The Mediating Effect of Perceived Stress on Transformational and Passive-Avoidant, Leadership-Commitment Linkages

Abstract

The current study tests an integrative model that considers the plausible effects of transformational and passive-avoidant leadership styles on employees' affective, normative, and continuance commitment to the organization. While leadership styles are treated as predictors of commitment, perceived stress is treated as a mediating factor in understanding the underlying mechanism of commitment. Data were collected from 232 white and blue-collar employees working at regional divisions of a privatized organization, monitoring Turkey's electricity distribution services. The hypothesized mediation model was tested using structural equation modeling. Using the bootstrapping method, the indirect effects of both transformational leadership and passive-avoidant leadership on affective and normative commitment via perceived stress were found to be significant. However, contrary to the expectations, the mediating effects of perceived stress were found to be insignificant for relations between transformational leadership and continuance commitment and between passive-avoidant leadership and continuance commitment. The overall results suggest that employees tend to feel less tension and stress and thus ultimately become more affectively and normatively committed to the organizations when the supervisors exhibit transformational leadership behaviors. Passive-avoidant leadership behaviors, on the other hand, act as distal predictors of affective and normative commitment via perceived stress. By enacting passively and showing ignorance to subordinates' needs, passive leaders seem to intensify workplace stressors for followers.

A moderated-mediation model of the relationship between responsible leadership, citizenship behavior and patient satisfaction

“…Positive interactions among leaders and employees can boost employees’ feelings of belonging and recognition with the firm (Wang, Qin, & Zhou, 2021). Employees’ AC to the organization will be strengthened, having a significant impact on their work attitudes and behavior (Tayfur Ekmekci et al. , 2021).…”

The effect of transformational leadership on organizational commitment: Mediating role of job stress and job satisfaction

“…According to (Gill et al, 2010), leaders' transformational leadership styles can control employees' job stress. As a result, transformational leadership significantly negatively impacts job stress (Fathina & Sary, 2019;Salem, 2015;Tayfur Ekmekci et al, 2021). Wherever transformational leadership was used, stress levels were lower (Gill et al, 2010).…”

“…Furthermore, employees subjected to higher levels of stress tend to have lower levels of commitment (Al-Hawajreh, 2011). Employee job stress can be reduced as employee organizational commitment grows (Saadeh & Suifan, 2020;Tayfur Ekmekci et al, 2021). This is supported by the significant impact of employees' physical and psychological well-being on organizational commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1990;Eisenberger et al, 2010).…”

“…Transformational leadership is capable of paying attention to what devotees require to develop themselves, as well as changing followers' perceptions of existing problems by assisting them in seeing old problems in a new light (Robbins & Judge, 2017, p. 433). As a result of the use of transformational leadership, employees will experience less job stress (Fathina & Sary, 2019;Manoppo, 2020;Tayfur Ekmekci et al, 2021). Transformational leadership encourages leaders to create tools and strategies that encourage all stakeholders to participate in the mission and commit to organizational goals (Usman, 2020, p. 161).…”