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Leading for growth: a daily investigation of affiliation resources provided by the leader and nonwork mastery

Maie Stein (Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany)
Vanessa Begemann (Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany)
Sabine Gregersen (Department of Occupational Medicine, Hazardous Substances and Public Health, Institution for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services, Hamburg, Germany)
Sylvie Vincent-Höper (Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany) (Department of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, University of Applied Sciences and Medical University, Hamburg, Germany)

Leadership & Organization Development Journal

ISSN: 0143-7739

Article publication date: 26 December 2023

Issue publication date: 26 March 2024

165

Abstract

Purpose

Although nonwork mastery generates personal resources and improves employee well-being and performance, employees must invest personal resources to experience mastery during nonwork time. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and resource exchange perspectives, the purpose of this study is to examine the role of day-to-day provisions of affiliation resources by the leader in generating the personal resources necessary for employees to engage in nonwork mastery.

Design/methodology/approach

Daily diary data were collected from 198 employees (768 days). The proposed model was tested using Bayesian multilevel path analysis.

Findings

The results showed that on days when employees perceived that their leader provided more affiliation resources, they reported higher self-esteem and work engagement and, in turn, experienced higher levels of mastery. Furthermore, employees in high-quality (vs low-quality) leader–member exchange (LMX) relationships benefitted more from the affiliation resources provided by their leader in terms of work engagement.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that leaders can actively manage their employees' daily experience and functioning through seemingly ordinary demonstrations of warmth, care, and positive regard.

Originality/value

This study highlights the important role of leaders in improving employee daily work and nonwork experience and functioning and sheds light on the tangible resource provisions in the work context and the associated personal resources that account for daily variations in mastery. By distinguishing between daily affiliation resources and general perceptions of LMX relationship quality, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the implications that resource provisions by the leader have for employees.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Since submission of this article, the following author(s) have updated their affiliations: Maie Stein is at the Wilhelm Wundt Institute of Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.

Data collection was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (02L14A040).

Citation

Stein, M., Begemann, V., Gregersen, S. and Vincent-Höper, S. (2024), "Leading for growth: a daily investigation of affiliation resources provided by the leader and nonwork mastery", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 265-282. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-03-2023-0110

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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