Fostering Organizational Health: Dyadic Patterns of Leaders’ StaffCare and Employees’ SelfCare in Hybrid Work

Katharina Bruhn (), Annika Krick and Jörg Felfe
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Katharina Bruhn: Department of Work, Organizational, and Business Psychology, Helmut Schmidt University, University of the Federal Armed Forces, 22043 Hamburg, Germany
Annika Krick: Department of Work, Organizational, and Business Psychology, Helmut Schmidt University, University of the Federal Armed Forces, 22043 Hamburg, Germany
Jörg Felfe: Department of Work, Organizational, and Business Psychology, Helmut Schmidt University, University of the Federal Armed Forces, 22043 Hamburg, Germany

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-27

Abstract: The Special Issue on Health, Well-Being and Sustainability invites research that integrates behavioral, cultural, and systemic approaches to fostering sustainable lifestyles within work environments. This study focuses on the role of leadership in promoting employee health and healthy lifestyles, which are central dimensions of the validated Health-oriented Leadership framework. Although previous research has assumed that high levels of leader StaffCare lead to high levels of employee SelfCare and consequently to better health outcomes, inconsistent dyadic patterns have rarely been examined. In this study, we investigate dyadic relationship patterns between leaders’ StaffCare and employees’ SelfCare jointly creating a sustainable workplace health system in hybrid contexts. Using Latent Profile Analysis on a sample of N = 1104, we identify consistent and inconsistent patterns, their health and motivational outcomes after three months, as well as potential antecedents in terms of working conditions for profile membership. The consistent dyads showed expected results: high StaffCare and high SelfCare led to high health and motivation outcomes, while low StaffCare and low SelfCare resulted in the lowest outcomes. New findings emerged in inconsistent dyads. In the low leaders’ StaffCare and high employees’ SelfCare dyad ( Bystanders & Health Proactives ), leaders recognized risks but did not actively promote health measures. However, proactive employees who engage in SelfCare behaviorally compensate for insufficient leader support but at a motivational cost. In contrast, the high leaders’ StaffCare and low employees’ SelfCare dyad ( Health Sacrificers ) included leaders who supported employees’ health but neglected their own, resulting in lower health but higher motivation among employees. Job demands and resources partly predicted group membership and can offer practical implications for building work environments that foster employees’ well-being and health. The findings offer insights into inconsistent leadership behaviors and provide guidance for enhancing employee well-being, particularly in hybrid work environments.

Keywords: human well-being; employee health; employee lifestyles; health-oriented leadership; staffcare; selfcare; working from home; hybrid work environments; behavioral approaches to sustainability; organizational sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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