EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP IN AGED CARE ON JOB STRAIN AND SOCIAL SUPPORT

摘要

It is well known that aged care staff experience high levels of job strain, and it is evident that aged care staff that experience job strain are exposed to increased risk for adverse health effects. Leadership is a factor that has been associated to job strain in the literature, however, the impact of managerial leadership on job strain and social support has not been clarified within this context. The aim of this study was to explore associations between leadership, job strain and social support among care staff in aged care. This study has a nation-wide, cross-sectional design, including staff in 188 residential aged care facilities throughout Sweden. Participating staff (n=3661) completed surveys which included questions about staff characteristics, valid and reliable measures of leadership behavior, job strain and social support. Statistical analyses of correlations and multiple regression analysis with interaction terms were conducted. The result revealed that leadership behaviors’ among managers had a significant association with job strain and social support. Higher levels of leadership behaviour were related to lower lever of job strain and higher level of social support. Further, levels of leadership moderated the impact of social support on job strain. The leadership behaviors’ from aged care managers seem to contribute to supportive environment in terms of increased social support and thus, alleviate job strain among staff.