Work

Constructive and destructive leadership in job demands-resources theory: A meta-analytic test of the motivational and health-impairment pathways

Year: 2023

Type: article

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Integrating the leadership literature with Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, we conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis of the relations of different leadership behaviors with followers’ work engagement and burnout. We found that constructive leadership relates positively to followers’ work engagement ( k = 588, [Formula: see text] =.467) and negatively to followers’ burnout ( k = 346, [Formula: see text] =−.327), whereas destructive leadership relates negatively to followers’ work engagement ( k = 72, [Formula: see text] =−.220) and positively to followers’ burnout ( k = 122, [Formula: see text] =.381). We furthermore demonstrated that both followers’ work engagement and burnout partially mediate the relations of both constructive and destructive leadership with followers’ job performance. However, the indirect relation of constructive leadership with followers’ job performance via followers’ work engagement is clearly the strongest, suggesting that leaders stimulate followers’ job performance primarily because they motivate followers. We discuss how the findings of this theory-driven meta-analysis help to integrate leadership research in JD-R theory and generate important insights for leadership behavior and training.

Source: Organizational Psychology Review

DOI: 10.1177/20413866231197519

Authors: Jan Luca Pletzer, Kimberley Breevaart, Arnold B. Bakker

Institutions: Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Johannesburg

Language: English

Topic: Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Subfield: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,250