Far Away, So Close? The Role of Destructive Leadership in the Job Demands–Resources and Recovery Model in Emergency Telework

Abstract

During the Covid-19 pandemic, people started teleworking intensively, which has led to some benefits in terms of economic continuity, but also some complaints. International teams of scholars have pointed out the new work-related challenges, underlining leaders’ role in successfully managing them. This study aimed at investigating the role of destructive leadership in the job demands–resources and recovery model during the Covid-19 pandemic. In detail, this study intended to assess (1) whether destructive leadership is positively associated with off-work-hours technology-assisted job demand (off-TAJD) and cognitive demands, as well as whether it decreases autonomy, (2) whether two demands—off-TAJD and cognitive demands—and two resources—social support and autonomy—are respectively negatively and positively related to recovery, and (3) whether recovery mediates the relationship between demands, resources, and exhaustion. A total of 716 French remote workers (61% were women) took part in this study. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. A multi-group structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses. The findings confirmed a significant association between destructive leadership, the two job demands, and autonomy; furthermore, all three variables mediated the relationship between destructive leadership and recovery. The findings showed the key role played by recovery as a mediator between, on one hand, off-TAJD, cognitive demands, autonomy, and social support, and, on the other hand, exhaustion. This study highlighted the role of destructive leadership, job resources, job demands, and recovery as determinants of exhaustion, illustrating their relationships in a sample of remote workers. Practical implications are discussed.

Negative (Workaholic) Emotions and Emotional Exhaustion: Might Job Autonomy Have Played a Strategic Role in Workers with Responsibility during the Covid-19 Crisis Lockdown?

“…Remote working was the only way of continuing working due to the confinements for many workers who, on one hand, were happy to be protected at home from the contagious virus, but, on the other hand, had to cope with several changes in their working habits and in their life in general. For example, some of these changes regarded the overlap between work and private life and the consequent possible role conflict and family related interruptions while working or vice-versa, and the massive use of information and communication technology with the risk of technology invasion and technostress [ 27 , 28 ]. Workaholic workers might have experienced more negative reactions to the work-life conflict because they are addicted to work and any hinderances to work, such as family duties or sharing the techno-devices for working with the other components of the family, might have been harder for them.…”

The Good, the Bad and the Blend: The Strategic Role of the “Middle Leadership” in Work-Family/Life Dynamics during Remote Working

“…Even though several studies examined the role of leadership in employees’ work-life balance, highlighting the importance of the enrichment between life and work that could result from perceived support and, therefore, the reduction of conflicts, research in this area, in line with [ 57 ], requires a change of pace, considering not only positive leadership but also the dark side of leadership, i.e., toxic, destructive and abusive behaviors [ 58 , 59 ]. A growing number of studies point to the existence of these forms of leadership, which are fostered by certain organizational practices and, in particular, encouraged by the “always-on” culture.…”

“…Laissez-faire forms of leadership, for example, can move toward drifting, a true form of abandonment; the relationship loses its value, the bond provided by the meaning of the work is lost, people are disoriented and experiences of dissatisfaction and detachment ensue. Some studies have already highlighted the challenging role of destructive leadership in emergency remote work [ 58 ] by increasing the risk of technostress [ 33 ] or internet addiction [ 79 ], which is an increased risk in contexts characterized by always-on cultures without boundaries (neither spatial nor temporal) between work and the rest of life [ 14 , 80 ].…”

“…Therefore, the relationship between workaholism and technostress should be examined from the perspective of gender differences. In general, the perspective of gender differences is particularly important for the study of the work-life interface in remote work [ 58 ].…”

Enhancing Organizational Performance: The Role of Training and Development

“…Teleworking (also known as telecommuting or work-from-home), according to Bloom et al (2015), is becoming an increasingly common practice and literally connotes the process of working from home with the use of internet, email and telephone (Odutola, 2020). It was used by many companies and public structures to ensure the continuation of business at a distance despite the lockdown in order to avert social and economic crises (Dolce et al, 2020). Some scholars and professionals have noted that the telework experienced during and after the Covid-19 crisis and containment period has repealed some of the most frequently heard concerns (which include the belief that there are only a few jobs that can be done from home, the fear of lack of control over people, and so on), and that this was made achievable by enhancing digitalization and technological innovations (Dolce et al, 2020;Kniffin et al, 2021;Rudolph et al, 2020).…”