The effectiveness of leadership skills to manage work-related stress in the Maltese public service

Abstract

This research relates to human resource management and draws on the principles of leadership skills of line managers to ensure wellbeing at the workplace.

Stress at work may be caused by multiple factors, generally referred to as psychosocial risks These result from working conditions, which may be defined as the synergy between the job, the organization and its employees (EU-OSHA, 2014). Psychosocial risks are linked to the way that work is designed, organized and managed, as well as to the organizational and social context of work. Research shows that work-related stress is highly detrimental to employee wellbeing. Work-related stress is associated with health problems such as heart disease, depression, and musculoskeletal disorders. These symptoms have a ripple effect on the organization, as work-related stress may lead to increased absenteeism, a decrease in work commitment, a higher staff turnover, lower performance and reduced productivity (HSE, 2017).

Evidence-based research demonstrates that there is a link between line manager behavior and the impact that such behavior exerts on subordinates. To this end, it is essential that line managers have the necessary leadership skills to manage the sources of work-related stress at the workplace effectively (Wager et al., 2003). The research is based on the principle in academic literature that the behavior of line managers, rather than the behavior of the more senior managers, has the greatest influence on employee’s wellbeing, given their direct link of communication between their direct subordinates and senior managers. Owing to their intermediary level between the organization and front-line staff, line managers are crucial for the successful implementation of an organizational wellbeing strategy (Yarker et al., 2007 & CIPD, 2012). Research shows that the behavior of line managers can cause, as well as prevent work-related stress on their subordinates (Yarker et al., 2007).

The research is aimed towards Assistant Directors, being the line managers in the Public Service, that is, they are the link between the higher senior management and their direct subordinates. The research is based on the Management Standards approach adopted by the UK Health and Safety Executive to address work-related stress. To this end, the research sets out to identify the leadership skills of Assistant Directors, determine whether the six key causes of stress identified by the Management Standards approach are being addressed in the Public Service, and determine how Assistant Directors can be effective leaders to manage the main sources of work-related stress.

To meet the research objectives, both primary and secondary data were used. A critical analysis of the literature available on the causes and effects of work-related stress and the existing intervention methods to address it, as well as leadership, was carried out. The methodology used for the research was the triangulation method. A structured self assessment questionnaire based on the Management Standards Indicator Tool was circulated to Assistant Directors by means of an online link. Interviews were also conducted with a number of Assistant Directors to triangulate the findings of the survey.

Through the research the author established that generally-speaking, Assistant Directors in the Public Service have the necessary skills to manage work-related stress effectively at the workplace. It was also deduced that in the Public Service, some of the six Management Standards are being addressed properly, others only partially and some none at all.

The author made a number of recommendations to be undertaken by Assistant Directors and a number of recommendations to be implemented at an organizational level to ensure that work-related stress in the Public Service is managed effectively. The recommendations aimed at Assistant Directors are: (i) managing the workload effectively; (ii) ensuring effective communication; (iii) fostering a positive working attitude and encouraging team-working; (iv) fostering a participative working environment; and, (v) promoting wellbeing at the workplace. The recommendations intended to be implemented at an organizational level are: (i) the carrying out of a risk assessment across the Public Service to identify and address emerging psychosocial risks; (ii) extending the Public Management Toolkit for Assistant Directors as an obligation to occupy such position; (iii) ensuring that officers in the top tiers of management have the necessary skills to manage psychosocial risk factors at the workplace; and, (iv) fostering positive working and wellbeing from the top management level With this research the author hopes that more awareness is raised on the importance of addressing the main causes of work-related stress.