How Transformational Leadership Affects the Off-work Recovery of Daily Personal Energy Resources via Work Engagement: Resource and Demand-based Pathways

This study focuses on the transformational leadership-work engagement relationship by investigating resource and demand pathways for daily off-work recovery and employee wellbeing (EWB). While previous research highlighted how transformational leadership energizes employees to engage at work, energy is a finite resource requiring daily restoration for EWB. Yet, how the leader’s energizing effect relates to daily employees’ recovery remains unknown. Following job demands-resource-recovery theory, we test two pathways that relate the transformational leadership-work engagement relationship to daily employee recovery: (a) Resource-based via resource-building, (b) demand-based via increased demands. Utilizing a 10-day, two daily measurement (N = 88) study, multilevel path analyses revealed: transformational leadership predicted via work engagement (b = .17, p < .05) role clarity (b = .56, p < .01), then positive (b = .39, p < .01), and negative work-nonwork spillover (b = –.38, p < .01). Positive work-nonwork spillover predicted recovery positively (b = .25, p < .01), negative work-nonwork spillover negatively (b = –.40, p < .01). Recovery predicted EWB for positive (b = .38, p < .01) and for negative (b = –.43, p < .01) affect. Work engagement predicted workload (b = .35, p < .01), further negative (b = .33, p < .01) and positive work-nonwork spillover (b = –.16, p < .01), hampering EWB. As one pathway effect might cancel the other, the main effect of transformational leadership on EWB was not significant in the integrative model (p > .05). Results highlight dark and bright sides of the transformational leadership-work engagement relationship regarding daily recovery.