Psychosocial Determinants of Managers’ Stress Management Competencies: A Multilevel Study of Their Associations with Employees’ Virtual Presenteeism

Virtual presenteeism (VP) is defined as working remotely while ill. It has emerged as an occupational health concern in remote work arrangements, where telework may shift, rather than reduce, attendance-related health risks by normalizing work during ill health. Prior research has largely examined VP as an individual decision-making process, leaving the role of managers insufficiently understood. However, little is known about how managerial working conditions shape these behaviors. Addressing this gap is critical given the growing prevalence of remote work. This study integrates the job demands–resources model with the stress management competencies (SMCs) framework, by conceptualizing SMCs as behavioral manifestations of managers’ own working conditions, and examines, using a multilevel design, how managers’ psychosocial working conditions and mental health may be associated with SMCs and, in turn, with employees’ VP. Matched data were collected from 156 managers and 476 employees in a large public sector organization. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to estimate cross-level associations. Results showed that decision authority, colleague support, and recognition were associated with managers’ psychological distress, which was negatively related to self- and employee-rated SMCs. Only employee-rated SMCs were negatively associated with VP. Indirect associations were consistent with a cross-level behavioral pathway linking managerial working conditions to employee VP through SMCs. Although findings should be interpreted cautiously given the cross-sectional design, they highlight managers as potential cross-level actors in shaping VP and suggest that higher levels of managerial resources and SMCs may be associated with lower levels of VP in remote work arrangements.