Stig Vinberg

Leadership behaviour in successful organisations: Universal or situation-dependent? : Universal or situational-dependent?

Leadership behaviour has a critical role in the creation of successful organisations. This article reviews dimensions of leadership behaviour theory and their relationship to effectiveness, productivity, quality, health and job satisfaction in organisations. The article has two purposes: (1) to identify and summarise leadership behaviours common among successful organisations; and (2) to use these common elements to discuss those theoretical implications which concern situational aspects of successful leadership behaviour. The successful organisations studied for this work were two manufacturing companies, one hospital and one retail operation. The case studies were performed in connection with two leadership research projects. They focused on quality work, effectiveness, working environment, subordinate health and perceptions of the leadership. The common leadership behaviours were explored using a comparative qualitative method. The identified common leadership behaviours were then analysed in relation to the three-dimensional leadership behaviour theory (change-, structure- and relation-orientation) to explore distributions between dimensions. Nine common groups of behaviours were identified and described. The qualitative analyses showed that the identified behaviours were in all three behaviour dimensions. Also evident was that relation-oriented leadership behaviour was by far the strongest of the three. The conclusion is that a successful leader uses high relation-orientation as a base. At the same time, this successful leader uses all three behaviour dimensions. The two additional dimensions of structure- and change-orientation can be altered by leaders according to situational factors. This conclusion implies that successful leadership behaviour includes both universal and contingency elements.

Job control and demands, work-life balance and wellbeing among selfemployed men and women in Europe

Self-employed persons and their enterprises are regarded as important to the economy for their contribution to economic development. However, an understanding of the relationship between the psychosocial working conditions, the work-life balance and outcomes, such as health and wellbeing among the self-employed and micro-enterprise is limited. The main aim of this article is to study the relationships between control and demands at work, the work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women. Data were obtained from the European Social Survey (ESS) programme 2004, which is an interview survey conducted in 26 European countries (n =15 789). Wellbeing is measured by the WHO-Five Wellbeing Index and work-life balance is measured by an index consisting of two questions on work-life balance/conflict. The results show that men and women who are self-employed experience a lower level of work-life balance than those employed and this result is found more in men than women. When job control and demands are held constant for the self-employed and the employed, self-employed women experience a significantly higher level of work-life balance than do employed women, but self-employed men experience a similar level of work-life balance as do employed men. Self-employed women have a slightly higher level of wellbeing than do employed women and the difference between the self-employed and the employed men is non-significant. When controlling for the level of job control, the relationship between self-employment and wellbeing is non-significant among women and is significantly negative among men. The results of this study confirm that the psychosocial working conditions are important because demands and control in work influence work-life balance and wellbeing among self-employed men and women.

Change in pattern of absenteeism as a result of workplace intervention for personnel support

The aim was to investigate whether a preventive intervention carried out in a predominantly female workplace, that of hospital cleaners (consisting of a group of 97 women), had any effect on patterns of absenteeism. As a background, a model for analysing complex patterns of absenteeism, including sickness absences, was also developed. A further aim was to study the interactions between different forms of absenteeism. Comparison was made with a reference group consisting of employees in the same job category who only received the customary personnel support. For individuals in the intervention group who were < 42 years of age, total absence due to sickness decreased. In a multiple regression analysis, the contribution from the intervention to the decrease was significant at the 5% level. This change was particularly obvious in those who had a previous history of high absence due to sickness. No clear relationship was shown between short-term absenteeism and the interventions applied. For those who were > 42 years, short-term absence decreased for those who had been in the same jobs for a long time. The combination of increased age and experience showed a tendency to enhance this decline in short-term absenteeism due to sickness. For those > 42 years, and who at the same time have a previous history of high absenteeism, long-term absenteeism due to sickness seemed to be increasing. Increased experience tended to reduce this increase in long-term sickness absence. This combination of different effects possibly indicated the presence of a process of selection which determined who remained in the job as opposed to those who did not. An important conclusion is that different forms of absenteeism need to be looked at in parallel, and at the same time multivariate statistical analysis needs to be carried out to determine the different interactions between the factors.

A statistical human resources costing and accounting model for analysing the economic effects of an intervention at a workplace

The study had two primary aims. The first aim was to combine a human resources costing and accounting approach (HRCA) with a quantitative statistical approach in order to get an integrated model. The second aim was to apply this integrated model in a quasi-experimental study in order to investigate whether preventive intervention affected sickness absence costs at the company level. The intervention studied contained occupational organizational measures, competence development, physical and psychosocial working environmental measures and individual and rehabilitation measures on both an individual and a group basis. The study is a quasi-experimental design with a non-randomized control group. Both groups involved cleaning jobs at predominantly female workplaces. The study plan involved carrying out before and after studies on both groups. The study included only those who were at the same workplace during the whole of the study period. In the HRCA model used here, the cost of sickness absence is the net difference between the costs, in the form of the value of the loss of production and the administrative cost, and the benefits in the form of lower labour costs. According to the HRCA model, the intervention used counteracted a rise in sickness absence costs at the company level, giving an average net effect of 266.5 Euros per person (full-time working) during an 8-month period. Using an analogue statistical analysis on the whole of the material, the contribution of the intervention counteracted a rise in sickness absence costs at the company level giving an average net effect of 283.2 Euros. Using a statistical method it was possible to study the regression coefficients in sub-groups and calculate the p-values for these coefficients; in the younger group the intervention gave a calculated net contribution of 605.6 Euros with a p-value of 0.073, while the intervention net contribution in the older group had a very high p-value. Using the statistical model it was also possible to study contributions of other variables and interactions. This study established that the HRCA model and the integrated model produced approximately the same monetary outcomes. The integrated model, however, allowed a deeper understanding of the various possible relationships and quantified the results with confidence intervals.

External workers’ perception of leadership behaviour – a study of Swedish temporary agency workers and contractors

The increasing prevalence of externalised work arrangements in industrialised countries has brought with it ever greater managerial complexity in the workplace. This article explores how leadership behaviour is perceived by internal and external workers within a public authority in Sweden. Questionnaire data from 505 temporary agency workers (TAWs), contractors and internal employees have been analysed. Multinomial logistic regression analyses indicate that external workers such as TAWs and contractors are more likely than internal employees to notice leadership profiles, including pronounced, task-oriented leadership behaviour. These results hold true when controlled for demographic and socio-economic variables and organisational tenure. A practical implication is that explicit attention should be paid to the need for leadership training in developing HRM strategies with regard to external employees.

Mortality differences between self-employed and paid employees : a 5-year follow-up study of the working population in Sweden

Objectives Analyse mortality differences between self-employed and paid employees with a focus on industrial sector, educational level and gender using Swedish register data. Methods A cohort of the total working population (4 776 135 individuals; 7.2% self-employed; 18–100 years of age at baseline 2003) in Sweden with a 5-year follow-up (2004–2008) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality (57 743 deaths). Self-employed individuals were categorised as sole proprietors or limited liability company (LLC) owners according to their enterprises legal form. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to compare mortality rates between sole proprietors, LLC owners and paid employees, adjusted for sociodemographic confounders. Results Mortality from cardiovascular diseases was 16% lower and from suicide 26% lower among LLC owners than among paid employees, adjusted for confounders. Within the industrial category, all-cause mortality was 13–15% lower among sole proprietors and LLC owners compared with employees in manufacturing and mining (MM) as well as personal and cultural services (PCS), and 11–20% higher in sole proprietors in trade, transport and communication and the welfare industry (W). A significant three-way interaction indicated 17–23% lower all-cause mortality among male LLC owners in MM and female sole proprietors in PCS, and 50% higher mortality in female sole proprietors in W than in employees in the same industries. Conclusions Mortality differences between self-employed individuals and paid employees vary by the legal form of self-employment, across industries, and by gender. Differences in work environment exposures and working conditions, varying market competition across industries and gender segregation in the labour market are potential mechanisms underlying these findings.

Self-Employed Persons in Sweden - Mortality Differentials by Industrial Sector and Enterprise Legal Form : A Five-Year Follow-Up Study

OBJECTIVES This study investigated mortality differentials between self-employed persons in Sweden, considering industrial sector, enterprise characteristics and socio-demographic factors. METHODS Data on 321,274 self-employed persons were obtained from population registers in Sweden. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare all-cause and cause-specific mortality rate ratios by industrial sector and enterprise legal form, adjusted for confounders. RESULTS All-cause mortality was 10-32% higher in self-employed persons in Manufacturing and Mining, Trade and Communication, and Not Specified and Other sectors than in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing. Mortality from cardiovascular disease was 23% higher in Trade and Communication, and from neoplasms 17-51% higher in Manufacturing and Mining, Not Specified, and Other. Mortality from suicide was 45-60% lower in Personal and Cultural Services, and in Not Specified. Mortality was 8-16% higher in sole proprietorship than limited partnership. CONCLUSIONS Further research of working conditions is warranted, considering industry and enterprise legal form.

To control with health: From statistics to strategy

The main purpose of this study is to develop and test a generic model for workplace health management in organizations. Four private and four public organizations in northern Sweden were selected for the study. A model for health control was developed on the basis of a literature review and dialogues with the stakeholders in the workplaces. The model was then implemented at the workplaces during a two-year period. Interviews with leaders and co-workers were conducted on two occasions and were analyzed using content analysis and the constant comparison method. By using a grounded theory approach, three main categories were found: health closure and other health and working environment indicators, monetary accounting of health related indicators and changes in leadership behaviour and organizational practices. An important result was that the model influenced leadership values more than leadership and organizational methodologies. From the results a model for workplace health management is proposed, incorporating the planning, control, and improvement structures. The purpose of the model is to take health aspects into consideration when deciding organizational structure (work demands, control and social support). The model controls health by using health-related indicators with high frequency measuring whereas workplace health promotion is done in a structured way with a reflective model.

Entrepreneurs’ health – the importance of psychosocial working conditions and individual factors

The purpose of this study is to identify individual characteristics, individual resources and psychosocial working conditions that explain health among micro enterprise entrepreneurs. The study investigated a sample consisting of 139 Swedish entrepreneurs, who individually answered a questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed for self-rated health, sickness presence and sickness absence. Relevant predictor variables for self-rated health were age, change competence, job demands (reversed), physical exercise, social activities and social support. For sickness presence (reversed) the predictor variables gender (male), age and job demands (reversed) contributed significantly. None of the predictor variables contributed significantly to sickness absence. One conclusion is that improving entrepreneurs’ health should focus on both individual and organisational measures. Another conclusion is that entrepreneurs’ health might be an underestimated resource for entrepreneurial behavior.

Female leaders’ experiences of psychosocial working conditions and its health consequences in Swedish public human service organizations

Municipal workplaces have high levels of sickness absence, and deterioration of the psychosocial work environment has been most pronounced for women and employees in this sector of Swedish working life. This study explores how female leaders in one rural municipality in Sweden experience their psychosocial working conditions and its health consequences. Interviews were carried out with 20 female leaders. Data were analyzed with a content analysis method using major dimensions of work stress models. These were job demands, job control, job resources, social support, and its health consequences. The analysis shows that the leaders experience high and conflicting job demands, limited possibilities to influence their work situation, insufficient job resources and social support, and limited time for their own health promotion. However, the leaders experience possibilities to develop skills in their jobs and opportunities to participate in educational programs. The analyses confirm the need for improvements in the prerequisites for female leaders in public human service organizations. It is important to improve female leaders’ psychosocial working conditions by implementing a more narrow control range, increased personal and economical recourses, leadership support, and leader development programs.