Shared working environment responsibilities in the staffing industry : A shared leadership perspective

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore Swedish leaders in staffing agencies experiences, thoughts, and insights regarding the implementation of the legislative works around SAM (Systematic Work Environmental Management AFS 2001:1). In the context of SAM, the legislation entails a complex triangular relationship between the staffing agency, their customer, and the consultant. In this relationship the consultant finds themselves with two leaders, who must establish a cooperation across organisational borders to create a sufficient working environment. With an inductive approach to this phenomenon, three themes were derived from the conducted interviews: Risk for complacency, Tear in responsibility and Experiences of Shared Leadership. The findings displayed a risk for complacency for the respondents, as the comfort of long-term contracts and well-established routines diminished the incentive to conduct recurring risk assessments. The respondent’s detachment from the daily activities of the consultants resulted in a sense of deflection of the daily responsibilities on the customer and consultants. Finally, the theoretical notion of shared leadership offered some insight in the dual managerial position that is created in the context of working environment management in the staffing industry. This relation was explored through an inter-organisational perspective.