Inclusive leadership and work-from-home engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation model

PurposeThe current study proposes a moderated mediation model to predict work-from-home engagement during an emergency such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic based on the integration of well-known concepts, including inclusive leadership, organizational support and perceived risk theory.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire on the Google Forms platform was designed and distributed to Vietnamese employees using a convenience sampling method. A total of 794 valid questionnaires were used for data analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the proposed model and hypotheses. The instrument's validity and reliability were tested and ensured.FindingsThe study found that inclusive leadership has direct and indirect effects on work-from-home engagement through the separate and serial mediating roles of perceived organizational support and employee motivation. The present study also revealed that the effects of perceived organizational support and employee motivation on work-from-home engagement are strengthened by employee risk perception. Moreover, the study showed that perceived organizational support and employee motivation performed the lowest of the four elements that were considered, while the importance of these two factors was the highest.Practical implicationsThese findings suggest that in an emergency such as COVID-19, contextual factors should be given more attention. Based on these findings, several theoretical and practical implications for human resource management are highlighted.Originality/valueBy integrating inclusive leadership, organizational support and perceived risk theory to explore employees' engagement in working from home during an emergency, the present study demonstrated that in addition to traditional factors, leadership and contextual factors should be considered for studies on working from home in an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study established that these factors might encourage employees' work-from-home engagement.

Does inclusive leadership influence task performance of hospitality industry employees? Role of psychological empowerment and trust in leader.

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this research advances the understanding of leadership and task performance in the hospitality industry in China by exploring the impact of inclusive leadership on the task performance of subordinates working in dyadic forms. The current literature is scarce on the role of leadership in increasing the task performance of employees working in teams in dyadic forms. Multi-level sample of 410 leaders-subordinates in the hospitality industry was used to derive the research findings using PLS-SEM. The results indicated a positive influence of inclusive leadership on the task performance of subordinates. Psychological empowerment mediated this direct relationship. In addition, trust in leaders strengthened the direct link of inclusive leadership with task performance and psychological empowerment. The findings demonstrate that leaders in the hospitality industry should adopt an inclusive leadership style as it contributes to employee task performance, which improves the industry's performance.

Work-from-home intention during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory

Purpose: The present study integrates inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory to propose a new model predicting employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was developed to collect data from 939 Taiwanese and Vietnamese office employees using a non-probability convenience sampling method. A total of 887 valid questionnaires were used for further analysis. The data were analysed following a two-stage structural equation modelling using SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 software. The validity and reliability of the instrument were tested and ensured. Findings: The results revealed that inclusive leadership and factors related to protection motivation theory– including perceived severity and perceived vulnerability – have positive direct and indirect effects on employees' work-from-home intentions through the mediating role of employees' work-from-home-related attitudes. Protection motivation theory factors were found to have a stronger effect on employees' work-from-home intention than inclusive leadership. Differences in the relationship between perceived vulnerability, perceived severity and employees' intentions towards working from home were also discovered among participants from the two studied countries. Practical implications: The integration of inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory brings into light what will drive employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation. The present study has several theoretical and practical implications for scholars, governments, managers and policymakers that can help them improve management policies for working from home in the future. Originality/value: Based on integrating inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory to explore employees' intention to work from home during an emergency situation, the present study demonstrated that inclusive leadership and protection motivation theory should be considered for studies on working from home in a pandemic setting. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Get ready for a new mindset on women in customs leadership

Around the world, progressive customs administrations recognise the importance of strengthening their gender balance. In the past decade, the deliberate efforts of contemporary leaders have resulted in positive organisational changes focused on equitable opportunities to prepare women and men for customs leadership. We know that customs administrations are capable of large-scale and rapid transformation – the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated just how adaptive and responsive they can be. We contend that customs administrations are well-placed to drive timely, organisation-wide change that will make gender diversity a reality. This paper highlights the need for diversity in administrations and introduces the Container Control Programme – Women's Professional Development Programme (CCP – WPDP) that is designed to significantly advance diversity in agencies to strengthen their organisational effectiveness. © 2022, International Network of Customs Universities. All rights reserved.

The relationships between dimensions of inclusive leadership and aspects of employee engagement: Crucial connections for organizational success

In light of the current economic conditions in the United States brought about by the COVID pandemic, the war for talent is at a high point, and the acquisition and retention of qualified employees are highly competitive. Because employees want to feel challenged by their work and need to feel a sense of belonging, organizations that create engaging and inclusive cultures are at an advantage and need to understand how leadership behaviors can impact these cultures. This three-phased exploratory concurrent mixed-methods research study posed two questions to bring light to the relationship between Inclusive Leadership, Employee Engagement, and individual or social identity. The first question explored whether there is a relationship between the dimensions of Inclusive Leadership as related to aspects of Employee Engagement. The second is whether there are differences in the relationship between Inclusive Leadership and Employee Engagement by individual or social identity. The research findings indicate that inclusive leadership is related to certain aspects of employee engagement and provide a pragmatic model for use by Human Resources Professionals in the hiring and retaining of qualified talent within organizations. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Inclusive leadership can improve nurses' psychological ownership and reduce their turnover intention under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact people's lives and professions worldwide. Chinese nurses face immense work pressure under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control, resulting in greater turnover intention. It is, therefore, crucial to study the mechanisms that influence the turnover intention of nurses in this situation. Objective: Many studies have examined the impact of leadership style on nurses' turnover intention; however, few researchers have investigated this influence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the leader-member exchange theory, this study empirically studied the effect of inclusive leadership on turnover intention of nurses under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in China, while assessing the mediating role of psychological ownership. Design: Cross-sectional study with multi-center data. Participants: Two thousand, two hundred ninety-nine registered nurses from 17 hospitals in China were recruited from January to March, 2022, under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in China. Methods: A demographic questionnaire and scales of inclusive leadership, psychological ownership, and turnover intention integrated into an online survey were sent to registered nurses of different hospitals. Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) was used to analyze data. Results: Independent variable inclusive leadership has a significant effect on the overall turnover intention of nurses, p < 0.001. The direct effect path coefficient from inclusive leadership to psychological ownership is significant, p < 0.001. The direct effect path coefficient from psychological ownership to turnover intention is significant, p < 0.001. The indirect effect path coefficient from inclusive leadership to turnover intention is significant, p < 0.001. Conclusion: Psychological anxiety, burnout, turnover intention, and even suicidal thoughts were the main symptoms of Chinese nurses under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control in China. The absence of a mechanism to counteract these negative conditions may ultimately lead to personal psychological distress for nurses and collapse of the healthcare system. Inclusive leadership can improve nurses' psychological ownership level and reduce their turnover intention by treating them fairly, providing them with opportunities for self-development, paying attention to communication with them, and increasing their sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and self-identity.

Inclusive leadership and workers' safety behaviour during Covid-19 pandemic

PurposeCOVID-19 pandemic underlines the need for effective leadership to resolve the crisis. This study aims to examine the impact of inclusive leadership on safety behaviours via the mediating role of the safety climate.Design/methodology/approachThis research studied and compared two of the industries most affected by the pandemic, specifically banking and education. The questionnaire was undertaken among 111 from the education sector and 159 from the banking sector. Structural equation modelling - partial least square (SEM - PLS) was used to analyse the results.FindingsThe study suggested that inclusive behaviour shaped the safety behaviours among employees through the safety climate. However, the influence of inclusive leadership on the safety environment and safety behaviours of education staff in the company was not as powerful as in the banking sector.Practical implicationsThere's a connection between inclusive leadership and worker protection. Besides, inclusive leadership and its effect on safety behaviour are culturally based. High levels of collectivism encourage leaders to care deeply for their employees' well-being, as demonstrated in this study by the promotion of a healthy working atmosphere, especially in times of crisis.Originality/valueThis research potentially adds to the current literature on leadership and safety behaviour and offers valuable management recommendations.

Impact of Inclusive Leadership on Innovation Performance During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak: Mediating Role of Employee Innovation Behavior and Moderating Role of Psychological Empowerment.

This study investigates the effect of inclusive leadership on innovation performance with a mediating role of employee innovation behavior and the moderating role of psychological empowerment (PE). Supervisors and employees of Saudi manufacturing firms are the participants of this study. This study used a quantitative research technique with a cross-sectional approach and a self-administrative survey questionnaire to collect the data. The data were analyzed by using the Smart PLS 3 software. The results depict that inclusive leadership has a significant positive impact on the firm's innovation performance. Employees' innovation behavior has a significant mediating effect on the association of inclusive leadership and innovation performance. Findings revealed that PE has an important moderating role in the association of inclusive leadership and innovation performance. The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge by finding that inclusive leadership has a significant effect on the firm's innovative performance and PE is crucial to enhance innovation performance.

Effects of inclusive leadership on job satisfaction: The mediating role of organizational justice

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed the way we work. Organizations have to learn to navigate through all the changes and uncertainty while motivating and fulfilling their employees' interests. Along with the increase of Black Lives Matter protests, the Me Too movement, and Anti-Asian American hate crimes, a leadership role in supporting inclusion and justice is becoming more relevant than ever. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between inclusive leadership, perceived organizational justice, and employees' job satisfaction. It was expected that inclusive leadership's behaviors which are characterized by openness, accessibility, and availability would enhance employees' perception of organizational justice, which in turn, contributing to employees' job satisfaction. Therefore, this study hypothesized that there would be significant, positive relationships between inclusive leadership and job satisfaction (H1), inclusive leadership and perception of organizational justice (H2), perception of organizational justice and job satisfaction (H3). Moreover, this study proposed a mediation model in which organizational justice mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and job satisfaction (H4). This study collected data via an online survey from a sample of 319 employees working in the U.S. All four hypotheses were supported indicating that inclusive leadership positively related to job satisfaction and that perception of organizational justice mediated the relationship. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed along with limitations and suggestions for future studies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Exploring the inclusive leadership and employee change participation relationship: the role of workplace belongingness and meaning-making

Purpose: By drawing on the need to belong theory, the paper aims to propose a moderated mediation model to examine the role of workplace belongingness and meaning-making in the positive relationship between inclusive leadership and employee change participation. Design/methodology/approach: Participants were 155 employees from 31 teams from a branch of a multinational pharmaceutical company located in an EU country. The company faces constant legal, regulatory and technology-related changes after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak. Data were collected in three waves, approximately three weeks apart between March 2020 and May 2020. To test the mediating effect of workplace belongingness were performed first – a series of regression analyses – and second, bootstrapping to assess the statistical significance of the indirect effect (Preacher and Hayes, 2008). Findings: Workplace belongingness mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and employees change participation. Further, the research findings provide support that meaning-making moderates the relationship between workplace belongingness and change participation as well as the indirect relationship between inclusive leadership and change participation through workplace belongingness such that the positive relationships are stronger when meaning-making is higher. Practical implications: The results indicate that should leaders and change management practitioners manage to influence positively employees' workplace belongingness by employing inclusive practices and procedures;leaders and change management practitioners will increase the level of participation during change and further the results note from an applied perspective the importance of mean-making as a facilitating factor during change in organizational settings. Relevant suggestions are made. Originality/value: The findings provide new insights into how inclusive leadership and workplace belongingness can affect employees' change participation. Further, the research findings note the significant moderating role of meaning-making regarding both the relationship between workplace belongingness and change participation as well as the indirect relationship between inclusive leadership and change participation through workplace belongingness. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Inclusive Leadership and Career Sustainability: Mediating Roles of Supervisor Developmental Feedback and Thriving at Work.

Career sustainability is a well-researched issue in academics and other sectors. Technology advancements and COVID-19 have jeopardized career sustainability. Numerous studies have explored the influence of individual characteristics on career sustainability, but few have focused on leadership. In addition, cultural factors must be considered because leadership is rooted in culture. In particular, inclusive leadership reflects traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, based on self-determination social exchange theories, we analyzed the effects of inclusive leadership on career sustainability as well as the roles of thriving at work and supervisor developmental feedback (SDF) in career sustainability. In total, 363 samples were collected from China. The results revealed that inclusive leadership improves career sustainability through SDF and thriving at work. Theoretically, our study fills the research gap and establishes a mechanism and theoretical framework for inclusive leadership and career sustainability. Practically, we offer guidance for enterprises to cultivate inclusive leadership and improve career sustainability.

How inclusive leadership paves way for psychological well-being of employees during trauma and crisis: A three-wave longitudinal mediation study.

AIMS: Nurses are at the forefront of public health emergencies facing psychological pressures ensuing from the loss of patients and potential risk of infection while treating the infected. This study examines whether inclusive leadership has a causal relationship with psychological distress and to assess the mediation effect of psychological safety on this relationship in the long run. The hypotheses are developed and interpreted with the help of theoretical underpinnings from job demands resources theory and the theory of shattered assumptions. DESIGN: Three-wave longitudinal study. METHODS: Questionnaire was used to carry out three waves of data collection from 405 nurses employed at five hospitals in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak between the months of January-April 2020. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data while controlling for age, gender, education, experience, and working hours. RESULTS: Results supported the hypothesized relationships where inclusive leadership indicated significant inverse causal relationship with psychological distress and a positive causal relationship with psychological safety. Mediation effect of psychological safety was found significant, while the model explained 73.9% variance in psychological distress. CONCLUSION: Inclusive leadership, through its positive and supportive characteristics, can pave way for such mechanisms that improve the psychological safety of employees in the long run and curbs psychological distress. IMPACT: This is the first longitudinal study to examine the relationship between inclusive leadership and psychological distress in health care and also examines the mediating mechanism of psychology safety. There is scarcity of empirical research on factors that determine and affect behavioural mechanism of healthcare workers during traumatic events and crisis. Clinical leaders and healthcare policy makers must invest in and promote inclusive and supportive environment characterized with open and accessible leaders at workplace to improve psychological safety; it helps reduce levels of psychological distress.

How and When Does Inclusive Leadership Curb Psychological Distress During a Crisis? Evidence From the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Traumatic events such as a pandemic shatter the assumption of the workplace as a safe place. Nurses face risks of life-threatening infection, which can create psychological distress. Quality of care for infected patients depends on mental well-being of nurses which calls for research on predictors of stress among health care workers. Responding to a call for research on the effects of leadership styles on psychological distress during traumatic events, this paper uses the theoretical lens of social exchange theory and contributes to literature on relationships between inclusive leadership, psychological distress, work engagement, and self-sacrifice. Participants of this cross sectional study included 497 registered nurses from five hospitals in Wuhan. Data were collected with temporal separation through an online questionnaire. Partial least-squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. Results show inclusive leadership has a significant negative relationship with psychological distress. Work engagement mediates this relationship, and nurses' self-sacrificial behavior moderates it. Findings indicate inclusive leadership style serves as a sustainable mechanism to reduce psychological distress during pandemics. It can operationalize the delivery of mental health support in real-time in work settings. Results provide empirical support for social exchange theory through high work engagement to help control psychological distress among nurses.

Caring for the caregiver during COVID-19 outbreak: Does inclusive leadership improve psychological safety and curb psychological distress? A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Public health emergencies and epidemics shatter the assumptions of the world as a safe place. Healthcare workers are at the forefront of such pressures resulting from a persistent threat to their safety and well being. It is therefore important to study such mechanisms that can influence and predict the psychological distress of nurses OBJECTIVES: While there is an increasing number of studies on positive outcomes of leadership styles, their influence on curbing unwanted adverse outcomes is scarce. This study aims to observe the influence of an inclusive leadership style on psychological distress while assessing the mediating role of psychological safety. It uses the theoretical lens of job demands-resources theory and the theory of shattered assumptions to develop and test hypotheses. DESIGN: Cross-Sectional Study with Temporal Separation SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: The researchers recruited 451 on-duty registered nurses from 5 hospitals providing patient care during the highly infectious phase of COVID-19 in January 2020 in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the outbreak in China METHODS: After obtaining permission from hospital administration, data were collected through an online questionnaire survey in three stages with temporal separation to avoid common method bias. Partial least square structural equation modelling was used to analyze data. The study controlled for effects of age, gender, experience, working hours and education. RESULTS: Hypothesized relationships proved significant. Inclusive leadership has an inverse relationship with psychological distress with a strong path-coefficient. Psychological safety mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and psychological distress while explaining 28.6% variance. Multi-group analysis results indicate no significant differences between respondents based on these control variables CONCLUSIONS: Recurring or prolonged experiences of stress and anxiety at the workplace, without a mechanism to counter such effects, can culminate into psychological distress. Inclusive leadership style can serve as such a mechanism to curb psychological distress for healthcare workers by creating a psychologically safe environment.