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Engaging leader – Engaged employees? A cross-lagged study on employee engagement

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  • Nikolova, Irina
  • Schaufeli, Wilmar
  • Notelaers, Guy

Abstract

The goal of this study is to provide a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between engaging leadership, job resources and employee work engagement. We propose a mediation model and we postulate that engaging leadership can increase perceptions of three specific job resources (i.e. autonomy, support from colleagues and opportunities for learning and development) which theoretically correspond to the three facets of engaging leadership (i.e., inspiring, connecting and strengthening, respectively). Subsequently, in keeping with the extant body of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) research, we link job resources to employee work engagement. Our hypotheses were tested on data collected at two time-points – T1 (N = 759) and T2 (N = 273) –from employees working for a hotel chain in the Netherlands. In line with our expectations, engaging leadership showed a significant cross-lagged relationship with autonomy and support from colleagues, but did not predict learning opportunities and work engagement across time. While we formulated specific hypotheses, we also tested reversed causation relationships. We found no direct effect from engaging leadership on employee work engagement, however, the reversed effect was significant; employee perceptions of engaging leadership were shaped by their own engagement experiences. Importantly, engaged employees at T1 reported more job resources at T2. By providing a cross-lagged examination of our model, we showed that engaging leaders as well as employees’ positive affective state of being engaged, are essential to shaping a resourceful work context. A comprehensive view on the triggers and outcomes of work engagement and engaging leadership is needed, as the traditional unidirectional cause-effect rationale fails to explain how these concepts relate to one another and to employee experiences of job resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolova, Irina & Schaufeli, Wilmar & Notelaers, Guy, 2019. "Engaging leader – Engaged employees? A cross-lagged study on employee engagement," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 772-783.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:37:y:2019:i:6:p:772-783
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2019.02.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Fernanda Bethlem Tigre & Paulo Lopes Henriques & Carla Curado, 2022. "Building trustworthiness: Leadership self-portraits," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 3971-3991, December.
    2. Irina Nikolova & Marjolein C. J. Caniëls & Wilmar Schaufeli & Judith H. Semeijn, 2021. "Disengaging Leadership Scale (DLS): Evidence of Initial Validity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Vivi Gusrini Rahmadani & Wilmar B. Schaufeli & Jeroen Stouten & Zhenduo Zhang & Zulkarnain Zulkarnain, 2020. "Engaging Leadership and Its Implication for Work Engagement and Job Outcomes at the Individual and Team Level: A Multi-Level Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, January.
    4. Elisabeth Nöhammer, 2022. "Meaning, Needs, and Workplace Spirituality," Merits, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Iwona Zdonek & Beata Hysa & Dariusz Zdonek, 2021. "Academic Staff in the Context of Known Theories of Motivation," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 1), pages 906-935.
    6. Jurgita LazauskaitÄ—-ZabielskÄ— & Ieva UrbanaviÄ iÅ«tÄ— & ArÅ«nas Žiedelis, 2023. "Pressed to overwork to exhaustion? The role of psychological detachment and exhaustion in the context of teleworking," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(3), pages 875-892, August.
    7. Xiangyu Song & Mishal Khosa & Zeeshan Ahmed & Abdulaziz Fahmi Omar Faqera & Nhat Tan Nguyen & Shafique Ur Rehman & Yueyong He, 2022. "Linking Transformational and Despotic Leadership to Employee Engagement: Unfolding the Role of Psychological Distress as a Mediator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-21, July.

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