Gesunde Führung in vernetzter (Zusammen-)Arbeit – Herausforderungen und Chancen

Health-Oriented Self- and Employee Leadership in Virtual Teams: A Qualitative Study with Virtual Leaders

“…Leadership over geographical distance in flexible working conditions therefore requires specific skills from leaders: e-communication skills, e-social skills, e-team building skills, e-change management skills, e-technological skills, and e-trustworthiness [ 16 ]. It has been shown that classic leadership concepts applied in traditional team structures cannot simply be transferred to virtual leadership [ 17 , 18 ]. For example, hierarchical leadership appears to be difficult to implement in virtual teams [ 18 ].…”

“…Moreover, studies on transformational leadership in virtual teams show inconsistent results regarding effectiveness [ 6 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. According to the current state of research, delegative leadership concepts that focus on autonomy, participation, and self-control are recommended for virtual teamwork [ 15 , 17 , 24 , 25 ]. Studies on shared leadership in virtual teams report positive influences on team effectiveness and performance [ 6 , 15 , 18 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

“…Different language skills [ 36 ] and cultural influences can make mutual understanding and building personal relationships even more difficult [ 24 , 32 , 35 ]. In addition, greater attention must be also paid to the health of employees in a flexible working environment [ 17 ]. In this way, the specific working conditions of virtual leaders can be experienced as psychological stress factors and thus potentially affect the health of leaders [ 17 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…In addition, greater attention must be also paid to the health of employees in a flexible working environment [ 17 ]. In this way, the specific working conditions of virtual leaders can be experienced as psychological stress factors and thus potentially affect the health of leaders [ 17 , 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Furthermore, it is unclear whether and in which ways leaders can directly influence the health of their team members, even though they may rarely or never see each other personally. Since no empirical study has yet examined the HoL instrument in the virtual work context, there are no scientific findings on the applicability or effectiveness of health-oriented leadership in virtual teams [ 17 ]. Due to the high emergence of virtual teams in an increasingly globalized and digitalized world [ 13 ] and the associated increase in health-related stress factors at work [ 38 ], there is much need for research to empirically investigate how health-oriented leadership is applied in virtual teams.…”