The role of leadership styles and their effects on JD-R Theory and work engagement

Abstract Objective: This study investigates the role of leadership styles and their effects on managers’ demands, resources, and work engagement in the university context. Originality/value: The study provides empirical evidence of the relationship between leadership styles and their effects on the perception of work demands, work and personal resources, and engagement. These findings demonstrate the direct and indirect effects of leadership styles, transactional and transformational, and their positive and negative impacts on the work environment, also contributing to the advancement in studies that relate the Job Demands-Resources Theory and Leadership. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted with university managers at a Brazilian public university, with n=191 valid responses. To test the hypotheses, structural equation modeling was applied. Results: The study revealed the predominance of the transformational style among the respondents and showed that this tends to decrease perceived work demands, in addition to having a positive impact on both work and personal resources and on employee engagement. On the other hand, the transactional leadership style did not show statistically significant evidence in these same relationships. It is concluded that leadership styles have direct and indirect influences on the work environment and worker engagement.