A new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) study found that when long-term care managers are supportive of employees’ needs to balance home and work responsibilities, the employees slept longer and were less likely to have multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than employees whose supervisors were less supportive.
These research findings point to the need for training in management practices, according to the study’s authors.
Direct-Care Workers at Greater Risk
The researchers also concluded that direct-care workers who reported to managers who were less supportive of their need to balance family and work duties were at greater risk for CVD than their coworkers, who held other jobs at the facility but also reported to less supportive managers.
Managers and 400 employees from four nursing homes in Massachusetts participated in the study. The employees were surveyed about their experiences with workplace policies and practices, given risk assessments for CVD, and monitored for their sleeping patterns.
During interviews, employees rated their managers as to whether they were “supportive, open, and creative about work-family needs, such as flexibility with work schedules.” Employees who gave their managers low ratings were found to have slept 29 minutes less each day and were more than twice as likely to have two or more CVD risk factors.
“When supervisors create and maintain good relationships with their direct-care worker staff and model effective communication skills, the staff feels more supported at work and more capable of doing their job,” said PHI Coaching and Organizational Development Specialist P. Afeefa Murray.
“PHI’s Coaching Approach to Supervision (pdf) has been effective in teaching supervisors the skills they need to support their staff and work with them in balancing work and home life. Many of these workers (pdf) are female low-wage workers who don’t have access to the necessary support systems needed to juggle work and family. Good staff support underpins quality care,” Murray said.
Managerial Training Recommended
The researchers recommend that if their findings are replicated, “special attention should be paid to training the managers of direct-care workers in supportive work-family policies,” according to the Harvard Gazette, which reported on the study.
“PHI’s evaluation research is showing that PHI’s coaching approach to supervision leads to greater job satisfaction and lower turnover,” said PHI Director of Evaluation Marcia Mayfield. “Organizations are putting into place specific policies that encourage and reward supportive supervision practices, and are finding such policies contribute to sustainable change.”
“In the next phase of this study we are exploring whether modifying workplace practices towards work-family issues will improve not only the health of the workers and their families but also of the workplace itself by reducing turnover,” said Lisa Berkman, the HSPH study’s lead author.
The study, entitled “Managers’ Practices Related to Work-Family Balance Predict Employee Cardiovascular Risk and Sleep Duration in Extended Care Settings,” was published in the July issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
– by Deane Beebe
