Managerial leadership is associated with self-reported sickness absence and sickness presenteeism among Swedish men and women

Abstract

Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between managerial leadership and self-reported sickness absence/presenteeism among Swedish men and women. Methods: Five thousand one hundred and forty-one Swedish employees, 56% of the participants in a nationally representative sample of the Swedish working population, were included in this cross-sectional questionnaire study. The leadership dimensions measured were five subscales of a standardized leadership questionnaire (Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness Programme): Integrity, Team integration, Inspirational leadership, Autocratic leadership, and Self-centred leadership. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted, adjusting for factors in private life, employment category, labour-market sector, working conditions, self-reported general health, and satisfaction with life in general. Results: Inspirational leadership was associated with a lower rate of short spells of sickness absence (<1 week) for both men and women. Autocratic leadership was related to a greater amount of total sick days taken by men. Sometimes showing integrity was associated with higher rate of sickness absence >1 week among men, and seldom showing integrity was associated with more sickness presenteeism among women. Managers performing Team integration were sometimes associated with women taking fewer short (<1 week) and long (>1 week) spells of sickness absence. Adjustment for self-reported general health did not alter these associations for men, but did so to some extent for women. Conclusions: Managerial leadership was found to be relevant for the understanding of sickness absence in the Swedish working population. There were distinctive gender differences.

Keywords

Gender health managerial leadership sickness absence sickness presenteeism working conditions

References

Gilbreath B. , Benson PG The contribution of supervisor behaviour to employee psychological well-being . Work Stress 2004;18:255-66.

van Dierendonck D. , Haynes C. , Borrill C. , Stride C. Leadership behaviour and subordinate well-being . J Occup Health Psychol 2004;9:165-75.

Stordeur S. , Vandenberghe C. , D'hoore W. Leadership, organizational stress, and emotional exhaustion among hospital nursing staff . J Adv Nurs 2001 ;35:533-42.

Sosik JJ , Godshalk VM Leadership styles, mentoring functions received and job-related stress: a conceptual model and preliminary results . J Organizational Behav 2000;21: 365-90.

Tepper BJ Consequences of abusive supervision . Acad Manag J 2000;43:178-90.

Offerman LR , Hellman PS Leadership behaviour and subordinate stress: a 360 degrees view . J Occup Health Psychol 1996;1:382-90.

Seltzer J. , Numerof RE Supervisory leadership and subordinate burnout . Acad Manag J 1988;1:439-46.

Kivimäki M. , Elovaino M. , Vahtera J. , Ferrie JE Organizational justice and health of employees: prospective cohort study . Occup Environ Med 2003;60:27-33.

Vaananen A. , Toppinen-Tanner R. , Kalimo R. , Mutanen P. , Vahtera J. , Peiró JM Job characteristics, physical and psychological symptoms, and social support as antecedents of sickness absence among men and women in the private industrial sector . Soc Sci Med 2003;57:807-24.

10.

Christensen KB , Nielsen ML , Rugulies R. , Smith-Hansen L. , Kristensen TS Workplace levels of psychosocial factors as prospective predictors of registered sickness absence . J Occup Environ Med 2005;47:933-40.

11.

Vaananen A. , Kalimo R. , Toppinen-Tanner S. , Mutanen P. , Peiro JM , Kivimäki M. , Vahtera J. Role clarity, fairness, and organizational climate as predictors of sickness absence: a prospective study in the private sector . Scand J Public Health 2004;32:426-34.

12.

Hyde M. , Jappinen P. , Theorell T. , Oxenstierna G. Workplace conflict resolution and the health of employees in the Swedish and Finnish units of an industrial company . Soc Sci Med 2006;63:2218-27.

13.

Aronsson G. , Gustafsson K. Sickness presenteeism: prevalence attendance-pressure factors, and an outline or a model for research . J Occup Environ Med 2005;47:958-66.

14.

Aronsson G. , Gustafsson K. , Dallner M. Sick but yet at work. An empirical study of sickness presenteeism . J Epidemiol Community Health 2000;54:502-9.

15.

Johansson G. , Lundberg I. Adjustment latitude and attendance requirements as determinants of sickness absence or attendance. Empirical tests of the illness flexibility model . Soc Sci Med 2004 ;58:1857-68.

16.

Kivimäki M. , Head J. , Ferrie JE , Hemingway H. , Shipley MJ , Vahtera J. , Marmot MG Working while ill as a risk factor for serious coronary events: the Whitehall II study . Am J Public Health 2005;95:98-102.

17.

Marmot M. , Feeney A. , Shipley M. , North F. , Syme SL Sickness absence as a measure of health status and functioning: from the UK Whitehall II study . J Epidemiol Community Health 1995;49:124-30.

18.

Johansson G. The illness flexibility model and sickness absence. PhD dissertation, Stockholm: Karolinska Institutet; 2007.

19.

Magnusson Hanson LL , Theorell T. , Oxenstierna G. , Hyde M. , Westerlund H. Demand, control, and social climate as predictors of emotional exhaustion symptoms in working Swedish men and women . Scand J Public Health 2008;36:737-43.

20.

Hanges PJ , Dickson MW The development and validation of the GLOBE culture and leadership scales . In: House RJ , Hanges PJ , Javidan M , Dorfman PW , Gupta V , editors. Culture, leadership and organization: a GLOBE study of 62 societies. Thousand Oaks: SAGE; 2004. p 122-51.

21.

Nyberg A, Åkerblom ° S. , Bernin B. , Alderling M. , Magrin ME , D'Angelo G. , et al. Leadership, working conditions, and employee stress in Swedish, Polish, and Italian hotels . J Organ Behav (in press).

22.

Theorell T. , Perski A. , Akerstedt T. , Sigala F. , Ahlberg-Hultén G. , Svensson J. , Eneroth P. Changes in job strain in relation to changes in physiological state. A longitudinal study . Scand J Work Environ Health 1988;14:189-96.

23.

Bass BM

Does the transactional-transformational leadership paradigm transcend organizational and national boundaries?

Am Psychologist 1997 ;52:130-9.

24.

Corrigan P. , Diwan S. , Campion J. , Rashid F. Transformational leadership and the mental health team . Admin Policy Mental Health 2002 ;30:97-108.

25.

Duxbury ML , Armstrong GD , Drew DJ , Henly SJ Head nurse leadership style with staff nurse burnout and job satisfaction in neonatal intensive care units . Nurs Res 1984;33:97-101.

26.

Kristensen T. Sickness absence and work strain among Danish slaughterhouse workers: an analysis of absence from work regarded as coping behaviour . Soc Sci Med 1991;31:15-27.

27.

Bryman A. Qualitative research on leadership: a critical but appreciative review . Leadership Q 2004 ;15:729-69.