Affiliations: Deartmentt of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden | Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University,
Sweden | Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden | Central Institute for Labour Protection, National
Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland | University of Milano Bicocca, Italy | University of Wuppertal, Germany
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Anne Nyberg, Dept of Public Health
Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel: +46 8 55378919;
Fax: +46 8 55378900; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to
investigate destructive managerial leadership in the hotel industry in Sweden,
Poland, and Italy in relation to psychological well-being among employees. Methods and Participants: 554 questionnaires were collected from employees in
all occupational groups within hotels. The Copenhagen Psychosocial
Questionnaire (COPSOQ) measured working conditions, particularly iso-strain or
high work demands combined with low control and poor social support, and
psychological well-being, defined in terms of mental health, vitality, and
behavioural stress. Items adapted from the Global Leadership and Organisational
Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program questionnaire measured
autocratic, malevolent, and self-centred leadership styles. Differences in
ratings between countries were estimated, as well as the relationship between
destructive managerial leadership on an organisation level and employee
psychological well-being on an individual level. The relationship between
destructive leadership and psychological well-being among employees was
adjusted for employees' reported iso-strain. Results: Autocratic and
malevolent leadership were at the organisation level related to low vitality
among employees and self-centred leadership was significantly associated with
poormental health, low vitality, and high behavioural stress. Autocratic and
malevolent leadership were more strongly related to iso-strain than was
self-centred leadership. Variations in leadership practice between countries
were seen in autocratic and malevolent leadership. Conclusion: This
exploratory study suggests a significant association between destructive
managerial leadership on the organisation level and poor psychological
well-being among employees on an individual level. Interventions to decrease
iso-strain and enhance psychological well-being among employees could be
directed at an organisation level.
Keywords: Organisation level, hotel industry, iso-strain, stress, health
