Affiliations: HELIX VINN Excellence Centre, Linköping
University, Linköping, Sweden | National Centre for Work and Rehabilitation,
Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University,
Linköping, Sweden | Learning in Working Life and Educational Settings,
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University,
Linköping, Sweden
Abstract: Objective: To explore the relationship between managers' leadership
and their health, by investigating what psychosocial conditions in the
workplace managers experience as being important to their health, and how their
health influences their leadership. Participants and methods: Semi-structured interviews with forty-two
managers at different managerial levels in a large Swedish industrial
production company. Results: Most managers felt their health was good, but many
perceived their work as stressful. They said it was important to their health
that they did a good job and achieved results as expected, that conditions in
the workplace enabled this achievement, and that their performance was
acknowledged. In comparison to the other managerial levels, the first-line
managers' work and health were especially dependent on such enabling
conditions. The results also showed that the managers' health influenced their
leadership, the quality of their work and the quality of their relationship
with subordinates. Conclusion: Managers' leadership, health and their work conditions
are reciprocally related to each other. A productive and healthy workplace is
facilitated by focusing on managers' conditions for leadership, their health
and their work conditions.
Keywords: Managerial levels, psychosocial work conditions, industrial production company
