Do Work Characteristics Mediate the Negative Effect of Transformational Leadership on Impaired Well-Being?
Abstract: In recent years, transformational leadership as a health-related factor has become a focal point of interest in research and practice. However, the pathways and mechanisms underlying this association are not yet well understood. In order to gain knowledge on how or why transformational leadership and employee well-being are associated, we investigated the mediating effect of the work characteristics role clarity and predictability. The study was carried out on 618 employees working in the health-care sector in Germany. We tested the mediator effect using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that role clarity and predictability fully mediate the relation between transformational leadership and negative indicators of well-being. These results give credit to the notion that work characteristics play an important role in identifying health-relevant aspects of leadership behavior. Our findings advance the understanding of how to enhance employee well-being and have implications for the design of leadership-related interventions of workplace health promotion.