What fosters leaders’ health role modeling?

Communication and remote work as boundary conditions
DOI
URI
Project
Publisher
MDPI AG
Series or journal
Behavioral Sciences
ISSN
Periodical volume
16
Periodical issue
5
Article ID
827
Peer-reviewed
✅
Part of the university bibliography
✅
Funding(s)
Language
English
Keyword
Health-oriented leadership
Role model
SelfCare
Disclosure
Working from home
Informal communication
dtec.bw
Abstract
Based on Social Learning Theory, the Health-oriented Leadership Model posits leaders as SelfCare role models. While this modeling influence is established for general SelfCare, its applicability to sensitive behaviors—such as disclosing mental health problems—remains unclear. Additionally, the role of interactional and contextual factors is insufficiently understood. The present paper investigates whether leaders’ role modeling extends to disclosure and whether communication aspects and Working from Home (WfH) intensity moderate these effects. Two cross-sectional studies were conducted among employees working partly from home. Employees rated their own and leaders’ SelfCare; Study 2 (pharmaceutical company; N = 198) additionally assessed disclosure. Both studies included communication frequency and WfH intensity; Study 1 (public service; N = 227) measured informal communication, and Study 2 assessed communication barriers. Results confirmed that leaders’ SelfCare and disclosure were related to employees’ corresponding behaviors. Communication frequency and WfH intensity showed no moderating effects. Informal communication was associated with a stronger leader SelfCare role model effect, whereas communication barriers were associated with weaker role model effects. Findings suggest an association between leaders’ and employees’ health behavior, consistent with role modeling processes. Based on these preliminary findings, organizations may raise leaders’ awareness of their impact, while leaders should hold informal check-ins and promote barrier-free communication. Future longitudinal and experimental research should validate these findings.
Description
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This article belongs to the Special Issue Workplace communication: An emerging field of study
Version
Published version
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