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Original research
Span of control and well-being outcomes among hospital frontline managers: too much to handle?
  1. Ane-Kathrine Lundberg Hansen1,
  2. Christian Bøtcher Jacobsen1,
  3. Vita Ligaya Dalgaard1,2
  1. 1King Frederik Center for Public Leadership, Department of Political Science, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark
  2. 2Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark
  1. Correspondence to Ane-Kathrine Lundberg Hansen, King Frederik Center for Public Leadership, Department of Political Science, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus 8000, Denmark; aklh{at}ps.au.dk

Abstract

Purpose To examine the consequences of broader spans of control for well-being outcomes among frontline managers.

Method Healthcare managers were surveyed in collaboration with the Central Denmark Region. The response rate was 74.5%. Using regression analysis, we investigate how span of control is associated with outcomes related to well-being understood as perceived stress, burnout, job satisfaction, satisfaction with the work environment, intention to quit their current job and work–life balance.

Findings Span of control may be an important factor in establishing well-being among frontline managers in the Danish hospital sector on several parameters. Span of control is associated the strongest with work–life balance and intention to quit, least but significantly with perceived stress and not significantly with burnout.

Practical implications We recommend that healthcare organisations consider whether it could be more optimal to reduce the span of control for some managers. Furthermore, we recommend that future studies pay attention to span of control and provide stronger causal evidence about its impact on healthcare workers.

  • management
  • health system
  • mental health

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2024-000978

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Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

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Footnotes

  • Contributors All authors developed the idea for this study in collaboration. AKLH drafted the manuscript together with VLD and CBJ. AKLH was in charge of the data collection and data analysis. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript. CBJ is the guarantor of this study.

  • Funding This study was funded by the Novo Nordic Foundation (grant number 28278).

  • Disclaimer Novo Nordic has not had any role in the study.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.