Health-Oriented Leadership and Mental Health From Supervisor and Employee Perspectives: A Multilevel and Multisource Approach

Abstract

The link between leadership and mental health at the workplace is well established by prior research. However, most of the studies have addressed this relationship from a single-source perspective. The aim of this study was to examine how supervisor and employee ratings of health-oriented leadership correspond to each other and which sources are predictive for employee mental health. We assessed data within 99 teams (headed by 99 supervisors) containing 713 employees in 11 different companies in Southern Germany. Supervisors and their staff completed questionnaires on the supervisors’ health-oriented staff-care dimensions awareness, value of health and health behavior (Health-Oriented Leadership Scale, HoL) and current mental distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS). Hierarchical linear models revealed that supervisors’ self-ratings were significantly related to their employees’ ratings (at the team level) only on the health behavior dimension, but not on the health awareness and value of health dimensions. Also, supervisors rated themselves significantly higher on HoL compared to their employees. Employee ratings of HoL significantly predicted their own level of mental distress (direct within-level effect), whereas supervisor ratings of HoL did not predict employees’ mental distress at the team level (direct cross-level effect). Supervisors’ self-ratings of HoL did not influence the relationship between employee ratings of HoL and their mental distress on an individual level (cross-level interaction). These results highlight the complex relationship between multisource assessments of HoL and employee mental health, emphasizing the importance of subjective perception for mental health. Future studies should investigate under which conditions supervisor and employee ratings correspond to each other and are predictive for mental health at the workplace.

Do Organizational Health Climates and Leader Health Mindsets Enhance Employees’ Work Engagement and Job Crafting Amid the Pandemic?

“…The literature on health leadership suggests that health awareness is a key component of health-promoting leadership [26,35]. Empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between health-promoting leadership and a variety of work outcomes (e.g., well-being, physical health, job performance, and satisfaction) [4,26,35,[37][38][39][40]. Based on these findings, we anticipate that LHM-a core component of health-promoting leadership-will serve as a condition that amplifies the positive effect of POHC on work outcomes during the pandemic.…”

“…In studies conducted in non-pandemic settings, health-promoting organizational climate [4] and leadership [26,[37][38][39][40]59] exerted positive effects on work outcomes, respectively. In line with these studies, our findings confirmed that POHC and LHM played beneficial roles in employee outcomes during the pandemic, which underscores the importance of POHC and LHM in both pandemic and non-pandemic contexts.…”

“…Our findings, coupled with prior findings denoting a positive association between employees' subjective perceptions of health climate and their well-being [5], highlight the role of a health-promoting climate in the workplace. To cultivate such a climate, it is critical to facilitate open discussions about health topics within the organization [39]. Open communication and a shared understanding of health issues create shared perceptions of mutual trust and support among top management, middle managers, and employees, which build a positive work climate conducive to employee work outcomes.…”

Exploring Well-being at Work—An Interview Study on How IT Professionals Perceive Their Workplace

“…For instance, an organizational culture defined by openness, fairness, and support has a positive impact on employees' engagement, commitment, and extra-role behavior (Albrecht, 2012 ). Furthermore, the health awareness of supervisors plays a role in employees' well-being, as it is reflected in their leadership style and can positively condition employees' mental health (i.e., depression and anxiety symptoms; Vonderlin et al, 2021 ). In addition, employees seem to be more proud, motivated, and overall satisfied when their employer has a positive reputation (Tanwar and Prasad, 2016 ).…”

The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Ethical Leadership

“…Trying to find a widely accepted definition of leadership has inspired researchers, which is difficult because the definitions seem to approach from the point of view of cultures and cultures in different contexts [20]. After much debate, studies have come to some consensus that leadership is not a step, but a process, an activity and an expression of competence [10,[21][22][23]. At the same time, studies show that, in order to carry out leadership activities, one must learn and develop over time and practical experience, even leaders are considered to have "natural leadership capacity".…”