Working Conditions and Health of Leaders in Three Service Sectors

Abstract

This study investigates the job demands, job resources, and health of leaders in three service sectors. The analyses are based on data of the 2018 BIBB/BAuA Employment Survey, a representative sample of the German labour force. The three service sectors trading, finance, and public services varied significantly in how leaders perceive job demands, job resources, psychosomatic health complaints, and musculoskeletal health complaints. Hardly any variation was found, however, in how demands and resources are associated with psychosomatic and musculoskeletal health complaints. These findings imply that service leaders’ perceptions provide sector-specific patterns of demands and resources, which are well reflected in stress theory. The findings further imply that there is no need for sector-specific theories predicting health complaints. The article concludes with a discussion of practical implications for health promotion in the three service sectors and the promotion of leaders’ health.