Implementing Health-Promoting Leadership in Municipal Organizations: Managers’ Experiences with a Leadership Program

The aim of this study was to analyze how line and middle managers experience and describe barriers and enablers in the implementation of a health-promoting leadership program in municipal organizations. A qualitative case study design was applied to examine the leadership program in a case involving implementation of an organizational health intervention. Data were mainly collected using semi-structured interviews with line and middle managers participating in the leadership program. Interviews with senior managers, notes from meetings/workshops, and written action plans were used as complementary data. The interview data were analyzed using a thematic analysis, and the complementary data using a summative content analysis. The findings show that the interviewed line and middle managers experienced this leadership program as a new approach in leadership training because it is based primarily on employee participation. Involvement and commitment of the employees was considered a crucial enabler in the implementation of the leadership program. Other enablers identified include action plans with specific goals, earlier experiences of organizational change, and integration of the program content into regular routines and structures. The line and middle managers described several barriers in the implementation process, and they described various organizational conditions, such as high workload, lack of senior management support, politically initiated projects, and organizational change, as challenges that limited the opportunities to be drivers of change. Taken together, these barriers interfered with the leadership program and its implementation. The study contributes to the understanding of how organizational-level health interventions are implemented in public sector workplaces

Work and family: associations with long-term sick-listing in Swedish women – a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The number of Swedish women who are long-term sick-listed is high, and twice as high as for men. Also the periods of sickness absence have on average been longer for women than for men. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between factors in work- and family life and long-term sick-listing in Swedish women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This case-control study included 283 women on long-term sick-listing ≥90 days, and 250 female referents, randomly chosen, living in five counties in Sweden. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with odds ratios were calculated to estimate the associations between long-term sick-listing and factors related to occupational work and family life.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Long-term sick-listing in women is associated with self-reported lack of competence for work tasks (OR 2.42 1.23–11.21 log reg), workplace dissatisfaction (OR 1.89 1.14–6.62 log reg), physical workload above capacity (1.78 1.50–5.94), too high mental strain in work tasks (1.61 1.08–5.01 log reg), number of employers during work life (OR 1.39 1.35–4.03 log reg), earlier part-time work (OR 1.39 1.18–4.03 log reg), and lack of influence on working hours (OR 1.35 1.47–3.86 log reg). A younger age at first child, number of children, and main responsibility for own children was also found to be associated with long-term sick-listing. Almost all of the sick-listed women (93%) wanted to return to working life, and 54% reported they could work immediately if adjustments at work or part-time work were possible.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Factors in work and in family life could be important to consider to prevent women from being long-term sick-listed and promote their opportunities to remain in working life. Measures ought to be taken to improve their mobility in work life and control over decisions and actions regarding theirs lives.</p

Understanding long-term sick leave in female white-collar workers with burnout and stress-related diagnoses: a qualitative study

Abstract Background Sick leave rates in Sweden have been significant since the end of the 1990s. In this paper we focus on individual female white-collar workers and explore various factors and setting-based sources of ill health in working life and in private life, in order to understand impaired work ability, leading ultimately to long-term sick leave. Methods A qualitative methodology was chosen, and thematic, open-ended interviews were carried out with 16 women. The interviewees were strategically selected from a cohort of 300 women in full-time white-collar jobs in high-level positions, living in three urban areas in Sweden, and on long-term sick leave ≥90 days. A qualitative content analysis was carried out. Results The informants in the study were generally well educated, but a few had surprisingly little formal education considering their salary level and position on the labour market. The women were in professional positions more commonly held by men, either as specialists with some degree of managerial role or as executives with managerial responsibilities. Both external and internal stressors were identified. The analysis indicated that being in these gender-typed jobs could have induced sex discrimination and role conflicts. The women expressed strong agreement regarding success in working life, but emphasised the lack of competence matching in their present jobs. They also lacked the sense of having a rewarding job, saw leadership as weak, and disliked their present workplace and colleagues. Impaired health may have hindered them from changing jobs; conversely, their locked-in positions could have resulted in deterioration in their health status. The women displayed personal overcommitment, both at work and in private life, and had difficulties in setting limits. Conclusions Factors in working life, as well as in private life, played an important role in the informants' deteriorated health and long-term sick leave. Job and workplace mismatching, problems in connection with company profitability, and poor leadership contributed to stress-related symptoms, resulting in reduced working capacity. On the basis of these findings, attention should be paid to identification of early indicators of exhaustion, and measures should be taken in work settings and in working life as a whole to promote retained work ability.</p

Stress Management 2.0 : A Holistic Approach to Self-management Online

The last years have put stress management on the agenda of healthcare. Intense lifestyles with job and domestic demands let people experience high levels of stress and to react strongly to different stressors. Long-term sickness and absence from work can be a consequence of too high stress exposure during a long period of time. This negative trend can be counteracted if we allow a combination of actions to support people who experience stressful lives. Different online programs are available for people with stress symptoms. However, there is a lack of conceptual understanding and a holistic approach to learning online for this group of people. In this article, we present a holistic and integrated approach to ‘stress management 2.0’ that considers several areas: stress management, self-management, informatics and continuous learning through communication and feedback. The approach is based on findings from previous research studies of web based solutions for learning new lifestyles, stress management and results from clinical trials. At the end of the article, we present some design principles to be used for developing systems in accordance with ‘stress management 2.0’ from a holistic view

Innovation policy for welfare services in a Swedish context

The aim of the study is to explore the role of public welfare services expressed in theSwedish government’s innovation policy. The focus is on municipal and county services,such as education and health care. The study is based on an analysis of 55 documentsproduced by the government and its agencies. Although innovation policy is a major issue in Sweden, and Sweden has a large public sector, research on innovation within this fieldis very limited. The results show that the municipality and county services are visible ininnovation policy when they are a driving force for innovation in the private sector. Thisapplies especially when public procurement becomes a vehicle for business innovation.Innovation is not used as a concept representing radical change and general progress ofthe public sector as such. When municipal welfare services become visible in the studieddocuments, there are often references to a need for efficiency improvements and forprocurement leading to innovation. For the public sector, including local welfare services, no coherent innovation policy is present, but this study found elements that could becomepart of an innovation policy. Policy development is important for the future, consideringthe public sector´s role in the important and increasing service sector and in the society as a whole

ICT Supported Occupational Stress Management : The Views of HR Managers in Sri Lankan Software Companies

The software industry is considered to be a growing industry worldwide but with a high propensity to cause stress reactions among employees due to its demanding and technology-driven nature. As a human capital-intensive industry, too much of stress on employees can also create a negative impact on the quality of work. Thus, organizations take numerous initiatives at both individual and organizational levels to address this problem. One area of concern is the use of ICT supported occupational stress management interventions. In Sri Lanka, the dominant ICT occupation today is software engineer, and there is a national awareness of mental health issues due to occupational stress. Thus this study aims to investigate current practices used to frame employees well-being inside software organizations in Sri Lanka, and to understand Sri Lankan software companies viewpoints of using ICT supported occupational stress management interventions through the lens of human resource (HR) managers. Ten HR managers were interviewed covering eight software companies. Through thematic analysis, we identified three main themes and multiple subthemes. Results revealed various types of individual level and organizational level strategies, policies and practices implemented to create a healthy work setting for the employees. Findings also show that the HR managers had limited knowledge and experiences of ICT supported occupational stress management interventions. Nevertheless, they appreciated the immediate possible benefits of ICT interventions and demonstrated the willingness to adopt them in their organizations. Moreover, they revealed several functional requirements and feature sets they would like to see in such applications to better support their employees. Therefore, this study can possibly provide insights for researchers and practitioners who are to design and develop ICT supported interventions to manage occupational stress, to promote well-being and healthy organizations

Implementing Health-Promoting Leadership in Municipal Organizations: Managers’ Experiences with a Leadership Program

The aim of this study was to analyze how line and middle managers experience and describe barriers and enablers in the implementation of a health-promoting leadership program in municipal organizations. A qualitative case study design was applied to examine the leadership program in a case involving implementation of an organizational health intervention. Data were mainly collected using semi-structured interviews with line and middle managers participating in the leadership program. Interviews with senior managers, notes from meetings/workshops, and written action plans were used as complementary data. The interview data were analyzed using a thematic analysis, and the complementary data using a summative content analysis. The findings show that the interviewed line and middle managers experienced this leadership program as a new approach in leadership training because it is based primarily on employee participation. Involvement and commitment of the employees was considered a crucial enabler in the implementation of the leadership program. Other enablers identified include action plans with specific goals, earlier experiences of organizational change, and integration of the program content into regular routines and structures. The line and middle managers described several barriers in the implementation process, and they described various organizational conditions, such as high workload, lack of senior management support, politically initiated projects, and organizational change, as challenges that limited the opportunities to be drivers of change. Taken together, these barriers interfered with the leadership program and its implementation. The study contributes to the understanding of how organizational-level health interventions are implemented in public sector workplaces

Innovation Management in Swedish Municipalities

Research on public sector innovation is still limited, and increased knowledge of innovation processes is needed. This article is a based on a study of the implementation of innovation policies in Swedish municipalities, and gives a first-hand, empirical view of some of the complexities of innovation in the public sector. The study took place in four municipalities in central Sweden. The municipalities varied in size and organisational forms. Interviews and policy documents were used for data collection.The results showed that the innovation policies were not followed by action, which may be described as not mobilizing dynamic capabilities to create innovativeness. Thus, dynamic capabilities, such as learning and HRM, Human Resource Management, were not used in conjunction with innovation. Particularly amongst senior management there was a negative attitude towards the innovative capacity of their organization. Middle management saw possibilities. However, barriers such as extensive control systems removed the focus from innovation. There was a lack of communication between senior management and middle management regarding innovation. The conclusion was that innovation, as both concept and practice, was not fully embraced by the municipalities. It is suggested that generative leadership, opening up communication within the organisations, especially between employees, could be beneficial, and that a common understanding and definition of the innovation concept is needed. Integration of top-down processes with bottom-up processes, such as employee-driven innovation, is also suggested

Innovation Management in Swedish Municipalities

Research on public sector innovation is still limited, and increased knowledge of innovation processes is needed. This article is a based on a study of the implementation of innovation policies in Swedish municipalities, and gives a first-hand, empirical view of some of the complexities of innovation in the public sector. The study took place in four municipalities in central Sweden. The municipalities varied in size and organisational forms. Interviews and policy documents were used for data collection.The results showed that the innovation policies were not followed by action, which may be described as not mobilizing dynamic capabilities to create innovativeness. Thus, dynamic capabilities, such as learning and HRM, Human Resource Management, were not used in conjunction with innovation. Particularly amongst senior management there was a negative attitude towards the innovative capacity of their organization. Middle management saw possibilities. However, barriers such as extensive control systems removed the focus from innovation. There was a lack of communication between senior management and middle management regarding innovation. The conclusion was that innovation, as both concept and practice, was not fully embraced by the municipalities. It is suggested that generative leadership, opening up communication within the organisations, especially between employees, could be beneficial, and that a common understanding and definition of the innovation concept is needed. Integration of top-down processes with bottom-up processes, such as employee-driven innovation, is also suggested