Leadership Styles and Work Attitudes: Does Age Moderate their Relationship?

The current study was conducted among employees in several organizations (N = 260). We investigated the relationships between the two leadership styles (the predictors) and several individual and organizational work outcomes among two age categories. For the young-to-adults age group, both transformational and transactional leadership associated positively with organizational justice; organizational justice associated positively with work commitment and work motivation; both transformational and transactional leadership associated positively with work motivation; and only transformational leadership associated positively with work commitment. Transactional leadership and work commitment were not significantly correlated. For the older group, transformational leadership associated positively with organizational justice; however, transactional leadership linked to it negatively. Organizational justice associated positively only with work commitment. Organizational justice and work motivation were not significantly related. Important implications are discussed

Counterproductive Work Behaviors toward Organization and Leader-Member Exchange: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Exhaustion and Work Engagement

In this article, we develop and empirically test a model of antecedents of organizational counterproductive work behavior (CWB-O) specifying work engagement and emotional exhaustion as mediators of the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and CWB-O. Our results show (a) that the relationship between LMX and organizational CWB-O is partially mediated by work engagement and (b) that the relationship between work engagement and CWB-O is partially mediated by emotional exhaustion. We discuss our findings and their implications for research and practice

Understanding the Relationship Between Antecedents of Heavy Work Investment (HWI) and Burnout

Following Snir and Harpaz’s (2012) model of Heavy Work Investment (HWI), we propose a model that clarifies the relationship of antecedents of HWI to burnout. The model consists of several components: (a) external/situational antecedents, ‘income’ and ‘workload’ and internal/dispositional antecedents, ‘job engagement’ and ‘workaholism’; (b) a mediator variable, HWI (divided into ‘time’ and ‘effort’); and (c) ‘burnout’ as the outcome variable. Data was obtained by social science students who surveyed 388 Romanian employees, ages 19 to 66, on two consecutive occasions with a six-week interval (times T1 and T2). Using structural equation modelling, the mediation has an excellent fit at both T1 and T2. The mediation role of HWI is confirmed for T2, with respect to three factors – job engagement, workaholism and workload – but not for T1. The findings are discussed, as are their contribution to the theoretical literature and new directions for further research and organizational practice

Combining associations between emotional intelligence, work motivation and organizational justice with counterproductive work behaviors: A profile analysis via multidimensional scaling (PAMS) approach

The need for better incorporation of the construct emotional intelligence (EI) into counterproductive work behavior (CWB) research may be achieved via a unified conceptual framework. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to use the Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) approach, and a conceptual framework that unifies motivational process with antecedents and outcomes, to assess differences in EI concerning a variety of constructs: organizational justice, CWB, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation. Employing established scales within a framework unifying CWB, intrinsic motivation, EI, organizational justice, and outcome constructs, two EI-based profiles displayed associations with CWB based on responses from 3,293 employees. Both the first core profile, high overall justice and low emotional intelligence, and the second core profile, high emotional intelligence and low work motivation, displayed associations with interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance, as well as emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction. The results are discussed with respect to possible underlying theory and an overarching unified motivation framework that incorporates goal choice, intrinsic motivation, antecedents, and outcomes. We also provide directions for future research and implications for managers in the workplace based on heuristic conceptual frameworks that combine multiple motivational perspectives into a unified model

Heavy-Work Investment, Its Organizational Outcomes and Conditional Factors: A Contemporary Perspective over a Decade of Literature

The construct of heavy-work investment (HWI) is bi-dimensional, revolving around the investment of both time and effort at work. The current paper expands the research thinking and joins the pioneering studies that explore HWI as a relatively new concept in the work-related literature (since 2012). The prime aim of this conceptual paper is to develop a model regarding the intricate relationships between the dimensions of HWI and their work outcomes (with emphasis on possible conditional factors). In particular: (1) we refine the definition of HWI by accounting for the different levels of time and effort investment and (2) we outline multiplex propositions with regard to possible (positive and negative) outcomes of HWI, considering different moderators that can potentially impact these associations. Finally, we offer practical implications for human resource management

Leadership styles as predictors of work attitudes: A moderated-mediation link

Drawing on the recent locus and mechanism models of leadership (Eberly, Johnson, Hernandez & Avolio, 2013), the purpose of this paper is to begin to explore the role of leadership styles from two different loci standpoints - (1) dyadic-focused, transformational leadership; and (2) leader-focused, transactional leadership-as important antecedents to individual and organizational outcomes in the organizational context. Among employees in several organizations in Israel (N=265), we investigated the relationships between (1) several individual and organizational work outcomes (i.e., job engagement, work enjoyment); and (2) the two leadership styles (the predictors, namely, transformational and transactional leadership). In addition, we explored the roles of (3) a possible mediational mechanism through which we posited the leadership styles operate (i.e., work drive); and (4) a possible moderator (i.e., organization types). These associations were presented as a model that was both tested via multi-group moderation structural equation modeling (SEM) and through moderated-mediation analyses via competing models of demographical differences. The findings illustrated that both transformational and transactional leadership styles have a direct, positive influence on outcomes. However, with regard to the intermediary moderator and mediator variables, the results demonstrate varied and interesting relationships in current study, the indication being that each of the two leadership styles, when interfacing with unique combinations of moderator and mediator, produce outcomes specific to the leadership style. Important concepts, recommendations, and implications are discussed

Heavy Work Investment, Workaholism, Servant Leadership, and Organizational Outcomes: A Study among Italian Workers

Heavy Work Investment (HWI) is a construct that comprises both workaholism and work engagement. We tested a path analysis model on 364 Italian workers, with servant leadership as a predictor of HWI and HWI as a predictor of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB) and Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB). We also performed ANOVAs and MANOVAs. Among the main findings, servant leadership is a positive predictor of both workaholism and work engagement. Work engagement is a positive predictor of OCB and a negative predictor of CWB. Conversely, workaholism, is a positive predictor of CWB, but it does not predict OCB. Hence, we encourage implementing soft-skills interventions aimed at making leaders aware of the different worker types in their organization to develop tailored measures to foster work engagement rather than workaholism. Also, we recommend controlling for work engagement when analyzing workaholism, given the different findings that arose when controlling or not controlling for work engagement

The Complexity of Heavy Work Investment (HWI): A Conceptual Integration and Review of Antecedents, Dimensions, and Outcomes

The purpose of this paper is to bring conceptual clarity to the heavy work investment (HWI) construct while building a model based on a review of extant empirical and theoretical research and to encourage further discussion and investigations regarding the nature of HWI, specifically its individual level antecedents, dimensions, and outcomes for both the employee and the organization. The proposed theoretical framework builds upon the Job Demands–Resources model and conceptualizes HWI on a continuum of workaholism and work engagement. Specific propositions for the antecedents and outcomes of the HWI continuum are developed. The paper ends with a discussion of future research directions

Career Don’t Stop Believing: Career Empowerment as a Mediator between Hope and Organizational Outcomes

The growing trend towards individual career management requires understanding the driving forces of career changes. In the current study we explore how personal resources, namely hope, optimism, self-efficacy, and social support are associated with the motivational construct of career empowerment, which in turn predicts employees’ behavioral (OCB, performance appraisal) and attitudinal (job engagement, life satisfaction) outcomes. We conducted a quantitative study in which 251 full- and part-time employees completed paper-and-pencil surveys measuring internal and external resources, and career empowerment. Our results indicate that the research variables are significantly and positively correlated with one another. Mediation analyses with competing models indicate that career empowerment is a partial mediator between personal resources and various outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed