Transformational leadership style and psychological safety to meaningful work: moderating role customer incivility

PurposeThis study examines the role of psychological safety as an antecedent to meaningful work and as a mediator between transformational leadership (TFL) and meaningful work. Additionally, it explores customer incivility as a precursor to psychological safety and as a moderator in the relationship between psychological safety and meaningful work.Design/methodology/approachData from 368 hotel employees in Bangladesh were purposively sampled and analyzed using SmartPLS.FindingsPsychological safety positively predicted meaningful work and served as a mediator in the nexus between TFL and meaningful work. Additionally, customer incivility was identified as a negative predictor of safety and acted as a moderator, reversing the association between psychological safety and meaningful work.Practical implicationsTFL exhibits mixed correlations, being negatively associated with meaningful work but positively linked to psychological safety. Therefore, workplaces should prioritize cultivating a psychologically safe environment and minimizing customer incivility to increase meaningful work.Originality/valueThe results add value to the conservation of resources and self-concept theories by examining the mediating role of psychological safety and the moderating influence of customer incivility from the perspective of hotel employees.