Leadership: Untapping the secret to regional wellbeing, belonging and resilience

Work holds a key place within modern urban life, and this is no less within regions. In this chapter, we explore leadership styles and discuss the importance that psychological contracts have in the employment relationship and how they influence employee wellbeing. Any breaches of the psychological contract may prove detrimental to the wellbeing of the individual, the organisation and the wider community. To highlight this, we provide a detailed example of a breach of contract in a regional area where workers, their families and the community reported feeling betrayed after years of work, dedication and loyalty to organisation. In this context, we also explore leadership in a range of regional customer service organisations. Findings from this empirical evidence suggest that when workplace leadership includes components of the psychological contract, wellbeing, resilience and belonging outcomes emerge. Such positive outcomes have important implications for promoting healthy regions and their communities