Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute new knowledge about how first line managers (FLMs) in elderly care perceive their situation, with a focus on differences in management approaches at the intersection of the central and local parts of the organization.

Design/methodology/approach – The present study has a qualitative approach and is part of a larger project on FLMs in elderly care. The results presented here are based on a secondary analysis of 15 of the totalof 28 interviews carried out in the project.

Findings – Themain results are twofold: the majority of FLMs perceived differences in management approaches between local and central management; the differences caused some struggle because FLMs perceived that the management system did not support the differences. The two main aspects that caused the FLMs to struggle were differences in the foci of the management levels and difficulties in influencing the conditions ofmanagement.

Originality/value – The results contribute to the debate on what aspects are important to sustainable management of elderly care. It is common knowledge that FLMs have a complex position, intermediate to the central, upper level management and their subordinates at the local level – levels with different foci and interests. The study contributes new knowledge about what these differences consist of and the dilemmas they cause and offers suggestions as to what can be done to reduce both energy waste and the risk of low job satisfaction.