The demands on managers seem to have increased as a consequence of management reforms. This study evaluates interventions aimed at improving working conditions and performance of managers in the Swedish public sector by changing organizational conditions. Six intervention organizations were compared to 34 reference organizations. Organizational conditions relevant for managerial work were surveyed and the results presented to the management teams who decided on the action plans and implemented changes. Fidelity to the intentions and contextual circumstances were documented. A psychometrically tested questionnaire was used for pre- and post-measurements of effects among a sample of 303 managers. The results showed that the interventions were associated with changes in managers’ quality of work and performance. The evaluation design made it possible to show that organizational conditions can be changed in order to improve the operations managers’ situation if there is fidelity to the intentions and support from the strategic level management.
AbildgaardJNielsenK (2018) The interplay of sensemaking and material artefacts during interventions: A case study. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies8(3): 5–26.
2.
Ala-LaurinahiAKurkiA-LAbildgaardJS (2017) Supporting sensemaking to promote a systemic view of organizational change: Contributions from activity theory. Journal of Change Management17(4): 367–387.
3.
AlbinssonGArnessonK (2018) The managerial position in a Swedish municipal organization: Possibilities and limitations. Economic and Industrial Democracy39(3): 500–535.
4.
AndersenGRWestgaardRH (2015) Discrepancies in assessing home care workers’ working conditions in a Norwegian home care service: Differing views of stakeholders at three organizational levels. BMC Health Services Research15: 286.
5.
AndreassonJLjungarEAhlstromL, et al. (2018) Professional bureaucracy and health care managers’ planned changes strategies: Governance in Swedish health care. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies8(1): 23–41.
6.
ArmanRDellveLWikströmETörnströmL (2009) What health care managers do: Applying Minzberg’s structured observation method. Journal of Nursing Management17(6): 718–729.
7.
AugustssonHvon Thiele SchwarzUStenfors-HayesTHassonH (2015) Investigating variations in implementation fidelity of an organizational-level occupational health intervention. International Journal of Behavior Medicine22(3): 345–355.
8.
AustBRuguliesRFinkenAJensenC (2010) When workplace interventions lead to negative effects: Learning from failures. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health38 (Suppl. 3): 106–119.
9.
BakkerABDemeroutiE (2007) The Job Demands-Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology22(3): 309–328.
10.
BarleySRKundaG (2001) Bringing work back in. Organization Science12(1): 76–95.
11.
BarleySRTolbertPS (1997) Institutionalization and structuration: Studying the links between action and institution. Organization Studies18(1): 93–117.
12.
BejerotEHasselbladhH (2013) Forms of intervention in public sector organizations: Generic traits in public sector reforms. Organization Studies34(9): 1357–1380.
13.
BejerotEGustavssonMHasselbladhH, et al. (2017) Occupational control on drift: National and local intervention in clinical work at emergency departments. Professions and Professionalism7(2): 1–15.
14.
BerntsonEWallinLHärenstamA (2012) Typical situations for managers in the Swedish public sector: Cluster analysis of working conditions using the job demands-resources model. International Public Management Journal15(1): 100–130.
15.
BironCGatrellCCooperLC (2010) Autopsy of a failure: Evaluating process and contextual issues in an organizational-level work stress intervention. International Journal of Stress Management17(2): 135–158.
16.
BjörkL (2013) Contextualizing managerial work in local government organizations. Doctoral dissertation, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Available at: gupea_2077_34265_1.pdf
17.
BjörkLHärenstamA (2016) Differences in organizational preconditions for managers in genderized municipal services. Scandinavian Journal of Management32(4): 209–219.
18.
BjörkLBejerotEJacobshagenNHärenstamA (2013) I shouldn’t have to do this: Illegitimate tasks as a stressor in relation to organizational control and resource deficits. Work and Stress27(3): 262–277.
19.
BjörkLSzücsSHärenstamA (2014) Measuring capacity to perform across local government services – managers’ perceptions. International Journal of Public Sector Management27(1): 26–38.
20.
ByRT (2005) Organisational change management: A critical review. Journal of Change Management5(4): 369–380.
21.
ByRTHughesMFordJ (2016) Editorial. Change leadership: Oxymoron and myths. Journal of Change Management16(1): 8–17.
22.
CarrollCPattersonMWoodS, et al. (2007) A conceptual framework for implementation fidelity. Implementation Science2(1): 40.
23.
CohenJ (1992) A power primer. Psychological Bulletin112(1): 155–159.
24.
CorinL (2016) Job demands, job resources, and consequences for managerial sustainability in the public sector: A contextual approach. Doctoral dissertation, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Available at: gupea_2077_42312_1.pdf
25.
CorinLBjörkL (2016) Job demands and job resources in human service managerial work: An external assessment through work content analysis. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies6(4): 3–29.
26.
CorinLBerntsonEHärenstamA (2016) Managers’ turnover in the public sector. International Journal of Public Administration39(10): 790–802.
27.
CoxTKaranikaMGriffithsAHoudmontJ (2007) Evaluating organizational-level work stress interventions: Beyond traditional methods. Work and Stress21(4): 348–362.
28.
De LangeAHTarisTWKompierM, et al. (2003) ‘The very best of the millennium’: Longitudinal research and the demand-control-(support) model. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology84(6): 282–305.
29.
DellveLWikströmE (2009) Managing complex workplace stress in health care organizations: Leaders’ perceived legitimacy conflicts. Journal of Nursing Management17(8): 931–941.
30.
DellveLSkagertKWilhelmssonR (2007) Leadership in workplace health promotion projects: 1- and 2-year effects on long-term work attendance. European Journal of Public Health17(5): 471–476.
31.
DevosGBuelensMBouckenoogheD (2007) Contribution of content, context and process to understanding openness to organizational change: Two experimental simulation studies. The Journal of Social Psychology147(6): 607–630.
32.
DierdorffECRubinRSMorgesonFP (2009) The milieu of managerial work: An integrative framework linking work context to role requirements. Journal of Applied Psychology94(4): 972–988.
33.
EklöfMPousetteADellveL, et al. (2010) Gothenburg Manager Stress Inventory (GMSI). ISM-rapport 7. Göteborg: Institutet för stressmedicin. [In Swedish]
34.
EllisAMKraussAD (2015) Creating sustained change: Avoiding derailment during the last stage of a wellbeing intervention. In: Karanika-MurrayMBironC (eds) Derailed Organizational Interventions for Stress and Well-Being. Dordrecht: Springer.
35.
FishmanDB (1999) The Case for Pragmatic Psychology. New York and London: New York University Press.
36.
GillbergGLindgrenH (2017) Distribution av förändringsintentioner: om styrning och handlingsutrymme I fyra förändringsarbeten [The distribution of change intentions: On direction and scope of action in four change projects]. Work Life in Transition1: 1–40.
37.
GrantAMWallTD (2009) The neglected science and art of quasi-experimentation. Why-to, when-to, and how-to advice for organizational researchers. Organizational Research Methods12(4): 653–686.
38.
GreasleyKEdwardsP (2015) When do health and well-being interventions work? Managerial commitment and context. Economic and Industrial Democracy36(2): 355–357.
39.
HalesCP (2005) Rooted in supervision, branching into management: Continuity and change in the role of first-line manager. Journal of Management Studies42(3): 471–506.
40.
HavermansBMSchelvisRMCBootCRL, et al. (2016) Process variables in organizational stress management intervention evaluation research: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health42(5): 371–381.
41.
HolmerJ (2003) Självvärdering som stöd för personal-och verksamhetsutveckling [Self-evaluations as support for staff and operation development]. Reports from the Department of Work Science, University of Gothenburg.
42.
HärenstamA (2009) Exploring gender, working and living conditions and health: Suggestions for contextual and comprehensive approaches. Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health35(2): 127–133
43.
HärenstamAÖsteboA (eds) (2014) Chefskapets förutsättningar och konsekvenser – Metoder och resultat från Chefiosprojektet – Slutrapport del I [Prerequisites for and consequences of management: Methods and results from the Chefios project]. ISM-rapport 14:1. Västra Götalandsregionen. Available at: www.vgregion.se/stressmedicin
44.
HärenstamAPousetteABerntsonE, et al. (2014) Utvärderingar av Chefios-interventionerna. In: HärenstamAÖsteboA (eds) Förändringsprocesser och utvärderingar av interventioner i kommunala förvaltningar. Metoder och resultat från Chefios-projektet- del 2 [Change processes and evaluations of interventions in municipality authorities. Methods and results from the Chefios project]. ISM-rapport 14:2.Västra Götalandsregionen. Available at: www.vgregion.se/stressmedicin
45.
JohanssonVLindgrenLMontinS (2016) Contemporary local government administration: Competences, roles and values among managers and middle managers in a changing context. European Cooperation in Science and Technology COST Action LocRef, WGI, Bern, March.
46.
JohnsG (2006) The essential impact of context on organizational behavior. Academy of Management Review31(2): 386–408.
47.
KampAKlemsdalLGonäsL (2013) Working in the public sector: Introduction to the thematic issue. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies3(2): 1–8.
48.
KankkunenTF (2014) Access to networks in genderised contexts: The construction of hierarchical networks and inequalities in feminised caring and masculinised technical occupations. Gender, Work and Organization21(4): 340–352.
49.
KanterRM (1977) Men and Women of the Corporation. New York: Basic Books.
50.
KompierMAustB (2016) Organizational stress management interventions: Is it the singer, not the song?Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health42(5): 355–358.
51.
KristensenT (2005) Intervention studies in occupational epidemiology. Occupational and Environmental Medicine62(3): 205–210.
52.
KuipersBHiggsMKickertW, et al. (2014) The management of change in public sector organizations: A literature review. Public Administration92(1): 1–20.
53.
LamontagneAKeegelTLouieA, et al. (2013) A systemic review of the job-stress intervention evaluation literature, 1990–2005. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health13(3): 268–280.
54.
LindgrenH (2014) Processtudien – en studie av Chefios interventionernas förändringsprocesser. In: HärenstamAÖsteboA (eds) Förändringsprocesser och utvärderingar av interventioner i kommunala förvaltningar. Metoder och resultat från Chefios-projektet- del 2 [Change processes and evaluations of interventions in municipality authorities. Methods and results from the Chefios project], ISM-rapport 14:2. Västra Götalandsregionen. Available at: www.vgregion.se/stressmedicin
55.
LounsburyMVentrescaM (2003) The new structuralism in organizational theory. Organization10(3): 457–480.
56.
McFillenJMO’NeilDABalzerWKVarneyGH (2013) Organizational diagnosis: An evidence-based approach. Journal of Change Management13(2): 223–246.
57.
MillsMvan de BuntGGde BruijnJ (2006) Comparative research: Persistent problems and promising solutions. International Sociology21(5): 619–631.
58.
MohrGWolframH (2010) Stress among managers: The importance of dynamic tasks, predictability, and social support in unpredictable times. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology15(2): 167–179.
59.
MontinSJohanssonVLindgrenL (2018) The institutionalisation of performance scrutiny regimes and beyond: The case of education and elderly care in Sweden. In: KoprićIWollmanHMarcouG (eds) Evaluating Reforms of Local Public and Social Services in Europe. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 97–114.
60.
MorawskiJ (1996) The science behind feminist research methods. Journal of Social Issues53(4): 667–681.
61.
MorgesonFP (2012) Suppose we took context seriously when studying managerial behavior. In: TengbladS (ed.) The Work of Managers: Towards a Practice Theory of Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 323–325.
62.
NielsenKAbildgaardJS (2013) Organizational interventions: A research-based framework for the evaluation of both process and effects. Work and Stress27(3): 278–297.
63.
NielsenKRandallR (2013) Opening the black box: Presenting a model for evaluation organizational level interventions. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology22(5): 601–617.
64.
NielsenKRandallR (2015) Assessing and addressing the fit of planned interventions to the organizational context. In: Karanika-MurrayMBironC (eds) Derailed Organizational Interventions for Stress and Well-Being. Dordrecht: Springer.
65.
NielsenKAbildgaardJSDanielsK (2014) Putting context into organizational intervention design using tailored questionnaire to measure initiatives for worker well-being. Human Relations67(12): 1537–1560.
66.
NordegraafMStewartR (2000) Managerial behaviour research in private and public sectors: Distinctiveness, disputes and directions. Journal of Management Studies37(3): 427–443.
67.
NybergA (2009) The impact of managerial leadership on stress and health among employees. Doctoral dissertation, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. Available at: https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/38102
68.
NyströmMEHöögEGarvareR, et al. (2018) Exploring the potential of a multi-level approach to improve capability for continuous organizational improvement and learning in a Swedish healthcare region. BMC Health Services Research18: 376.
PreworskiATeuneH (1970) The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry (Comparative Studies in Behavioral Science). New York: Wiley.
71.
RasbashJSteeleFBrowneWJGoldsteinH (2009) A User’s Guide to MLwiN, v2. 10. Bristol: Centre for Multilevel Modelling, University of Bristol.
72.
RasmussenB (2004) Between endless needs and limited resosurces: The gendered construction of a greedy organization. Gender, Work and Organization11(5): 506–525.
73.
SemmerNKTschanFMeierL, et al. (2010) Illegitimate tasks and counterproductive work behavior. Applied Psychology: An International Review59(1): 70–96.
74.
SkagertKDellveLEklöfM, et al. (2008) Leaders’ strategies for dealing with their own and their subordinates’ stress in public human service organizations. Applied Ergonomics39(6): 803–811.
75.
SkagertKDellveLAhlborgGJr (2012) A prospective study of managers’ turnover and health in a healthcare organization. Journal of Nursing Management20(7): 889–899.
76.
SkyttBLjunggrenBCarlssonM (2007) Reasons to leave: The motives of first-line nurse managers for leaving their posts. Journal of Nursing Management15(3): 294–302.
77.
SminiaHvan NistelrooijA (2006) Strategic management and organization development: Planned change in a public sector organization. Journal of Change Management6(1): 99–113.
78.
StazykECGoerdelHT (2010) The benefits of bureaucracy: Public managers’ perceptions of political support, goal ambiguity, and organizational effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research21(4): 645–672.
79.
StengårdJHärenstamAAhlborgG, et al. (2013) Chefskap, Hälsa, Effektivitet, Förutsättningar i Offentlig Sektor. Teknisk rapport från CHEFiOS projektet [Management, health, efficiency. Organizational conditions in the public sector. Technical report from the Chefios project]. ISM-rapport 13. Västra Götalandsregionen.
80.
StranzASzebehelyM (2017) Organizational trends impacting on everyday realities: The case of Swedish elderly care. In: ChristensenKPillingD (eds) The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Around the World. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 45–47.
81.
SzücsSHemströmÖMarklundS (2003) Organisatoriska faktorers betydelse för längre sjukskrivningar i kommuner [The impact of organizational factor on long sick leave periods in municipalities]. Arbete och Hälsa [Work & Health], 6.
82.
TarisTWKompierMAJGeurtsSA, et al. (2003) Stress management interventions in the Dutch domiciliary care sector: Findings from 81 organizations. International Journal of Stress Management10(4): 297–325.
83.
TaylorJRVan EveryEJ (2014) When Organization Fails: Why Authority Matters. New York: Routledge.
84.
Van der VoetJKuipersBSGroeneveldS (2016) Implementing change in public organizations: The relationship between leadership and affective commitment to change in a public sector context. Public Management Review18(6): 842–865.
85.
von Thiele SchwarzUHassonHLindforsP (2015) Applying a fidelity framework to understand adaptations in an occupational health intervention. Work51(2): 195–203.
86.
von Thiele SchwarzULundmarkRHassonH (2016) The Dynamic Integrated Evaluation Model (DIEM): Achieving sustainability in organizational intervention through a participatory evaluation approach. Stress and Health32(4): 285–293.
87.
VroomVJagoA (2007) The role of the situation in leadership. American Psychologist62(1): 17–24.
88.
WaldenströmKAhlbergGBergmanP, et al. (2008) Externally assessed psychosocial work characteristics and diagnoses of anxiety and depression. Occupational and Environmental Medicine65(2): 90–97.
89.
WallinLPousetteADellveL (2014) Span of control and the significance for public sector managers’ job demands: A multilevel study. Economic and Industrial Democracy35(3): 455–481.
90.
WandersmanA (2009) Four keys to success (theory, implementation, evaluation, and resource/system support): High hopes and challenges in participation. American Journal of Community Psychology43(1–2): 3–21.
91.
WeickKESutcliffeKMObstfieldD (2005) Organizing and the process of sensemaking. Organization Science16(4): 409–421.
92.
WeinerBJ (2009) A theory of organizational readiness for change. Implementation Science4(1): 67.
93.
WerkmanR (2010) Reinventing organizational development: How a sensemaking perspective can enrich OD theories and interventions. Journal of Change Management10(4): 421–438.
94.
WesterbergKArmeliusK (2000) Municipal middle managers: Psychosocial work environment in a gender-based division of labor. Scandinavian Journal of Management16(2): 189–208.
95.
WikströmEDellveL (2009) Contemporary leadership in healthcare organizations: Fragmented or concurrent leadership. Journal of Health, Organization and Management23(4): 411–428.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
