AimTo describe healthcare professionals' experiences of adverse event reporting in relation to the fundamental tasks of managers.DesignQualitative interview study.MethodTwenty‐four semi‐structured interviews including six managers, six medical doctors, six Registered Nurses and six Enrolled Nurses were carried out in Slovenia from January to May 2019. The data were analysed using a multi‐stage qualitative content analysis procedure. The COREQ checklist guided the reporting in this study.ResultsThe researchers found that all four fundamental tasks of managers, namely planning, organising, leading and controlling, influence the safety culture and thus adverse events reporting by employees. For each function, the researchers have identified the key factors that either promote or inhibit adverse events reporting in a healthcare institution. The results have implications for all those involved in adverse event reporting from the perspective of the fundamental tasks of managers and can contribute to the improvement of the reporting system and subsequently safer treatment.

Reporting adverse events is one of the first steps towards safer patient treatment. To achieve this, attention should be focused on developing or improving the safety culture in healthcare. Managers are responsible for the successful functioning of healthcare facilities and the resulting enhanced reporting. Managers achieve their success in an institution through the four core tasks of managers: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Because the core functions of managers affect the success of a facility and, even earlier, the processes within a facility, including the success of adverse event reporting, the chapter reviews the literature on the functions of management in relation to adverse event reporting in healthcare. The content of the chapter will be helpful to all those who are involved in safety incident reporting from the perspective of the core functions of managers and who contribute to their socially responsible behavior and promoting sustainable development.