Under pressure – The working situation of Swedish healthcare managers during the first wave of COVID-19
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2023

Introduction: The aim of this study is to provide insight into the psychosocial work situation of hospital managers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Mixed-effect modelling was used on survey data on job demands, job resources, job motivation, and work-life balance among over 500 managers working in 55 departments of a large Swedish university hospital in 2019 and 2020. Responses from 6011 employees were then used to stratify the analysis for COVID-19 exposure. Inductive content analysis was applied to open-ended questions on the managers’ views on organisational prerequisites during the onset of the pandemic. Results: The proportion of managers reporting difficulties with role clarity, quantitative demands, decision-making authority, and emotional support, time for recovery at work, motivation deficits, or problems with work-life balance clearly increased during the first wave of the pandemic. The proportion of managers reporting negative responses was higher in departments with high COVID-19 exposure. The qualitative analysis shows that overall governance in terms of clear, fair, and well-communicated routines, resource allocation, and division of responsibilities constituted an important framework for managerial during the crisis. First-line managers also require a mandate to re-organize their roles and their teams to successfully adapt to the situation. Organisational and social support was also important resources. Discussion: This is the first study investigating healthcare managers’ work situation during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a Swedish context. As expected, it indicates an increasingly strained work situation during the crisis, but it also provides findings on organisational prerequisites that allow healthcare managers to cope with stressful situations. In line with previous research on organisational resilience, the study provides suggestions for how higher-level managers can act in order to provide front-line managers with the organisational prerequisites they need to adapt, learn and develop successfully during times of unpredictability, insecurity, and rapid change in order to offer the best possible support to health care workers.

job resources

health care managers

job demands

COVID-19 pandemic

Sweden

working conditions

Författare

L. Björk

Göteborgs universitet

Västra Götalandsregionen

L. Corin

Västra Götalandsregionen

Göteborgs universitet

M. Akerstrom

Västra Götalandsregionen

Göteborgs universitet

Ingibjörg H. Jonsdottir

Västra Götalandsregionen

Göteborgs universitet

Alessio Degl Innocenti

Göteborgs universitet

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

Helle Wijk

Chalmers, Arkitektur och samhällsbyggnadsteknik, Byggnadsdesign

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

Göteborgs universitet

Linda Ahlstrom

Göteborgs universitet

Sahlgrenska universitetssjukhuset

Frontiers in Psychology

16641078 (eISSN)

Vol. 13 1052382

Ämneskategorier

Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi

DOI

10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1052382

PubMed

36710753

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2023-02-07