LEADERSHIP, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND WORK INFLUENCE - A STUDY OF THE GROUP FORM OF WORKING IN A SWEDISH PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITAL

This paper studies leadership, conditions of influence and effectivene ss in workplaces where a group form has been chosen. The study focuses on the interaction within work groups and between employees working i n groups and their immediate superiors in a Swedish psychiatric hospit al. Its aims are to investigate the effects of this interaction on deg ree of influence over work and on preconditions for working effectivel y. An attempt to achieve these aims is made by obtaining a more refine d picture of the relation between superior and subordinate. The result s show that there is a relationship between the support and opportunit ies for development that subordinates receive from their superior and the support that subordinates themselves give to their superior. Furth er there are positive relationships between, on the one hand, the volu me of exchange of social support and, on the other, personal work infl uence and preconditions for working effectively.