Transformational leadership and depressive symptoms: A prospective study

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine the association between transformational leadership and depressive symptoms in employees working within healthcare.

Method

447 employees completed a baseline survey and 274 completed a follow-up survey 18 months later. 188 completed both baseline and follow-up survey. Transformational leadership was measured using the Global Transformational Leadership Scale and depression was measured using with the Major Depression Inventory.

Results

Transformational leadership was negatively associated with depressive symptoms at baseline (β = − 0.31, p < .01, 8% variance) follow-up (β = − 0.25, p < .01, 3% variance) and prospectively (β = − 0.21, p < .05, 4% variance).

Conclusion

Managers with a transformational leadership style may help toward protecting employees from developing major depression.

Introduction

Depression is considered to have a significant impact on employment and work productivity (Wang et al., 2004). A number of non-modifiable risk factors associated with depression include genetics, female gender, poor parenting, certain personality traits and early onset anxiety (Kendler et al., 2002, Kendler et al., 2006). Modifiable risk factors for depression are largely psychosocial and include poverty, education, access to healthcare (Beardslee and Gladstone, 2001), substance misuse, low self-efficacy and low social support (Kendler et al., 2006). It is well-established that work characteristics such as high work demands, low level of decision latitude, poor work life balance and job insecurity can contribute to the onset of depression (Bonde, 2008, Couser, 2008, Netterstrøm et al., 2008).

There is strong evidence that supervisor support has a beneficial effect on health outcomes among employees, particularly for depression (Dormann and Zapf, 1996, Kawakami et al., 2005). It has been associated with lower sickness absence related to depression (Stansfield et al., 1997), and a decrease in risk for future depression (Netterstrøm et al., 2008). It is therefore evident that good supervisory leadership and managerial skills are important in the reduction of depression (Kuoppala et al., 2008). One leadership style influential in improving the health and well-being of workers, is transformational leadership (Nielsen et al., 2008a). Transformational leaders employ a visionary and creative style of leadership. They act as a coach and mentor, provide personal attention and psychosocial support to the development of the individual employee, inspire employees to make independent decisions, and reach satisfaction in their work (Bass, 1985, Bass, 1999, Sosik and Godshalk, 2004). Links have been established between transformational leadership styles and improved general well-being (Nielsen et al., 2008b), reduced burnout (Seltzer et al., 1989, Corrigan et al., 2007, Hetland et al., 2007), and lower job-related stress (Sosik and Godshalk, 2000). Although measures of well-being and burnout in these studies often include symptoms of depression, to our knowledge, there are no studies on transformational leadership that have measured depression. We propose that transformational leadership may be negatively associated with depression as transformational leaders make employees feel valued and better equipped to cope with job demands as their situation is taken into account. Transformational leaders also promote a positive vision of the future which may help employees see their situation in a brighter light (Sivanathan et al., 2004).

The present study aims to investigate the impact of transformational leadership behaviors on symptoms of depression among a cohort of Danish healthcare workers. Depression and stress are highly prevalent among healthcare occupations (Wieclaw et al., 2005), and particularly among females (Kendler et al., 2002), who represent a significant proportion of healthcare workers (Wieclaw et al., 2006). We analyzed the associations between transformational leadership style and depression, both in a cross-sectional sample and in a prospective cohort, allowing us to compare the magnitude of these relationships in two different study designs. We hypothesized that transformational leadership behaviours is associated with lower depression symptoms at baseline; at follow-up (18 months) and prospectively (that baseline levels of transformational leadership is associated with lower depression symptoms at follow-up.