The relationship of leaders’ humor and employees’ work engagement mediated by positive emotions

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1083-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashita Goswami ◽  
Prakash Nair ◽  
Terry Beehr ◽  
Michael Grossenbacher

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine affective events theory (AET) by testing the mediating effect of employees’ positive affect at work in the relationships of leaders’ use of positive humor with employees’ work engagement, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs); and the moderating effect of transformational leadership style on the relationship between leaders’ use of positive humor and subordinate’s positive affect at work. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from 235 full-time employees working for a large information technology and business consulting corporation. Moderated mediation (Hayes, 2013) was performed to test the proposed model. Findings Leaders’ positive humor was related to creation of subordinates’ positive emotions at work and work engagement. Positive emotions at work did not mediate between leaders’ humor and performance or OCBs. In addition, leaders’ use of transformational leadership style made the relationship between leaders’ positive humor and employees’ positive emotions at work stronger. Research limitations/implications This study provides evidence of the positive relationship of leaders’ positive humor with employees’ positive emotions at work and work engagement. Such knowledge may help to inform the training workshops in humor employed by practitioners and potentially create a more enjoyable and fun workplace, which can lead to greater employee engagement. Originality/value AET helps explain effects of leader humor, but the effects of are complex. Leader’s use of even positive humor is most likely to have favorable effects mainly depending on their leadership style (transformational) and if their humor successfully leads to positive emotions among employees.

Author(s):  
James Dibley ◽  
Rian Viviers ◽  
Llewellyn Ellardus van Zyl

The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between the perceived transformational leadership styles of officers (as perceived by their followers) and their followers’ levels of work engagement. Followers (n=307) were identified in units of the South African Army. They completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Form 5X) for their specific leaders. Correlational analyses indicate significant correlations between the transformational leadership style of officers and their followers’ work engagement. A small amount of the variance in the work engagement outcomes can be predicted by transformational leadership. The findings suggest that there is a relationship between idealised influence (attributed) and vigour and dedication. Furthermore, individualised consideration was shown to relate to absorption within the South African sample. Idealised influence was found to predict some variance in vigour and dedication and individual consideration to predict some variance in absorption.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia A. Katou ◽  
Michael Koupkas ◽  
Eleni Triantafillidou

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to integrate an extended by personal resource job demands-resources (JD-R) model in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance. It is argued that the responsive, supportive and developmental leader's style will reduce employees' levels of burnout and increase their levels of work engagement and ultimately will increase organizational performance expressed by productivity, growth and creativity.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested among a national sample of 1,011 employees in 107 Greek public and private organizations operating within an environment of economic and financial crises. The operational model was tested using a multilevel structural equation modelling.FindingsIt appeared that job demands and work burnout and job resources and work engagement, serially and fully mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational performance. Further, it is found that personal resources negatively and fully mediate the relationship between job resources and work burnout and positively and partially mediate the relationship between job resources and work engagement.Research limitations/implicationsData were collected using a cross-sectional design, not allowing dynamic causal inferences.Practical implicationsConsidering that the transformational leadership style reduces employees' levels of burnout and increases their levels of work engagement and accordingly improves organizational performance, organizations are well advised to encourage this leadership style.Social implicationsTransformational leadership by balancing job demands and job resources could have a positive impact on employee well-being.Originality/valueThe study, using multilevel testing, demonstrates that the extended JD-R model can be integrated into the transformational leadership– organizational performance relationship.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate McCombs ◽  
Ethlyn Williams

PurposeAlthough important for organizational performance, much is still unknown about the relationship between employee well-being and transformational leadership. The authors answer calls to consider the relationship (1) in an extreme context (i.e. coronavirus pandemic), (2) at the dimension level and (3) differences that exist depending on the employee's gender.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a two-wave study with data collected from 212 working individuals. Respondents reported their level of COVID-19 anxiety and leadership experiences at time 1 starting at the height of the pandemic and three weeks later reported well-being.FindingsThe authors found COVID-19 anxiety weakened the influence of transformational leadership style on well-being, and this was only the case for females. Further, the authors found that while the moderator of COVID-19 anxiety weakened the influence of core transformational leadership behaviors and intellectual stimulation on well-being, the more individualized and short-term focused transformational behaviors of individualized consideration and performance expectations proved to have resilient effects on well-being with no moderating effects. Looking at gender differences, the authors found that this was only the case for females.Originality/valueThe findings extend research by capturing an external shock concerning the coronavirus pandemic to better understand how transformational leadership style, its dimensions and employee gender, influence well-being. While the authors expected COVID-19 anxiety to weaken the positive effects of transformational leadership style on well-being, paradoxically the authors also expected differential effects when examining individual dimensions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Halim Busari ◽  
Sajjad Nawaz Khan ◽  
Siti Mariam Abdullah ◽  
Yasir Hayat Mughal

Purpose This study aims to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees’ reactions towards organizational change in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan. Furthermore, to understand the importance of followership it has been analyzed as a moderating variable in the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees’ reactions. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods study design was applied to investigate the factors underlying the phenomenon of transformational leadership and organizational change. A quantitative research design was followed by qualitative research questions to get more in-depth insights into the used relationships. The primary purpose of the qualitative study design was to support and strengthened the results of the main quantitative research design. Findings The results of the study showed that transformational leadership style was positively related to all three factors of employees’ reactions (frequency of change, trust in management and employees’ participation) towards organizational change. Moreover, followership has a significant effect on the relationship between transformational leadership style and factors of employees’ reaction. Practical implications This study suggests that for successful implementation of change in organizations, the employees play an important role and that managers with transformational leadership behaviour play a critical role in shaping positive change reactions. This study also highlights that both transformational leadership and followership are essential elements in shaping recipients’ reactions, with active followers contributing to the role of leadership in the change process. Originality/value This study is the first attempt specifically in Asian context to highlight the role of followership as a moderating variable in leadership theory in the organizational change context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-73
Author(s):  
Raluca Duțu ◽  
Andreea Butucescu

The results of previous studies have consistently supported the relationship between transformational leadership style and work engagement, yet the focus is now on the explanatory mechanisms. This study aims to investigate whether psychological empowerment could be a potential mediator of the relationship between the two constructs. Featuring new knowledge reported in the literature, a non-experimental, cross-sectional study based on a sampleof 174 participants from different industries was conducted. The results of the statistical analysis showed that transformational leadership style is a significant predictor of engagement.Moreover, psychological empowerment partly mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and employees’ work engagement. These findings reiterate both the importance and the efficiency of the transformational leader in relation to the positive outcomes of the subordinates.Also, it highlights a potential motivational process that underpins these results.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Sahu ◽  
Avinash Pathardikar ◽  
Anupam Kumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study which examines the relationship between transformational leadership and intention to leave through the mediating role of employee engagement, employer branding, and psychological attachment. Design/methodology/approach Transformational leadership, employee engagement, employer branding, and psychological attachment were assessed in an empirical study based on a sample of 405 full-time employees working in information technology (IT) organizations in India. The data which were obtained using Google doc and a printed questionnaire was analyzed through structural and measurement model. Findings The results reveal that transformational leadership style directly influences employee intention to leave. Transformational leadership and employer branding is mediated by employee engagement. The leadership relation with psychological attachment is mediated by employer branding. Practical implications The implications of the study are of utmost importance for Indian IT industries facing high voluntary turnover in recent times. Transformational leaders in teams contribute to develop employee engagement, employer branding, and psychological attachment. Imparting transformational leadership training to team leaders can help in generating psychological attachment with the employees which would go a long way. Originality/value This study explores the relationship among transformational leadership style, employee engagement, employer branding, and psychological attachment which has not been explored theoretically and tested empirically in an Indian context.


Purpose – Present study is a descriptive and analytical in nature aiming to bring out the relationship of leadership and organizational climate on employee engagement of the employees working in IT companies of South India. Design/Methodology/Approach- This study adopts descriptive and analytical approach it, starts with clear variables which are derived from theory and based on these variables. The data for the study was collected through the structured questionnaire. The sample for the present study was collected from the IT companies working in South India. A total 785 questionnaires were returned by the respondents, this indicating a response rate of 59 %. The questionnaire uses five point Likert type response format is used for all the measures ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. SPSS 21 and Microsoft excel are the statistical packages and Independent correlation and regression are the tools used in the present study Findings- A significant relationship was found between leadership and organizational climate with employee engagement of the employees working in IT companies of South India. It further shows that when there is a conducive working environment prevailing in the organization the employees feel a sense of conducive climate which makes them feel good about the organization and motivates them to work. Further, along with climate transformational leadership style facilitates in grooming the employees according to organizations vision. Hence, it’s observed that these factors facilitate in enhancing employee engagement. Employees with skills and potentials are more preferring transformational leadership style. Employees with potentials always aspire to grow along with the organization. Hence, leadership style plays a vital role in engaging the employees. Originality/value- This study provides insightful findings in understanding the role organizational competencies like leadership and organizational climate play in facilitating employee engagement. This study also shows the importance of the demographic variables with employee’s engagement. In spite of the limitations of the research, the study contributed to the international human resources management by exploring the South Indian IT company’s context. The theoretical framework proposes the relationship between employee engagement, organizational climate and leadership style. The study has found that organizational climate and transformational leadership is correlated with employee engagement and serves as the important indicator for engaging employees.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Thiyam Kiran Singh ◽  
Aastha Dhingra

Love is more than a close friendship. It acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationship. Love is positive in nature and leaves a positive affect on every individual. An individual in love not only feels positive but spreads positivity around. They smile, be kind to other people, behave compassionately with everyone. If the person is happy then he is likely to be psychologically and emotionally healthy. The current study aimed at understanding the relationship between love, affect and wellbeing among young females aged between 20-25 years. The study reported a significant positive relationship between love and positive affect with the significant correlation of 0.29 at 0.05 levels (p<0.05). It was also found a significant positive relationship between love and wellbeing with the significant correlation of 0.58 at 0.01 level (p<0.01). This means that people in love experience positive emotions and healthy wellbeing. The correlation between love and negative affect came out to be insignificant. The correlation turned out to be -0.13. This means that people in love do not experience negative emotions.


2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 894-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swati Mittal ◽  
Rajib Lochan Dhar

Purpose – Among the different styles of leadership, transformational leadership has gained most attention from organisational researchers and academics. Although transformational leadership and its work-associated outcomes have been examined in previous literature, only a small number of studies highlighted the role of transformational leadership style in fostering employee creativity, mediated through their creative self-efficacy (CSE) in the context of Indian organisations. The purpose of this paper is to observe the effect of transformational leadership on employee creativity in small and medium sized IT companies, where CSE is proposed as a mediator and knowledge sharing as a moderator through which a transformational leader tends to influence the creativity of the employees. Design/methodology/approach – Data were gathered from 348 manager-employee dyads of small and medium size IT companies operating in India. They replied to questions about their leader’s transformational leadership style, employee CSE, knowledge sharing and creativity. Findings – Findings of the present study, derived from a hierarchical regression analysis, using the data of 348 manager-employee dyads from Indian IT SMEs professionals, revealed that CSE mediates the relation between transformational leadership and employee creativity. In addition, knowledge sharing acts as a moderator for CSE and employee creativity. Research limitations/implications – A sample size is one probable limitation of the study. Another limitation of the study is that factors used for the survey were self-reported by the respondents. Self-reporting may not always produce reliable and accurate response. Practical implications – Based on the results, this study presents strong theoretical and managerial implications that can be used by IT organisations to evaluate the consequence of transformational leadership on employee creativity. Through transformational leadership style, leader can develop CSE and employee creativity to do things in a better way and develop knowledge sharing in employees for high performance. Therefore, the IT industry need to understand that creativity is one of the approaches to attaining and sustaining competitive advantage. In addition, it is important for them to find out more about the relation between transformational leadership, CSE and employee creativity. Originality/value – The study adds to the existing literature by illuminating the process through which transformational leadership has a significant effect on fostering CSE and employee creativity.


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