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Working in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: The influence of transformational leadership on job performance and extra-role behaviour through employees’ positive affect, negative affect, thriving and coworkers’ support.

Exterkate, Marijn Fleur Elisabeth (2021) Working in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: The influence of transformational leadership on job performance and extra-role behaviour through employees’ positive affect, negative affect, thriving and coworkers’ support.

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Abstract:Purpose – This research investigated the experiences of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. We look at the influence of transformational leadership (TL) on extra-role behaviour and job performance with thriving at work, positive affect and negative affect as mediators and coworker’ support as moderator. In addition, the role of the sub dimensions of thriving (vitality and learning) and extra role behaviour (altruism and civic virtue) is investigated. Method - A mix-method research design was applied where we conducted a survey (N = 259) and an open question (N = 219). To test the thirty-four hypotheses, stepwise regression, process and Sobel tests were used. In addition, conventional content analysis was performed to analyse the qualitative results. Findings - We found that TL is positively related to job performance and extra-role behaviour through positive affect, negative affect and thriving. Coworkers’ support moderated between TL and negative affect, but not between TL and positive affect. Social interaction and less connection were drawbacks of working from home, whereas less travel time, increased effectiveness, productivity and attentiveness were advantages. Employees working from the office did not encounter differences, whereas healthcare workers experienced the situation as challenging. Research limitations Future research must explore if similar outcomes occur with a longitudinal research design and a scope that expands the Netherlands, since this study focussed on Dutch employees and utilized a cross-sectional research design during the COVID-19 epidemic. Practical implication This study encourages leaders to be aware of the essential role (both negatively and positively) they may play in establishing a pleasant work environment for employees. In addition, coworkers have to be careful with providing support to colleagues, since this can have both positive and negative consequences. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this research added to the thriving at work literature by investigating mediating relationships of thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic that were not studied before. Similarly, our research expands the broaden-and-build theory by showing that positive and negative affect influence thriving at work and subsequent job performance and extra-role behaviour in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we broaden the social-exchange theory (SET) by demonstrating that the these previously understudied relationships were significant during a period when forced working from home was the norm. Our research contradicts the SET by revealing that coworkers’ support does not moderate in the relationship between TL and positive affect. Keywords - transformational leadership, thriving, extra-role behaviour, job performance, mixed-method, COVID-19 pandemic, coworkers’ support, broaden-and-build theory, social-exchange theory Paper type - Research paper
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/88793
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