Abstract

BACKGROUND: Organizations are in a state of continual evolution, driven by the relentless shifts in their external environments. Numerous theories have been proposed to understand the essential skills and capabilities for successful organizational change. Yet, there remains a gap in capturing a holistic view necessary to fully comprehend the dynamics of competence in today’s rapidly changing landscape.

OBJECTIVE: This research aims to explore and consolidate the concept of 'competence' in the context of organizational change processes. 

METHODS: Employing an integrative literature review approach, a total of 3,230 studies were screened. Out of these, 32 studies were selected based on strict relevance and quality criteria, providing a robust foundation for the analysis.

RESULTS: The findings reveal a multi-layered nature of organizational change, highlighting that the nature and prerequisites of change vary significantly across different organizational levels. By applying a competence lens, we discern how required competence during change are not uniform but rather vary depending on whether they are applied in an operational or strategic context. This demonstrates a nuanced, level-dependent variability in change competence across the organizational hierarchy. 

CONCLUSION: We conceptualize 'change competence' as a dual-faceted construct. It encompasses both the capacity to leverage existing organizational competence and the adeptness to develop new competence, thereby meeting the evolving demands imposed by both internal and external drivers of change. This comprehensive understanding paves the way for more effective strategies in managing organizational change.

Recent societal challenges highlight the importance of learning in organizations. Nurturing employee learning requires leaders who prioritize learning-oriented leadership. While many studies have used qualitative methods to study how this leadership is performed in daily work, there have been no previous attempts to synthesise this body of research. This paper presents a framework based on a review of 38 qualitative papers on how leaders facilitate workplace learning. The frameworkidentifies two elements of leadership: direct leadership behaviors, which involve supporting, educating, making demands, and role modelling, and indirect leadership behaviors, which facilitate learning through building a learning climate, influencing work organization, freeing up resources for learning, and encouraging knowledge dissemination. The review finds that situational factors shape learning-oriented leadership, and that this leadership involves the deployment of activities located on a planned-spontaneous continuum to facilitate learning. Longitudinal studies across professional groups and contexts will deepen our understanding of this concept.

Purpose – Knowledge regarding the importance of the psychosocial work environment for health and wellbeing in the workplace is extensive. However, more knowledge is needed about how the managers’ organizational conditions are related to what occupational health and safety management (OHSM) is actually conducted and how this relates to the work-related health of employees. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate if managers’ organizational conditions are associated with the conducted OHSM, and if the conducted OHSM is associated with the psychosocial work environment and well-being of the employees.

Design/methodology/approach – An electronic questionnaire was sent to managers and their employees working in 10 different organizations in Sweden, resulting in 1,097 valid responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the results.

Findings – The SEM analysis showed that managers’ conditions were related to employee well-being via OHSM and psychosocial work environment (job demands and job resources).

Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature in the field of OHSM by placing explicit focus on the role of organizational conditions for conducting OHSM. By studying not only the link between work environment and health, but also focus on the underlying organizational structures for OHSM, provides additional possibilities for prevention of the increasing work-related illness. As such, this paper contributes to a more holistic perspective in the field of OHSM.

Purpose

Given the importance of small businesses for society, and the significance of managers’ wellbeing for employee health, leadership, and business performance, more knowledge is needed on the sources of managers’ wellbeing. This study explored factors within the small business context that were perceived by managers to hinder or enable their wellbeing.

Methods

Data were collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews with 20 managers from 12 small companies, and analysed with content analysis.

Results

The factors that these managers in small businesses experienced as enhancing or hindering their personal wellbeing covered five categories: demands and resources in the daily managerial work, achievement of results, social factors, organizational factors, and individual factors.

Conclusions

The specific context of managerial work in small companies encompasses unique factors. For instance, the small company managers’ wellbeing was affected by vulnerability due to the smallness of the business and the absence of available resources. Simultaneously, a small company context provided a strong social climate and close relationships with employees and customers that strengthened the managers’ wellbeing. The findings suggest that the availability of financial, personnel, and organizational resources varies between small companies of different size, which may have implications for small business managers’ work and wellbeing.

Inledning och syfte

I denna rapport presenteras resultaten av ett projekt som genomförts inom ramen för regeringens uppdrag till Myndigheten för arbetsmiljökunskap att kartlägga och analysera kort- och långsiktiga konsekvenser av coronapandemin för arbetsmiljön i Sverige (A2021/02355, 2021-12-16).

Under coronapandemin införde Sveriges regering flera restriktioner och rekommendationer för att förhindra smittspridning. Till skillnad från i många andra länder lades ett stort ansvar på samhället och dess invånare att hålla fysisk distans för att förhindra smitta. Det åligger chefer att uppnå de verksamhetsmål som ställts upp, men även att verka för en god arbetsmiljö. Det är dock tämligen outforskat vad detta inneburit för chefernas egen arbetssituation under coronapandemin.

Med utgångspunkt i ovanstående bakgrund är syftet med projektet att bidra med kunskap om chefers arbetssituation under coronapandemin i Sverige. Mer specifikt fokuserar rapporten på att beskriva hur chefers arbetssituation har förändrats under pandemin inom följande områden:

-        arbetsuppgifter

-        arbetsmiljöarbete

-        förutsättningar och egen arbetsmiljö

-        ledarskap och relation till medarbetare.

Metod

I denna rapport undersöks chefers arbetssituation under pandemin genom både intervjuer och enkäter. Totalt har 40 chefer intervjuats och därtill har enkäter besvarats av 1 002 chefer inom olika verksamheter och branscher i Sverige (privat och offentlig sektor, inom tillverkning, handel, vård och omsorg etc.). De urvalskriterier som ställdes upp var att personen ska 1) vara chef samt 2) ha personal- och budgetansvar. Intervjuguiden och enkäten har konstruerats av rapportförfattarna utifrån tidigare forskning om chefers arbete, förutsättningar, roller och ledarskap, samt deras arbetsmiljöarbete. Datainsamlingen skedde under juli och augusti 2022 via en webbpanel.

Fokus i intervjuerna har varit om och hur chefernas arbete, förutsättningar och ledarskap har för-ändrats under coronapandemin. I enkäterna har fokus i stället varit på förekomst av olika arbets-uppgifter, förutsättningar och ledarskap före, under och efter pandemin (i dag). Cheferna fick således retrospektivt skatta hur de upplevde att det varit vid tre olika tidpunkter. Tillsammans ger detta komplementära bilder och kan ge en utökad förståelse för chefers arbetssituation under coronapandemin.

Resultat och slutsats

En slutsats som kan dras av rapportens resultat är att chefers totala arbetssituation och arbetsinnehåll inte radikalt förändrats under coronapandemin utan till mångt och mycket varit de samma som innan. Resultaten visar dock att sätten på vilka chefsarbetet utövas har ändrats. Arbetet har skett på distans i högre omfattning än tidigare. Det operativa arbetet har ofta tagit överhand under pandemin och det har skett på bekostnad av det strategiska arbetet. Detta tycks bero på att cheferna fått lägga mer tid på att få verksamheten att fungera. Arbetsmiljöarbetet har fått omprioriteras under pandemin beroende på typ av verksamhet och var arbetet genomförts.

De förutsättningar som cheferna arbetar under tycks generellt vara goda och verkar bara minimalt ha försämrats av pandemin. Inte heller chefernas ledarskap tycks ha förändrats, även om de upplevde att kraven på deras ledarskap har ökat. Dock visar resultaten att vissa skillnader finns beroende på var arbetet har genomförts, inom vilken bransch, hur lång chefserfarenhet och hur många direktrapporterande medarbetare chefen har, samt om chefen är man eller kvinna.

De skillnader som fanns mellan arbetsformer rörde främst chefernas arbetsuppgifter. Chefer som haft verksamheten på plats har prioriterat att få driften av verksamheten att flyta på, tagit fler snabba beslut samt hanterat fler konflikter jämfört med chefer som arbetat på distans. Chefer med verksamhet på plats har också haft fler rutiner för arbetsmiljöarbete och arbetat mer med den fysiska arbetsmiljön än chefer på distans. Chefer som arbetat på plats har också haft bättre tillgång till information, bättre insyn i medarbetarnas arbetsuppgifter och arbetat mindre med att hålla ihop team och arbetsgrupp än chefer på distans. Samtidigt tycks chefers förutsättningar för att vara chefer ha försämrats under pandemin och mängden krav på ledarskapet har ökat – detta oavsett hur arbetet bedrivits.

Gällande bransch visade resultaten främst att chefer inom hotell, vård och omsorg samt utbildning skattade sina förutsättningar som sämre än andra branscher, de upplevde att det ställdes högre krav på deras ledarskap och hade mindre fokus på utvecklingsfrågor under pandemin än chefer i andra branscher.

Chefer med fler än tio direktrapporterande medarbetare arbetade mer med de olika arbetsuppgifterna, arbetade mer tid än förväntat och upplevde högre krav på sitt ledarskap än chefer med ett färre antal medarbetare. Däremot upplevdes förutsättningarna som likvärdiga.

De skillnader som fanns mellan män och kvinnor rörde främst arbetsuppgifter, där kvinnors arbetsuppgifter innehöll mer administration, kommunikation och arbetsanpassningar än männens, medan män arbetade mer med verksamhetsutveckling än kvinnor. Kvinnor hade en sämre balans mellan arbete och fritid jämfört med män. Vidare skattade kvinnor också att det ställdes högre krav på deras ledarskap, liksom att de hade mindre tid att genomföra sitt arbete i jämförelse med hur män skattade.

Resultatet visade även att de med lång chefserfarenhet upplevde sig ha bättre förutsättningar och lägre krav på ledarskapet, men de arbetade samtidigt mer. Få skillnader fanns dock gällande arbetsuppgifterna.

Ett genomgående mönster är att chefer inom vissa verksamheter såsom vård och omsorg, utbildning samt hotell – det vill säga verksamheter som är ofta är kvinnodominerade, ofta har stora medarbetargrupper, och främst bedrivit sin verksamhet på plats under pandemin – har haft en mer ansträngd arbetssituation.

Utmaningar och framtidsspaningar

I rapporten lyfts också fem utmaningar och framtidsspaningar för att hantera framtida oförutsedda händelser. Det första handlar om att skapa gemensamma riktlinjer och policys på arbetsplatsen för att tillgodose behov hos både medarbetare och verksamhet, exempelvis för distansarbete. Det andra handlar om att skapa och upprätthålla en buffert av resurser inför oförutsedda händelser, exempelvis i form av budget och extramaterial. Det tredje handlar om att öka krishanteringsberedskapen i organisationer och regelbundet se över krishanteringsplaner, exempelvis i form av ansvarsområden och förväntningar på agerande. Det fjärde handlar om insikten om att medarbetarna är organisationens viktigaste resurs och att det för chefer är viktigt att adressera både arbetsprestation och mående. Det femte handlar om betydelsen av att chefen har goda förutsättningar och en god utvecklingsmiljö.

Fortsatt forskning

I arbetet med denna rapport har flera kunskapsluckor och behov av fortsatt forskning identifierats. Det finns ett behov av mer forskning som undersöker hur möjligheterna till kompetensutveckling och lärande hanteras vid distansarbete, liksom vilka mekanismer som gjort att utvecklingsarbete och förändringsinriktade initiativ fått stå tillbaka under pandemin, till förmån för mer prestations- och driftsorienterade aktiviteter. Det behövs även forskning om hur medarbetarnas arbetssituation och medarbetarskap, samt chefers och medarbetares välbefinnande och hälsa, påverkats under pandemin. Slutligen behövs mer forskning som adresserar de långsiktiga konsekvenserna av pandemin och hur de erfarenheter som gjorts under pandemin påverkar arbetslivet i framtiden. 

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to investigate managers experiences of managing work environment and risks during the Covid-19 pandemic and to explore how managers might use these experiences to develop future risk management. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 Swedish managers at different hierarchical levels working in 11 different organizations. A directed content analysis was carried out, informed by theory on risk management. Findings The results point to the pandemic as a societal crisis which workplaces needed to manage through large means of improvisation. Regular work environment routines were put to the test, and several deficiencies in the work environment and risk management were identified. Organizations that handle occupational safety and risks on a daily basis through established routines were less affected and could easier adjust work environment and risk management, compared to organizations prioritizing the social and organizational work environment, which had to re-prioritize and start paying more attention to the physical work environment and to bring risk management into their daily routines. Originality/value The study offers an account of how managers in different labor market sectors in Sweden have acted in the midst of the pandemic by handling real-time crises, how these experiences can be used for engaging in retrospective learning and how this may imply changes to their prospective risk management.

Contemporary organizations must be adaptive and agile as the environment changes. To respond to change, leaders must find ways of integrating learning into everyday work experiences. This invites the question: how do leaders facilitate individual, group and organizational learning? Several studies have examined relationships among leadership and learning and potential mediating and moderating variables. However, because this literature is extensive and fragmented it is difficult to discern what is known about how leadership contributes to individual, group and organizational learning. Accordingly, there is a pressing need to assemble and evaluate the existing studies. To address this limitation of the literature, this paper presents a systematic review and critique of literature in this field. Our review of 105 studies suggests that there are statistically significant relationships between different types of leadership and learning at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Furthermore, the findings indicate that these relationships are often mediated by other variables. However, little is known about moderators and boundary conditions. Based on the findings, it would be premature to say with certainty that leadership causally influences learning, since the empirical basis for such a claim is lacking. We outline the conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical refinements needed to guide future research on learning-oriented leadership and advance this research trajectory. The findings of our review and our conclusions will be informative for researchers and practitioners.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for more knowledge regarding the importance of managerial leadership for fostering well-being in the workplace and how context has been accounted for in previous research.

OBJECTIVE: To carry out a literature review of previous research that empirically examines the importance of leadership for well-being in a Nordic working life context.

METHODS: A rapid literature review was conducted with narrative analysis in 5 steps; establish focus, research questions, and inclusion criteria; literature search; relevance screening; quality assessment; data analysis. The search identified 4566 unique studies where 35 quantitative and five qualitative met the relevance and quality criteria.

RESULTS: Findings from quantitative and qualitative studies are presented. Transformational and supportive leadership are recurrently associated with employee well-being, although the qualitative studies also highlight adaptive leadership and leaders being available and providing space. Some connections are made to the Nordic context in the reviewed studies, but these connections are not fully elaborated.

CONCLUSION: Leadership is related to employee well-being, although this relationship seems to be indirect, mediated by other factors in the working environment. The review identifies the need for more well-designed studies addressing the contextual factors of this relationship, and how leadership should be exercised in practice.

BACKGROUND:There is a growing interest in managers’ wellbeing due to the observed associations between their wellbeing and leadership behaviours, and between leadership behaviours and employees’ wellbeing. However, it is still unclear how managers’ wellbeing influences their practiced leadership across different workplace contexts, which specific behaviours are affected, and how this varies across time.

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was therefore to explore managers’ and employees’ experiences and perceptions regarding the consequences of managers’ wellbeing for their leadership behaviours in small businesses.

METHODS:Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 participants (19 managers and 18 employees) working at 12 Swedish small firms, and analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS:The findings show that managers were more constructive when they felt well, and more passively destructive when unwell. Variations in managers’ wellbeing influenced their mood, energy level, and performance, as well as the company’s working climate. However, these destructive leadership variations did not have a substantial impact, because several protective factors were present.

CONCLUSION:This study shows that the wellbeing of managers in small businesses has perceptible consequences for their leadership behaviours. The study also shows that sustained leadership behaviours may coexist with temporary variations of these behaviours on a constructive-destructive continuum depending on the leader’s wellbeing. Overall, the findings contribute to a more nuanced and dynamic understanding of how the interaction between managers’ wellbeing and their behaviours unfolds in the particular context of small companies.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess previous research on conditions for managers’ learning and development in daily work practices and how such conditions may influence their sustainability and also to propose a concept and a heuristic model that reconceptualizes and expands on the theoretical foundations generated in previous studies of managers’ learning and development at work.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on an integrative literature review. The literature search identified 1,403 unique studies. Nine qualitative and seven quantitative studies met the relevance and quality criteria and were included in the review.

Findings – The results of the review found associations between managers’ learning conditions, career opportunities, individual engagement and sustainability. However, the small amount of empirical data used in the reviewed studies and the cross-sectional design of the studies make it difficult to establish the nature of the relationship between different variables.

Practical implications – The results of this paper show that managers need to care for and take advantage of opportunities for their own development and not only function as creators of their employees’ development. Employers should keep in mind that the development environment includes managers and employees.

Originality/value – This paper contributes with an original concept of managers’ development environments and a conceptual model that integrates theory with results from the included studies. Based on the model, propositions that may serve as an agenda for future research are formulated.