The Spiritual Role of a Leader in Sustaining Work Engagement: A Teacher-Perceived Paradigm

Abstract

Work engagement is arguably one of the key challenges confronted by the higher education sector of Pakistan. Therefore, it is important to understand the diverse perspectives of work engagement in this sector. This study examines the effect of job demand and spiritual leadership on work engagement in public universities of Pakistan through the mediating role of burnout and moderating effect of spiritual leadership between job demand and burnout and between burnout and work engagement. The study framework was established from theories, namely, the job demand-resource theory and the spiritual leadership theory. The respondents were 271 faculty members working in different universities of Pakistan. The findings show a significant relationship between job demand and burnout and between burnout and work engagement. Moreover, the results show a positive relationship between spiritual leadership with work engagement and negative relationship with burnout. However, the findings show the insignificant direct relationship between job demand and work engagement, whereas burnout mediates the relationship between job demand, spiritual leadership, and work engagement. Interestingly, spiritual leadership plays an important role in moderating the relationship between burnout and work engagement but does not moderate the relationship between job demand and burnout. Besides, the findings of the study will redound to organizational benefits by enriching research on the area of burnout and work engagement, which is so far in its infancy by referring to its potential antecedent and moderating variable. Finally, the study will be useful for both organizations and employees to achieve desired outcomes.

The Effect of Instructional, Transformational and Spiritual Leadership on Elementary School Teachers’ Performance and Students’ Achievements

“…It is in line with this study findings showing that spiritual leadership influences teachers' performance. Spirituality encourages the emergence of key values on instruction which are crucial for improving teachers' performance and in turn, it will result in the improvement of students' achievement (Fry et al, 2017;Reave, 2005;Sheikh et al, 2019). This study findings shows that there is positive correlation between spiritual leadership of principal and teachers' performance as well as students' achievement.…”

“…Superior principal should be role model for his subordinates. Principals' modality to internalize positive values to all school stakeholders is his success in spiritual leadership giving concrete contribution on the improvement of teachers' performance and students' achievement in either academic or non-academic aspects (Fry et al, 2017;Sheikh, Inam, Rubab, Najam, Rana, & Awan, 2019). Future leader is characterised by his effort to be role model and to communicate his leadership through his actions (Brown & Trevino, 2006) which is called resonant leadership (Boyatzis & McKee, 2006).…”

Effect Size of Spiritual Leadership: In the Process of School Culture and Academic Success

“…It can be expressed that effective communication, vision, organizational commitment, trust, and common values, which should be present in a school culture, are strongly supported by behaviors such as being promising and convincing, having a vision, making a difference, creating efficiency and commitment, which have to be found in a spiritual leader. Fry et al (2010) support this result by stating that spiritual leadership requires organizational vision and organizational culture (Sheikh et al, 2019).…”

“…The vision is to formulate the viewing of the future and the main purpose of the organization and to present its own role. The vision is to attribute value to the process of the future of the organization and the development of employees in finding their own internal meanings (Fry, 2005;Sheikh et al, 2019). In the interviews and observations, the teachers stated that the principals had a vision about the future of the school and the students in the high-performing schools.…”

“…Hope is the energy of struggling for accessible and most important objectives, and the will of a person to realize himself or herself. Belief, on the other hand, is defined as the assurance of hopes and believing in things that are invisible and physically unproven (Akıncı & Ekşi, 2017;Sheikh et al, 2019). In the interviews and observations, the ratio of expressions such as hope, belief, and self-sacrifice to the answers of the teachers in high-performing schools is 58% to 42%.…”