Leadership styles have a big impact on how happy employees are at work, which is important for the success of the company. While despotic leadership can cause tension and discontent, inclusive leadership fosters a supportive and inspiring workplace culture. This study looks at the role that job crafting plays in mediating the link between happiness at work and leadership styles.
Objective
This study aims to explore how employees’ happiness at work (HAW) is affected by both despotic leadership (DL) and inclusive leadership (IL). Additionally, the study reveals the mediating effect of job crafting (JC) through the use of a mediation mechanism.
Method
To test the hypothesized relationships, 348 employees of Indian service sector participated in this cross-sectional survey. Statistical analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between the components, including Structural equation modeling using AMOS 22.
Results
The results demonstrated that the better leadership approach for fostering employees’ happiness is inclusive leadership. It is discovered that job crafting acted as a mediator in the relationship between inclusive leadership and workers’ overall positive attitudinal outcome (HAW). Furthermore, the data demonstrated that, through job crafting, despotic leadership adversely affects employees’ happiness. Overall, the study demonstrates that inclusive leaders further enhance HAW by fostering inclusion among staff members by treating them fairly.
Conclusions
The study’s conclusions imply that when there is a feeling of inclusivity among employees, leaders can significantly improve workers’ fulfillment with their work through their fair policies and inclusive conduct.
DienerEOishiSLucasRE. Subjective well-being: the science of happiness and life satisfaction.
2.
FisherCD. Happiness at work. Int J Manag Rev2009; 12: 384–412.
3.
SlåttenTLienGEvenstadSBN, et al.Supportive study climate and academic performance among university students: the role of psychological capital, positive emotions and study engagement. Int J Qual Serv Sci2021; 13: 585–600.
4.
BhatiaAMohsinF. Determinants of college teachers’ happiness-a comprehensive review. J Criti Rev2020; 7(9): 9–17.
5.
BehraniP. Organisational justice and employee happiness. Inter J Res2017; 4: 123–129.
6.
Al-JubariIMosbahASalemSF. Employee well-being during COVID-19 pandemic: the role of adaptability, work-family conflict, and organizational response. Sage Open2022; 12: 215824402210961. DOI: 10.1177/21582440221096142.
7.
De ClercqDHaqIUAzeemMU, et al.The relationship between workplace incivility and helping behavior: roles of job dissatisfaction and political skill. J Psychol2019; 153: 507–527.
8.
SinghABanerjiR. Happiness at work, organization citizenship behaviour and workplace diversity: a study on Indian private sector bank employees. Ind Commerc Train2022; 54: 460–475.
9.
GuestDE. Human resource management and employee well‐being: towards a new analytic framework. Human Res Mgmt J2017; 27: 22–38.
10.
MertİSSenCAlzghoulA. Organizational justice, life satisfaction, and happiness: the mediating role of workplace social courage. Kidorui2021; 51: 2215–2232.
11.
KaurRKaurG. Managerial leadership and turnover intentions with the mediating role of employee happiness: an empirical study based on private universities. TQM J2023; 36: 616–633.
12.
Ravina-RipollRNúñez-BarriopedroEEvansRD, et al.Employee happiness in the industry 4.0 era: insights from the Spanish industrial sector. In: 2019 IEEE technology & engineering management conference (TEMSCON). IEEE, 2019, pp. 1–5.
13.
Salas-VallinaALópez-CabralesÁAlegreJ, et al.On the road to happiness at work (HAW). Pers Rev2017; 46: 314–338.
14.
JhaINPalDSarkarS. Unlocking the secret to happiness at work: the power of inclusive leadership, organizational justice and workplace inclusion. J Manag Dev2023; 43: 200–221.
15.
AroraNDholeV. Generation Y: perspective, engagement, expectations, preferences and satisfactions from workplace; a study conducted in Indian context. Benchmark Int J2019; 26: 1378–1404.
16.
DeswalRSheokandK. Does workplace happiness lead to organisational citizenship behaviour: a study of faculty in higher education institutions. Int J Work Innovat2025; 6: 148–166.
17.
SveningssonSAlvehusJAlvessonM. Managerial leadership: identities, processes, and interactions. In: The work of managers: Towards a practice theory of management, 2012, pp. 69–86.
18.
JerabDAMabroukT. The role of leadership in changing organizational culture. SSRN Electron J. Epub ahead of print 1 January 2023. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4574324.
19.
ZareenMRazzaqKMujtabaBG. Impact of Transactional, Transformational and Laissez-Faire leadership styles on motivation: a Quantitative study of banking employees in Pakistan. Public Organ Rev2014; 15: 531–549.
20.
ArshadHIqbalSMaqsoodS. A review on the effects of leadership styles in shaping organizational culture and employee performance.
21.
JadaUSwainDJohnT, et al.Does leadership style and HRM practices promote employee well-being post onset of the new normal? a mixed-method approach. South Asian J Hum Res Manage, Epub ahead of print 31 July 2023.
22.
XiaotaoZYangXDiazI, et al.Is too much inclusive leadership a good thing? An examination of curvilinear relationship between inclusive leadership and employees’ task performance. Int J Manpow2018; 39: 882–895.
23.
RandelAEGalvinBMShoreLM, et al.Inclusive leadership: realizing positive outcomes through belongingness and being valued for uniqueness. Hum Resour Manag Rev2017; 28: 190–203.
24.
De HooghAHBHartogDND. Ethical and despotic leadership, relationships with leader’s social responsibility, top management team effectiveness and subordinates’ optimism: a multi-method study. Leadersh Q2008; 19: 297–311.
25.
WrzesniewskiADuttonJE. Crafting a job: revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. Acad Manag Rev2001; 26: 179–201.
26.
BaigSAIqbalSAbrarM, et al.Impact of leadership styles on employees’ performance with moderating role of positive psychological capital. Total Qual Manag Bus Excel2019; 32: 1085–1105.
27.
AlzghoulAElrehailHEmeagwaliOL, et al.Knowledge management, workplace climate, creativity and performance. J Workplace Learn2018; 30: 592–612.
28.
KhaolaPColdwellD. Explaining how leadership and justice influence employee innovative behaviours. Eur J Innovat Manag2018; 22: 193–212.
29.
GilbreathBBensonPG. The contribution of supervisor behaviour to employee psychological well-being. Work Stress2004; 18: 255–266.
30.
AhmedFNaqshbandiMMKaurS, et al.Roles of leadership styles and relationship-based employee governance in open service innovation: evidence from Malaysian service sector. Leader Organ Dev J2018; 9: 353–374.
31.
AtikuSOItembu-NaunyangoKAOladejoOM. Inclusive leadership and employee engagement as critical drivers of sustainability in telecommunication companies. Adm Sci2024; 14: 126.
32.
EinarsenSAaslandMSSkogstadA. Destructive leadership behaviour: a definition and conceptual model. Leadersh Q2007; 18: 207–216.
33.
FarhJ-LChengB-S. A cultural analysis of paternalistic leadership in Chinese organizations. In: Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, pp. 84–127.
34.
SyedFNaseerSShamimF. Dealing with the devil: combined effects of destructive leadership and Dark Triad personality on revenge, happiness and psychological detachment. Can J Adm Sci2022; 39: 213–230.
35.
BoakG. Shining a light on toxic leadership. In: Debating bad leadership: reasons and remedies, 2021, pp. 105–120.
36.
AlbashitiBHamidZAboramadanM. Fire in the belly: the impact of despotic leadership on employees work-related outcomes in the hospitality setting. Int J Contemp Hospit Manag2021; 33: 3564–3584.
37.
HobfollSE. Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. Am Psychol1989; 44: 513–524.
38.
NembhardIMEdmondsonAC. Making it safe: the effects of leader inclusiveness and professional status on psychological safety and improvement efforts in health care teams. Springer eBooks, pp. 77–105.
39.
ArghodeVLathanAAlagarajaM, et al.Empathic organizational culture and leadership: conceptualizing the framework. Europe J Train Dev2021; 46: 239–256.
40.
YasinRJanHA. Inclusive leadership and turnover intention: the role of follower–leader goal congruence and organizational commitment. Manag Decis. 2023; 61: 589–609.
41.
KimRCScullionHAvvariMV. Inclusive leadership in times of global crisis: how CEOs of multinational enterprises responded to COVID-19. Crit Perspect Int Bus. 2025; 21(2): 257–287.
42.
RobersonQPerryJL. Inclusive leadership in thought and action: a thematic analysis. Group Organ Manag2021; 47: 755–778.
43.
ZengHZhaoLZhaoY. Inclusive leadership and taking-charge behavior: roles of psychological safety and thriving at work. Front Psychol2020; 11: 62.
44.
NaumanSFatimaTHaqIU. Does despotic leadership harm employee family life: exploring the effects of emotional exhaustion and anxiety. Front Psychol2018; 3(9): 601.
45.
NaseerSRajaUSyedF, et al.Perils of being close to a bad leader in a bad environment: exploring the combined effects of despotic leadership, leader member exchange, and perceived organizational politics on behaviors. Leadersh Q2016; 27: 14–33.
46.
NiessenCWeselerDKostovaP. When and why do individuals craft their jobs? The role of individual motivation and work characteristics for job crafting. Hum Relat2016; 69: 1287–1313.
47.
PetrouPDemeroutiEPeetersMCW, et al.Crafting a job on a daily basis: contextual correlates and the link to work engagement. J Organ Behav2012; 33: 1120–1141.
48.
TimsMBakkerABDerksD. Development and validation of the job crafting scale. J Vocat Behav2011; 80: 173–186.
49.
WingerdenJVPoellRF. Employees’ perceived opportunities to craft and in-role performance: the mediating role of job crafting and work engagement. Front Psychol2017; 25(8): 1876.
50.
AkkermansJTimsM. Crafting your career: how career competencies relate to career success via job crafting. Appl Psychol2016; 66: 168–195.
51.
CarmeliAReiter-PalmonRZivE. Inclusive leadership and employee involvement in creative tasks in the workplace: the mediating role of psychological safety. Creat Res J2010; 22: 250–260.
52.
YeQWangDLiX. Promoting employees’ learning from errors by inclusive leadership. Baltic J Manag2017; 13: 125–142.
53.
HollanderE. Inclusive leadership: the essential leader-follower relationship. Routledge, 2012.
54.
ChoiSBTranTBHKangS-W. Inclusive leadership and employee well-being: the mediating role of person-job FiT. J Happiness Stud2016; 18: 1877–1901.
55.
Salas-VallinaASimoneCFernández-GuerreroR. The human side of leadership: inspirational leadership effects on follower characteristics and happiness at work (HAW). J Bus Res2018; 107: 162–171.
56.
SrivastavaSMendirattaAPankajP, et al.Happiness at work through spiritual leadership: a self-determination perspective. Empl Relat2022; 44: 972–992.
57.
RafiqNSarwarARasheedM. Disruption in family life due to despotic leadership and COVID-19: the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Kidorui2022; 52: 2305–2328.
58.
KhizarHMTareenAKMohelskaH, et al.Bad bosses and despotism at workplace: a systematic review of the despotic leadership literature. Heliyon2023; 9(9): e19535.
59.
HamidZ. The effects of servant leadership and despotic leadership on employees’ happiness at work (HAW): the role of job crafting. Asia-Pac J Bus Adm, Epub ahead of print May 1, 2024.
60.
HancockAJGellatlyIRWalshMM, et al.Good, bad, and ugly leadership patterns: implications for followers’ Work-Related and Context-Free outcomes. J Manag2021; 49: 640–676.
61.
HarjuLKSchaufeliWBHakanenJJ. A multilevel study on servant leadership, job boredom and job crafting. J Manag Psychol2018; 33: 2–14.
62.
ChenMZhangYXuH, et al.Crafting a job among Chinese employees: the role of empowering leadership and the links to work-related outcomes. Behav Sci2024; 14: 451.
63.
HetlandJHetlandHBakkerAB, et al.Daily transformational leadership and employee job crafting: the role of promotion focus. Eur Manag J2018; 36: 746–756.
64.
Piwowar-SulejKIqbalQ. Leadership styles and sustainable performance: a systematic literature review. J Clean Prod2022; 382: 134600.
65.
HobfollSE. The influence of culture, community, and the nested‐self in the stress process: advancing conservation of resources theory. Appl Psychol2001; 50(3): 337–421.
66.
BakkerABTimsMDerksD. Proactive personality and job performance: the role of job crafting and work engagement. Hum Relat2012; 65: 1359–1378.
67.
ChenLLuoFZhuX, et al.Inclusive leadership promotes challenge-oriented organizational citizenship behavior through the mediation of work engagement and moderation of organizational innovative atmosphere. Front Psychol2020; 27(11): 560594.
68.
HalbeslebenJRBNeveuJ-PPaustian-UnderdahlSC, et al.Getting to the “COR”. J Manag2014; 40: 1334–1364.
69.
LeeCJHuangSY. Double-edged effects of ethical leadership in the development of Greater China salespeople’s emotional exhaustion and long-term customer relationships. Chin Manag Stud2020; 14(1): 29–49.
GhadiMY. Linking job crafting to work engagement: the mediating role of organizational happiness. Manag Res Rev2024; 47: 943–963.
72.
ChengJ-CO-YangY. Hotel employee job crafting, burnout, and satisfaction: the moderating role of perceived organizational support. Int J Hospit Manag2018; 72: 78–85.
73.
Van WingerdenJPoellRF. Employees’ Perceived Opportunities to Craft and In-Role Performance: the mediating role of job crafting and work engagement. Front Psychol2017; 8. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01876, Epub ahead of print October 25, 2017.
74.
RobledoEZappalàSTopaG. Job crafting as a mediator between work engagement and wellbeing outcomes: a time-lagged study. Int J Environ Res Publ Health2019; 16: 1376.
75.
MoulikMGiriVN. Job crafting for workplace happiness: a study of millennials across Indian service sectors. Busi Perspect Res2023; 12: 242–260.
76.
Salas-VallinaAPozo-HidalgoMMonteP-G. High involvement work systems, happiness at work (HAW) and absorptive capacity: a bathtub study. Empl Relat2020; 42: 949–970.
77.
ZhouQHeSZhuR. Happiness or trouble? Employee stock ownership plans and employee well-being in new ventures. Curr Psychol2023; 43: 14470–14484.
78.
KhanMMMubarikMSIslamT, et al.How servant leadership triggers innovative work behavior: exploring the sequential mediating role of psychological empowerment and job crafting. Eur J Innovat Manag2022; 25: 1037–1055.
79.
WuYZhuHTanW, et al.Inclusive human resource management and nurses’ innovative behavior during crisis events: the roles of job crafting and shared leadership. J Nurs Manag2024; 2024: 1–15.
80.
HobfollSE. Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Rev Gen Psychol2002; 6(4): 307–324.
81.
KhalilSHShahSMAKhalilSM. Servant leadership, job crafting behaviours, and work outcomes: does employee conscientiousness matters?J Knowl Econ2023; 15: 2607–2627.
82.
Salas-VallinaAFernandezR. The HRM-performance relationship revisited: inspirational motivation, participative decision making and happiness at work (HAW). Empl Relat2017; 39(5): 626–642.
83.
SchmidtAA. Development and validation of the toxic leadership scale. College Park: University of Maryland, 2008.
84.
MookherjeeDMookherjeeD. The national capital region, Delhi, India: an empirical exploration. In: The Asian megacity region: a conceptual approach, 2020, pp. 149–202.
85.
SlempGRVella-BrodrickDA. The job crafting questionnaire: a new scale to measure the extent to which employees engage in job crafting. Inter J Wellb2013; 3.
86.
Salas-VallinaAAlegreJ. Happiness at work: developing a shorter measure. J Manag Organ2021; 27(3): 460–480.
87.
AndersonJCGerbingDW. Structural equation modeling in practice: a review and recommended two-step approach. Psychol Bull1988; 103(3): 411–423.
88.
FornellCLarckerDF. Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. J Mark Res1981; 18: 39–50.
89.
HairJFBlackWCBabinBJ, et al.Multivariate data analysis. London, UK: Pearson College division, 2010.
90.
PodsakoffPMMacKenzieSBLeeJY, et al.Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Appl Psychol2003; 88(5): 879–903.
91.
NunnallyJC. Psychometric theory. 2.
92.
LiuTWeiCLeeYM. A systematic review of work–family enrichment in the hospitality industry. Int J Contemp Hospit Manag2022; 34: 2884–2913.
93.
JaleelASarmadM. Inclusive leader and job crafting: the role of work engagement and job autonomy in service sector organisations. J Organiz Effectiv Peo Perform. DOI: 10.1108/joepp-12-2022-0361. Epub ahead of print January 22, 2024.
94.
HofstedeG. Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations. Inter Educ Prof2001.
95.
TuanLT. Tourism employee ambidexterity: the roles of servant leadership, job crafting, and perspective taking. J Hospit Tourism Manag2022; 51: 53–66.
96.
MasoodHKarakowskyLPodolskyM. Exploring job crafting as a response to abusive supervision. Career Dev Int2021; 26: 174–200.
