MAG 2023. Authors: Margriet van Hek (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen – Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen); Zoltán Lippényi (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen – Faculteit Gedrags- en Maatschappijwetenschappen).
Despite ongoing discussions about the benefits of women in the leadership of work organisations, there exists little quantifiable evidence to what degree female managers’ presence benefits workers’ well-being. We employ an innovative study design using linked employer-employee longitudinal microdata that overcomes major limitations of surveys in studying work & health (e.g. selection, response, and social desirability biases). Using linked data, we investigate how female managers in SME organisations (Dutch: MKB) impact the incidence of mental-health-related long-term sickness absence among employees. We employ dynamic workplace panel analyses to establish a causal effect and explore heterogeneities along employee gender & parenthood of employees, parenthood of managers, and organization size. In addition to novel scientific insights, our research linking diversity in organisations to employee well-being has potentially important organizational policy implications for work organisations.
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