Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, 22185, Lund, Sweden.
Department of Psychology, Lund University, 22100, Lund, Sweden.
BMC Psychol. 2021 Jul 22;9(1):109. doi: 10.1186/s40359-021-00608-4.
The leadership of principals is important for school, teacher and student related outcomes. To be capable of doing their work (i.e., having sufficient workability), school principals need proper organisational preconditions, motivation, and good health. It is therefore concerning that some studies suggest that principals have a work situation that risks taxing their health and reducing their workability. However, few studies have examined the psychosocial working conditions of principals and no study has gauged principals' workability. Accordingly, we decided to examine Swedish principals' workability and their perceptions of eight demanding and five supportive managerial circumstances as well as the associations between managerial circumstances and reports of excellent workability.
The participants comprised 2219 Swedish principals (78% women) who completed a cross-sectional web survey in 2018. A brief version of the Gothenburg Manager Stress Inventory (GMSI-Mini) gauged managerial circumstances. Workability was assessed with the workability score (0-10; WAS). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between managerial circumstances and reports of excellent workability (WAS ≥ 9). Covariates were: length of work experience as a principal, school level, self-rated health, and general self-efficacy.
The results showed that circa 30% of the principals reported excellent workability. The GMSI-Mini results showed that role conflicts, resource deficits, and having to harbour co-workers' frustrations were the most frequently encountered managerial demands. Meanwhile, cooperating co-workers, supportive manager colleagues, and a supportive private life were the most supportive managerial circumstances. Adjusted logistic regression analyses showed that role conflicts and role demands were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting less than excellent workability. In contrast, supportive managerial colleagues, a supportive private life and supportive organisational structures were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting excellent workability.
Circa 30% of the participating principals perceived their workability to be excellent. Reducing role demands, clarifying the principals' areas of responsibility and accountability in relation to other actors in the governing chain (role conflicts), striving for increased role clarity, and striving to find ways to separate work and private life, seem to be promising intervention areas if increasing principals' workability is desired.
校长的领导力对于学校、教师和学生的相关成果至关重要。为了能够胜任工作（即具备足够的工作能力），中学校长需要适当的组织前提条件、动力和良好的健康状况。因此，一些研究表明，校长的工作情况存在危及健康和降低工作能力的风险，这令人担忧。然而，很少有研究考察过校长的心理社会工作条件，也没有研究衡量过校长的工作能力。因此，我们决定研究瑞典校长的工作能力，以及他们对八种苛刻和五种支持性管理情况的看法，以及这些管理情况与报告出色工作能力之间的关联。
参与者包括 2219 名瑞典校长（78%为女性），他们于 2018 年完成了一项横断面网络调查。哥德堡经理压力量表（GMSI-Mini）的简短版本衡量了管理情况。工作能力通过工作能力得分（0-10；WAS）进行评估。使用未调整和调整后的逻辑回归分析来研究管理情况与报告出色工作能力（WAS≥9）之间的关联。协变量为：担任校长的工作经验长度、学校级别、自我评估的健康状况和一般自我效能感。
结果表明，约 30%的校长报告工作能力出色。GMSI-Mini 的结果表明，角色冲突、资源短缺和不得不容忍同事的挫折感是最常遇到的管理需求。与此同时，合作的同事、支持性的经理同事和支持性的私人生活是最支持性的管理情况。调整后的逻辑回归分析表明，角色冲突和角色需求与报告工作能力较差的可能性增加有关。相比之下，支持性的经理同事、支持性的私人生活和支持性的组织结构与报告工作能力出色的可能性增加有关。
大约 30%的参与校长认为自己的工作能力出色。减少角色需求、明确校长在与治理链中其他参与者（角色冲突）相关的责任和问责领域的角色、努力提高角色清晰度以及努力找到将工作和私人生活分开的方法，似乎是增加校长工作能力的有前途的干预领域。
