Leading for change: line managers’ influence on the outcomes of an occupational health intervention

Making it fit: Associations of line managers' behaviours with the outcomes of an organizational‐level intervention

“…In other words, IsTL considers employees' perceptions of the effectiveness of line managers' behaviours in enabling change during the intervention. A relatively strong relationship between IsTL and intervention fit was found (β = .64, p < .001) as compared to previous studies on the relationship between line managers' behaviours and intervention outcomes—for example, compared to β = .21 and .23, p < .01, for longitudinal associations with change in SRH and workability, respectively (Lundmark et al, ). The relationship between IsTL and intervention fit is also substantially higher than previous cross‐sectional associations found between line managers' behaviour and, for example, working conditions (β = .34, p < .01; Nielsen & Randall, ).…”

“…In turn, and as a result of the intervention activities, employees' intrinsic motivation. Although non-significant in part, the strength of the specific relationships between intervention fit and the proximal outcomes (β = .31, p = .02 for intrinsic motivation, and β = .29, p = .08 for vigour) together with the variance in the out- (Lundmark et al, 2017). The relationship between IsTL and intervention fit is also substantially higher than previous cross-sectional associations found between line managers' behaviour and, for example, working conditions (β = .34, p < .01; ).…”

“…Line managers have therefore been suggested to have the possibility to either make or break interventions (Nielsen, ). In the few existing studies focussing on line managers' behaviours during OL‐OH interventions, their actions have been associated with how well an intervention is implemented (Biron, Gatrell, & Cooper, ), the extent to which changes at work are created (Nielsen & Randall, ), and the extent to which changes in health are produced (Lundmark, Hasson, von Thiele Schwarz, Hasson, & Tafvelin, ). However, little is known about the mechanisms through which line managers influence the OL‐OH intervention process or the outcomes of OL‐OH interventions (Nielsen, ).…”

“…By doing so, we focus on the qualitative aspect of supportive line manager behaviours (i.e., leadership behaviours that are related to employee engagement and intrinsic motivation). Previous studies have measured line managers' behaviours in terms of attitudes and actions towards the intervention (i.e., they have focussed on line managers' performance of key tasks related to the intervention such as giving information; Nielsen & Randall, ; Randall et al, ) or in terms of general transformational leadership (Lundmark et al, ). Using a leadership theory‐based scale to evaluate line managers' intervention‐specific behaviours can illuminate how line managers should act during the intervention process in order to facilitate intervention success.…”

“…Thus, a leader can be seen as transformational in general despite not being facilitative in the implementation of an intervention. Assessing transformational leadership specifically with regard to the implementation of an OL‐OH intervention (i.e., IsTL) can therefore be a way of ensuring that the leadership behaviours evaluated are dedicated to assisting with the implementation of the intervention (Lundmark et al, ).…”