How Does Paternalistic Leadership Affect Employees’ Work Engagement? The Mediating Roles of Workaholism and Trust-in-Leader

Year 2021, Volume: 11 Issue: 3, 179 - 196, 15.09.2021

Ömer Erdem Koçak Burcu Aydın Küçük

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, babacan liderliğin insanları yönetmenin etkili bir yolu olabileceği ve daha önceki birkaç çalışmada olumsuz sonuçlarla ilişkilendirilmesine rağmen, çalışan motivasyonu ve esenliğine zemin hazırlayabileceği iddia edilmiştir. Ayrıca, liderin babacan tarzını çalışanın tutkun çalışmasıyla ilişkilendirmek için işkoliklik ve lidere güven ile temsil edilen iki temel muhtemel mekanizma önerilmiştir. Böylece, babacan liderlerin astlarını sosyal bağ yolu (lidere güven) veya göreve odaklanma yoluyla (işkolik) olumlu yönde etkileyip etkilemediğinin anlaşılması amaçlanmıştır. Hipotezleri test etmek için bir saha araştırması yapılmış ve İstanbul'da çeşitli sektörlerde çalışan 413 katılımcıdan çevrimiçi anketler aracılığıyla kesitsel veriler toplanmıştır. Analizler, babacan lider ile çalışmaya tutkunluk arasında pozitif bir ilişki olduğunu. Dahası, önerilen muhtemel mekanizmaların babacan liderlik ile çalışmaya tutkunluk arasındaki ilişkiye aracılık ettiğini görülmüştür. Bu nedenle babacan liderlik tarzının, batı ülkelerinde yaygın olarak paylaşılan inançların aksine, göreve odaklanma ve sosyal bağlantı yoluyla faydalı olabileceğini ortaya koyulmuştur.

Keywords

Babacan lider, çalışmaya tutkunluk, lidere güven, işkoliklik.

ow Does Paternalistic Leadership Affect Employees’ Work Engagement? The Mediating Roles of Workaholism and Trust-in-Leader

Abstract

In this study, we contend that paternalist leadership can be an effective way of managing people and can pave the way for employee motivation and well-being, despite several previous studies linking it to adverse outcomes. In addition, we propose two possible underlying mechanisms (i.e., workaholism, trust in leadership) linking a leader’s paternalistic style to employee work engagement. By doing so, we aim to understand whether paternalist leaders positively influence their subordinates through a social connection path (trust in leader) or task-focusing path (workaholism). We conducted a field survey and collected cross-sectional data using online surveys from 413 participants working in various industries in Istanbul to test the hypotheses. The results indicate a positive relationship to exist between paternalistic leadership and employee work engagement. Therefore, we put forth that the paternalistic leadership style can be beneficial through the task-focusing and social connection paths, contrary to the beliefs commonly shared in Western countries.

Keywords

Paternalistic leader, work engagement, trust in leader, workaholism

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