Burning the candle at both ends: An examination of middle-manager well-being
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Allen, Julian Bryant
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- September 18, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Samuel Todd Hunter, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Samuel Todd Hunter, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Susan Mohammed, Committee Member
Rustin David Meyer, Committee Member
Donald C Hambrick, Outside Member
Kristin Ann Buss, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- Leadership
Manager Well-Being
Longitudinal - Abstract:
- The consideration of well-being at a managerial level has been disregarded. Previous approaches to the study of manager well-being have failed to account for the unique interpersonal requirements of the manager role and their impact on well-being. To address manager well being, the proposed study centers on middle-level managers and the pull they experience between the pressure (or support) from higher-ups and the need to keep their workgroup engaged. Toward this end, applying a Conservation of Resources (COR) perspective, through an autoregressive cross-lagged model with three years of field data perceived upper-level managerial support (top-down) and workgroup well-being (bottom-up) are considered as key antecedents of middle-manager well-being over time. In addition, to further solidify the importance of upper-level support and workgroup well-being on middle-manager well-being, manager performance ratings and intent to stay are examined as key outcomes. Data were collected in October 2014, August 2015, and December 2016 from a large global technology and data security organization. The final sample consisted of 228 managers and 1,986 subordinates that reported directly to one of the managers in a given year. The results support the cross-lagged hypotheses proposed, with both upper-level managerial support and workgroup well-being predicting middle-manager well-being over time. However, results do not provide support for the mediating role of middle-manager well-being between both antecedents and manager intent to stay and performance ratings. Interestingly, in considering potential boundary conditions, a culture or country effect was identified suggesting that results are only applicable to middle managers located in cultures with a greater reliance on hierarchical sources rather than independent thinking or subordinates. Implications for the importance of studying well-being at the manager level are discussed.