Integrating leader affect, leader work-family spillover, and leadership

Abstract

Purpose

Despite the abundance of dispositional affect, work-family, and leadership research, little has been done to integrate these literatures. Based primarily on conservation of resources theory, which suggests individuals seek to acquire and maintain resources to reduce stress, the purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical examination of the relationships between leader dispositional affect, leader work-family spillover, and leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from a diverse sample of managers from a broad set of occupational groups (e.g. financial, government, library). Regression and Monte Carlo procedures were used to estimate model direct and indirect effects.

Findings

The results indicate that dispositional affect is a strong predictor of both work-family spillover and leadership. Further, the relationship between negative/positive affect and leadership was partially mediated by work-family conflict/enrichment.

Research limitations/implications

Data were cross-sectional self-report, which does not allow for causal interpretations and may increase the risk of common method bias.

Practical implications

This study helps address why leaders experience both stress and benefits from multiple work and family demands, as well as why leaders engage in particular forms of leadership, such as passive and active leadership behaviors.

Originality/value

This study provides the first empirical examination of leader's dispositional affect, work-family spillover, and leadership, and suggests that manager's dispositional affect and work-family spillover have meaningful relationships with leader behavior across situations.

Citation

S. Michel, J., Pichler, S. and Newness, K. (2014), "Integrating leader affect, leader work-family spillover, and leadership", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 410-428. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-06-12-0074