Self-perceived Transformational Leadership Decreases Employee Sick Leave, but Context Matters

• Tobias Hauth ^[1] ; José M. Peiró ^[1] ; Juan M. Mesa ^[2] ; Aida Soriano ^[1]
  1. [1] Universitat de València

     Universitat de València

     Valencia, España

     
  2. [2] UMIVALE, València, Spain
• Localización: Revista de psicología del trabajo y de las organizaciones = Journal of work and organizational psychology, ISSN 1576-5962, Vol. 39, Nº 1, 2023, págs. 37-45
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.5093/jwop2023a5
• Títulos paralelos:
  • El liderazgo transformacional autopercibido reduce el absentismo por enfermedad, pero el contexto importa
• Enlaces
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• Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
• Resumen
  • español

    Objetivo: El absentismo laboral por enfermedad ha aumentado de forma constante en los últimos años, planteando un importante reto para las organizaciones y la investigación. El presente estudio aborda esta necesidad analizando la relación causal entre el liderazgo transformacional y el absentismo por enfermedad, a la vez que toma en consideración el contexto del liderazgo estudiando el efecto moderador del apoyo organizativo percibido (AOP) del líder en dicha asociación. Método: Se asignó aleatoriamente a 57 mandos intermedios de dos empresas españolas a la condición de control (n = 22) o a la de intervención (n = 35). Se llevó a cabo una regresión lineal multigrupo en MPlus para comparar el efecto del liderazgo transformacional sobre la baja por enfermedad de los subordinados durante un periodo de 6 meses antes y después de la prueba para ambos grupos, teniendo también en cuenta el efecto moderador del AOP del líder. Resultados: El análisis confirmó la asociación entre el liderazgo transformacional y los días de baja por enfermedad debidos a periodos de corta duración, moderada por los niveles de AOP del líder. Además, la relación era más fuerte en el grupo de intervención que en el de control. Conclusión: La investigación aporta pruebas causales de la relación entre el liderazgo transformacional y la baja por enfermedad y ofrece un método empírico de formación en liderazgo aplicable a las organizaciones que pretendan reducir la baja por enfermedad de sus empleados.

  • English

    Purpose: Employee sickness absence increased steadily in recent years posing an important challenge for organizations and research. The present study addresses this need by analysing the causal link of transformational leadership and sickness absence, while also taking into consideration the context of leadership by studying the moderation effect of a leader’s perceived organizational support (POS) in that association. Design/Method: 57 middle managers of two Spanish companies were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 22) or intervention (n = 35) condition. Multigroup linear regression in MPlus was carried out to compare the effect of transformational leadership on follower sick leave during a 6 months pre and post-test period for both groups, while also taking into account the moderation effect of a leader’s POS. Findings: The analysis confirmed the association between transformational leadership and sick leave days due to short-term spells, moderated by the leader’s levels of POS. Moreover, this relationship was stronger within the intervention as compared to the control group. Conclusion: The present research provides causal evidence for the link between transformational leadership and sickness absence, and offers an evidence-based and actionable leadership training method for organizations seeking to reduce employee sick leave.

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