Expanded span of control, leadership and management performance, work-related stress, and job satisfaction among first-line managers: A repeated cross-sectional study.

Background: First-line healthcare managers navigate complex organizational demands to ensure a good work environment and quality care. Key factors such as expanded span of control, leadership and management performance, and work-related stress significantly influence their job satisfaction. However,...

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Published in:Work Vol. 81; no. 3; pp. 2952 - 2964
Main Authors: Svanström, Jonas, Skytt, Bernice, Lindberg, Maria, Lindberg, Magnus
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. Jul2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2025
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      pub: Sage Publications Inc.
      place: Thousand Oaks, California
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        atl: Expanded span of control, leadership and management performance, work-related stress, and job satisfaction among first-line managers: A repeated cross-sectional study.
      aug:
        au:
          Svanström, Jonas
          Skytt, Bernice
          Lindberg, Maria
          Lindberg, Magnus
        affil: Department of Caring Sciences, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden
      sug:
        subj:
          Leadership
          Stress, Occupational Etiology
          Stress, Occupational Psychosocial Factors
          Work Environment Standards
          Work Environment Psychosocial Factors
          Job Satisfaction
          Management
          Health Personnel Psychosocial Factors
          Organizational Culture
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Sweden
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Surveys
          Questionnaires
          Funding Source
          Scales
          Kruskal-Wallis Test
          Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient
          Interpersonal Relations
          Health Services Administration
          Primary Health Care
          Prehospital Care
          Coefficient alpha
          Correlation Coefficient
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Confidence Intervals
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background: First-line healthcare managers navigate complex organizational demands to ensure a good work environment and quality care. Key factors such as expanded span of control, leadership and management performance, and work-related stress significantly influence their job satisfaction. However, how these factors evolve over time in organizational settings remains unclear. Objective: To examine expanded span of control, leadership and management performance, work-related stress, and job satisfaction among first-line healthcare managers and assess whether the relationships between these variables remained stable over time. Methods: A repeated cross-sectional design was used to collect annual data from 2020 to 2023 among first-line managers in a Swedish healthcare organization. The Ottawa Hospital Span of Control tool, the Leadership and Management Inventory, the Health & Safety Executive stress tool, and a single-item job satisfaction measure were used to collect data. Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman correlation analysis were performed. Results: An expanded span of control negatively impacted job satisfaction in certain years. Leadership and management performance showed a positive but inconsistent association with job satisfaction. Factors in work-related stress, particularly high demands and strained relationships, consistently had a negative relationship with job satisfaction, whereas control and support positively contributed to greater job satisfaction. Conclusions: Work-related stress, driven by high demands and poor relationships, significantly decreases job satisfaction. Leadership and management performance influence satisfaction, but inconsistently. Reducing workload and improving support structures can enhance job satisfaction and managerial effectiveness.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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