ABSTRACT

This study draws upon conservation of resources theory to investigate if laissez-faire leadership influences employees’ perceptions of role clarity, and two forms of well-being (job satisfaction and work-related burnout), in the context of organizational restructuring. Moreover, role clarity is studied as a mechanism linking laissez-faire leadership to employee well-being. These relationships were tested using a three-wave time-lagged investigation conducted over a two-year period with a sample of 601 employees working in the Swedish process industry. The results of the structural equation modelling analyses showed that laissez-faire leadership was negatively related to role clarity 9 months later. In turn, role clarity mediated the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and employee well-being. This study contributes to the understanding of how laissez-faire leadership in the context of organizational restructuring may affect employee outcomes. We discuss implications for theories and practices, as well as directions for future research.

MAD statement

The majority of research on leadership during organizational restructuring has focused on positive outcomes of constructive forms of change leadership. However, other forms of leadership, such as laissez-faire leadership, may also play a crucial role for employee outcomes when implementing change. This study is to our knowledge the first to focus on the relationship between laissez-faire leadership and employee well-being in the context of organizational restructuring. We suggest that organizations work actively to include knowledge on this form of leadership in change-leadership training. We also suggest monitoring work-groups’ perceptions of role clarity (as a mechanism directly affected by laissez-fair leadership) during restructuring so that measures can be taken to facilitate transitions when needed.

中文翻译：

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组织重组过程中管理者自由放任领导的后果

摘要

本研究利用资源节约理论来调查在组织重组的背景下，自由放任的领导是否会影响员工对角色清晰度和两种形式的幸福感（工作满意度和与工作相关的倦怠）的看法。此外，角色明确性被研究为一种将自由放任领导与员工福利联系起来的机制。这些关系是通过一项为期两年的三波时间滞后调查对瑞典加工业工作的 601 名员工进行的抽样调查进行的。结构方程模型分析的结果表明，自由放任的领导与 9 个月后的角色清晰度呈负相关。反过来，角色明确性调节了自由放任领导与员工福祉之间的关系。本研究有助于理解组织重组背景下的自由放任领导如何影响员工成果。我们讨论了对理论和实践的影响，以及未来研究的方向。

疯狂声明

大多数关于组织重组期间领导力的研究都集中在变革领导力的建设性形式的积极成果上。然而，其他形式的领导，如自由放任的领导，在实施变革时也可能对员工的成果发挥至关重要的作用。据我们所知，这项研究是第一个关注组织重组背景下自由放任领导与员工福祉之间关系的研究。我们建议组织积极工作，将这种领导形式的知识纳入变革领导力培训。我们还建议在重组期间监测工作组对角色明确性的看法（作为一种直接受自由放任领导影响的机制），以便在需要时采取措施促进过渡。