Empowering Leadership, Professional Isolation, and Emotional Exhaustion:A Daily Diary Investigation

Due to the numerous challenges employees are facing during the Covid-19 outbreak, emotional exhaustion is considered to be a serious threat. Therefore, it is vital to gain more insights into how organizations can counteract emotional exhaustion in pandemic settings. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we propose a model in which daily empowering leadership reduces daily emotional exhaustion through daily professional isolation. To test our hypothesis, we used a daily diary methodology. Data were collected during the pandemic, between October and December 2020. The sample consists of 39 (n = 39) employees from a variety of companies in the Netherlands. Participants were asked to provide daily scores on the study variables for a period of ten consecutive working days, leading to 231 (n = 231) daily observations. In order to analyse the data, we performed multilevel path analysis in Mplus. Daily empowering leadership was negatively related to daily professional isolation, and subsequently daily professional isolation was positively related to daily emotional exhaustion. Results showed that daily empowering leadership indirectly contributes to the reduction of emotional exhaustion through professional isolation. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge on leadership behaviours, professional isolation and emotional exhaustion. In the context of a pandemic, when working remotely is the only option, leaders are advised to engage in empowering behaviours to reduce employees’ exhaustion (indirectly) and to help them deal with professional isolation experiences. This can be done, for instance, by affording employee autonomy, allowing them to participate in making decisions, and asking them for input. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the impact of empowering leadership on emotional exhaustion on a daily basis. In addition, we examine the potential of empowering leadership to help employees cope with professional isolation, a relationship that has not been scrutinized thus far. Another valuable contribution of this study is that it focuses on the leadership-employee isolation-emotional exhaustion relationship in the setting of a pandemic. Thereby, we add to the literature on coping with challenging working conditions during a crisis

Alveolar barrier disruption in varicella pneumonia is associated with neutrophil extracellular trap f

Primary varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection in adults is often complicated by severe pneumonia, which is difficult to treat and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Here, the simian varicella virus (SVV) nonhuman primate (NHP) model was used to investigate the pathogenesis of varicella pneumonia. SVV infection resulted in transient fever, viremia, and robust virus replication in alveolar pneumocytes and bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue. Clearance of infectious virus from lungs coincided with robust innate immune responses, leading to recruitment of inflammatory cells, mainly neutrophils and lymphocytes, and finally severe acute lung injury. SVV infection caused neutrophil activation and formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in vitro and in vivo. Notably, NETs were also detected in lung and blood specimens of varicella pneumonia patients. Lung pathology in the SVV NHP model was associated with dysregulated expression of alveolar epithelial cell tight junction proteins (claudin-2, claudin-10, and claudin-18) and alveolar endothelial adherens junction protein VE-cadherin. Importantly, factors released by activated neutrophils, including NETs, were sufficient to reduce claudin-18 and VE-cadherin expression in NHP lung slice cultures. Collectively, the data indicate that alveolar barrier disruption in varicella pneumonia is associated with NET formation

Exacerbated Innate Host Response to SARS-CoV in Aged Non-Human Primates

The emergence of viral respiratory pathogens with pandemic potential, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and influenza A H5N1, urges the need for deciphering their pathogenesis to develop new intervention strategies. SARS-CoV infection causes acute lung injury (ALI) that may develop into life-threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with advanced age correlating positively with adverse disease outcome. The molecular pathways, however, that cause virus-induced ALI/ARDS in aged individuals are ill-defined. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-infected aged macaques develop more severe pathology than young adult animals, even though viral replication levels are similar. Comprehensive genomic analyses indicate that aged macaques have a stronger host response to virus infection than young adult macaques, with an increase in differential expression of genes associated with inflammation, with NF-κB as central player, whereas expression of type I interferon (IFN)-β is reduced. Therapeutic treatment of SARS-CoV-infected aged macaques with type I IFN reduces pathology and diminishes pro-inflammatory gene expression, including interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels, without affecting virus replication in the lungs. Thus, ALI in SARS-CoV-infected aged macaques developed as a result of an exacerbated innate host response. The anti-inflammatory action of type I IFN reveals a potential intervention strategy for virus-induced ALI

A Daily Diary Investigation of the Impact of Leaders’ Recognition on Innovative Work Behavior

Building on affective events theory and broaden and build theory, we examine the indirect effect of daily leaders’ recognition behavior on daily innovative work behavior (IWB, measured with idea generation, idea promotion, and idea application), via daily positive affect. In addition, we tap into the work conditions that emerged after the COVID-19 outbreak, by investigating the moderating role of daily work-related isolation. To test the hypotheses, a diary study was conducted. Data was collected from 39 Dutch employees who completed a daily questionnaire during ten consecutive working days, delivering 231 daily observations. Results largely supported our hypothesis, suggesting an indirect effect of daily leaders’ recognition on daily innovative work behavior through daily positive affect for two of the three dimensions (i.e., for idea promotion and idea application, but not for idea generation). In addition, daily work-related isolation moderated the relationship between daily positive affect and daily idea promotion and daily idea application. Moreover, the indirect positive effect of daily leaders' recognition on both daily idea promotion and daily idea application through daily positive affect was only significant for the low levels of daily isolation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed

The Impact of Isolation on Employee Well-Being: a Daily Diary Investigation

Drawing on affective events theory, we propose that work-related isolation can affect employee well-being (i.e., high engagement and low emotional exhaustion) through positive affect. In addition, building on conservation of resources theory we examine the moderating role of self-efficacy. Hypotheses were tested using a daily diary methodology. Study variables were captured in a daily questionnaire during ten consecutive working days. The sample consists of 44 employees from whom we obtained 333 daily observations. Multilevel path analysis revealed that isolation was negatively related to positive affect. Furthermore, positive affect was significantly related to employee well-being. Moreover, we established significant indirect effects from isolation to work engagement and emotional exhaustion through positive affect. These results hold for both the within-level and between-level. In addition, the indirect effects were moderated by self-efficacy for both work engagement and emotional exhaustion at the between-level. The study results demonstrate the importance of self-efficacy in preventing decrease in positive affect under the condition of isolation and emphasize the need to safeguard the individuals with low self-efficacy whose well-being might be in greater jeopardy

Bevorderen van innovatief werkgedrag door transformationeel leiderschap: de mediërende rol van psychologische veiligheid en teamleren

Deze studie onderzoekt op individueel niveau en teamniveau de mediërende rol van psychologische veiligheid en teamleren in de relatie tussen transformationeel leiderschap (TFL) en innovatief werkgedrag (IWG). Er werd een cross-sectioneel surveyonderzoek uitgevoerd onder medewerkers van drie media- en marketingbedrijven in Nederland, waaraan in totaal 164 medewerkers participeerden, afkomstig uit 39 werkteams. Door middel van multilevel padanalyse werden de data op zowel individueel niveau als teamniveau geanalyseerd. De onderzoeksresultaten tonen aan dat TFL positief samenhangt met IWG en haar dimensies ideeëngeneratie, ideeënpromotie en ideeënimplementatie, op zowel individueel niveau als teamniveau. Op individueel niveau werd sequentiële mediatie door psychologische veiligheid en teamleren vastgesteld in de relatie tussen TFL en ideeënpromotie en ideeënimplementatie. Op teamniveau werd sequentiële mediatie door psychologische veiligheid en teamleren vastgesteld in de relatie tussen TFL en ideeënpromotie. Door het multilevel design en de keuze voor mediatoren die het sociale proces onderliggend aan IWG reflecteren, draagt deze studie bij aan het beter begrijpen van de manier waarop TFL innovatief gedrag in de werkcontext kan bevorderen

Improving innovative work behavior through transformational leadership:the role of psychological safety and team learning

Deze studie onderzoekt op individueel niveau en teamniveau de mediërende rol van psychologische veiligheid en teamleren in de relatie tussen transformationeel leiderschap (TFL) en innovatief werkgedrag (IWG). Er werd een cross-sectioneel surveyonderzoek uitgevoerd onder medewerkers van drie media- en marketingbedrijven in Nederland, waaraan in totaal 164 medewerkers participeerden, afkomstig uit 39 werkteams. Door middel van multilevel padanalyse werden de data op zowel individueel niveau als teamniveau geanalyseerd. De onderzoeksresultaten tonen aan dat TFL positief samenhangt met IWG en haar dimensies ideeëngeneratie, ideeënpromotie en ideeënimplementatie, op zowel individueel niveau als teamniveau. Op individueel niveau werd sequentiële mediatie door psychologische veiligheid en teamleren vastgesteld in de relatie tussen TFL en ideeënpromotie en ideeënimplementatie. Op teamniveau werd sequentiële mediatie door psychologische veiligheid en teamleren vastgesteld in de relatie tussen TFL en ideeënpromotie. Door het multilevel design en de keuze voor mediatoren die het sociale proces onderliggend aan IWG reflecteren, draagt deze studie bij aan het beter begrijpen van de manier waarop TFL innovatief gedrag in de werkcontext kan bevorderen