Working life as we know it is constantly changing. In the recent years, there has been an increase in the use of e.g. remote work and artificial intelligence, which may impose major structural and organisational changes within organisations. These changes may in turn affect job roles and the expectations tied to them.
Facing unclear expectations at work is commonly referred to as role stressors in the literature. Typically, role stressors include role ambiguity, which is defined as unclear tasks related to a job role, and role conflict, which is defined as conflicting demands. Both role conflict and role ambiguity are well-known psychosocial risk factors in the work environment, and they are linked to, among other things, psychological distress, lower job satisfaction, and turnover intentions.
Good leadership plays a crucial role in both preventing and managing role stress. As an example, leaders can help reduce ambiguity around job roles by providing clear guidelines, defining tasks, and communicating realistic expectations. When leaders are open to dialogue, they can also help resolve role conflicts that arise in complex work situations. In addition, leaders have an important role in creating a work environment where employees feel that they have control over their own tasks, and that they can receive necessary support during stressful periods.
This PhD-project will investigate the role of leadership in preventing, managing, and handling role stressors in the workplace. The main goal is to determine how leadership influences the occurrence, management, and consequences of role stressors, with a particular focus on:
- The relationship between remote work and role stressors, as well as the potential protective effects of job control and empowering leadership.
- The relationship between age, work experience, and role stressors.
- The effect of job role–focused leadership on role stressors.
The project is based on survey data from The Working Conditions Survey for Government Agencies (MUST). The obtained results can be used to provide knowledge-based advice to organisations on the effects of leadership on job roles in a continuously changing working life.
Project leader: Morten Birkeland Nielsen, Mariama Cham Evensen
Project group member: Randi Hovden Borge
External collaborator: Wendy Nilsen, AFI, OsloMet
More information is to be found on the Norwegian project page.