Managers' and employees' experiences of how managers' wellbeing impacts their leadership behaviours in Swedish small businesses.
Elena Ahmadi, Daniel Lundqvist, Gunnar Bergström and 1 others
PMID 36591688WHAT IT FOUND
Managers' wellbeing visibly shaped their leadership: feeling well made them more available and supportive, while feeling unwell led to withdrawal and irritability.
Employees noticed these shifts but reported little lasting impact on their work, as stable relationships and mutual support buffered the negative effects.
Key findings
01Managers reported that when they felt well, they were more available, communicative, and solution-oriented, whereas when they felt unwell, they withdrew, became less empathetic, and gave sharper responses.
02Employees perceived that managers' mood was contagious and influenced the workplace atmosphere, but did not report substantial negative impacts on their own work or the organisation.
03Protective factors included managers' generally stable wellbeing, managers' use of coping strategies like withdrawing or maintaining a professional role, and employees' strategies such as avoiding contact or offering support.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Qualitative design limits generalisability to other contexts. The sample consisted of stable, profitable companies, which may have stronger protective factors and higher wellbeing than struggling businesses. Self-reported perceptions may be biased, though triangulation with employee views helped. The study did not measure objective outcomes like employee health or productivity, only perceived impacts.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that manager wellbeing has no impact on employees. The study found that while employees did not report substantial negative impacts in these stable, small companies, this was due to protective factors like short-term fluctuations and strong relationships. In less stable contexts or with prolonged manager distress, the impact could be significant.