement model with random intercept and slopes was modeled, since it was aimed to account for individual as well as intra-individual variation of subjective health across three time points over 36 months. Beside 'Effort-Reward Imbalance' and 'Quality of Leadership' from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, physical and mental health was assessed by German version of the SF12 multipurpose short-form measure of health status.

RESULTS

'Effort-Reward Imbalance' and a lack in 'Quality of Leadership' negatively affect self-rated physical health. No effect was found for self-rated mental health. Effort-Reward Imbalance significantly moderates the effect of 'Quality of Leadership' on self-rated physical health.

CONCLUSION

The findings, and the interaction effects in particular, suggest that leadership behavior moderated by factors such as appreciation and support, influences self-rated physical health. The study therefore provides an interpretation for leadership behavior and its influence on employees' self-rated health within the 'Effort-Reward Imbalance' model.

The joint role of HRM and leadership for teleworker well-being: An analysis during the COVID-19 pandemic

The sudden and extensive implementation of teleworking in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened employees’ well-being. Based on the challenges that particularly threatened such well-being in the beginning of the pandemic, we identify sets of telework-specific HRM practices and leadership behaviors, and examine their joint relationships with teleworkers’ happiness well-being in terms of work engagement and job satisfaction. Thus, we also consider the mediating roles of social isolation (as an indicator of social well-being) and psychological strain (as an indicator of health well-being). We also expect that HRM and leadership should interact and reinforce each other. Our analyses are based on data from German teleworkers at two consecutive points in time. Our findings reveal differentiated and complementary effects of telework-oriented HRM and leadership. In particular, we identified the provision of health care to contribute most to telework-oriented HRM’s relationship with social isolation and happiness well-being. Telework-oriented leadership mainly affected teleworkers’ happiness well-being via strain by ensuring communication and information exchanges between teleworkers.

Does transformational leadership influence TQM practices? A comparison analysis between manufacturing and service firms

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the existing literature that relates leadership style to total quality management (TQM) focus. Specifically, the study evaluates whether and how leadership style may affect the implementation of TQM practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from employees of different organizations operating in the manufacturing (n = 156) and service sectors (n = 147). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as structural equation modeling were adopted to test the hypothesized research model.

Findings

The results revealed that transformational leadership has a positive impact in the implementation of TQM practices (e.g., customer focus, process management, human resource management, strategic planning and learning). It was also found that, regardless of industry type, manufacturing or service, transformational leadership has a significantly positive influence on TQM practices. In addition, it was noted that manufacturing companies showed a higher level of TQM practices than did service companies.

Originality/value

This study represents, to the best of the author’s knowledge, the first empirical examination of the relationship between transformational leadership and TQM in the service and manufacturing industries, with the goal of determining the differences between these two sectors. The study's conclusions may be useful for service and manufacturing organizations in achieving more effective leadership in the implementation of TQM.