Despotic Leadership and Employee Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Psychological Distress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55737/trt/SR25.125Keywords:
Despotic Leadership, Job Satisfaction, Psychological DistressAbstract
The complex dynamics of autocratic leadership in Pakistan's contact centre industry are examined in this study, along with the effects it has on employees' mental health and job satisfaction. With psychological distress serving as a mediating factor, the study examines the relationship between autocratic leadership and job satisfaction, drawing on the Conservation of Resources (COR) hypothesis (Hobfoll, 1989). 109 contact centre workers in Rawalpindi and Islamabad completed self-administered questionnaires to provide data. The hypothesis was tested using simple linear regression, and the findings indicated that it was significant. The mediation effects, including total, direct, and indirect linkages, were also evaluated using Hayes' (2013) PROCESS Models 1 and 4. The findings demonstrated a high correlation between job satisfaction and leadership style, with psychological discomfort acting as a key mediating factor. These results demonstrate how despotic leadership negatively affects workers' mental health and general job satisfaction. Initiatives for mentorship, ethical leadership development, and training programs can all be useful instruments for lessening the negative effects of autocratic conduct. Encouraging a culture of moral leadership may strengthen bonds between coworkers and create a more wholesome, effective workplace. The findings provide important perspectives for HR and HRD professionals, highlighting the necessity of not just hiring appropriate candidates but also investing in leadership and employee development initiatives. These initiatives can lower stress levels, improve job satisfaction, and foster a more sustainable and supportive culture in call center work environments.
References
Abid, M. N., Akbar, A., & Iqbal, I. (2024). Effect of despotic leadership style on employee job satisfaction at university level A mediating role of workplace deviance behaviour. CARC Research in Social Sciences, 3(2), 156–165. https://doi.org/10.58329/criss.v3i2.145
Adıguzel, Z. (2019). Examination of the effects of despotic leadership and strategic human resources management on the employees in the business world. Yönetim ve Ekonomi Araştırmaları Dergisi, 17(1), 143-162. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/yead/issue/43937/446409
Albashiti, B., Hamid, Z., & Aboramadan, M. (2021). Fire in the belly: the impact of despotic leadership on employees work-related outcomes in the hospitality setting. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 33(10), 3564–3584. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-03-2021-0394
Alyana, S. I., Fatima, U., Farwa, U., & Saeed, R. (2022). Psychological distress and job satisfaction among health care professionals in post covid-19 era. Pakistan Journal of Psychology 53(2), 35. https://www.pjpku.com/index.php/pjp/article/view/203
Amati, M., Tomasetti, M., Ciuccarelli, M., Mariotti, L., Tarquini, L. M., Bracci, M., Baldassari, M., Balducci, C., Alleva, R., Borghi, B., Mocchegiani, E., Copertaro, A., & Santarelli, L. (2010). Relationship of job satisfaction, psychological distress and stress‐related biological parameters among healthy nurses: A longitudinal study. Journal of Occupational Health, 52(1), 31-38. https://doi.org/10.1539/joh.l9042
Aziri, B. (2011). Job satisfaction: a literature review. Management research & practice, 3(4). https://mrp.ase.ro/no34/f7.pdf
Chaudhary, A., & Islam, T. (2023). Unravelling the mechanism between despotic leadership and psychological distress: the roles of bullying behavior and hostile attribution bias. Kybernetes, 52(12), 5829-5848. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-10-2021-0987
Conway, J. M., & Lance, C. E. (2010). What reviewers should expect from authors regarding common method bias in organizational research. Journal of business and psychology, 25(3), 325-334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9181-6
Dirdjo, M. M., R. Syahab, S., Sureskiarti, E., & Suwanto, S. (2023). Job satisfaction and nurse performance. Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan, 11(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.30650/jik.v11i1.3700
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. Guilford Press.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American psychologist, 44(3), 513. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.44.3.513
Iqbal, M. Z., Khan, M. I., & Awan, A. N. (2024). Despotic Leadership and Employee Behavioral Outcomes: Unveiling the Relationship through the Mediation of Psychological Distress. Open Access Organization and Management Review, 2(2), 32-43. https://doi.org/10.59644/oagmr.2(2).95
Kaliski, B. S. (2007). Encyclopedia of Business and Finance. Detroit: Thompson Gale.
Naveed, M., & Qamar Zia, M. (2024). Exploring the interplay between job resources, employee engagement, and adaptive job performance with a focus on psychological contract fulfillment. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 18(3), 767–783. https://doi.org/10.1108/jabs-09-2023-0379
Pepe, A., Addimando, L., Dagdukee, J., Yaghi, S., & Veronese, G. (2018). Psychological distress, Job satisfaction and work engagement: a mediation study in a sample of Palestinian teachers. Paper presented at: The Ninth Lancet Palestinian Health Alliance Conference.
Raja, U., Haq, I. U., De Clercq, D., & Azeem, M. U. (2019). When ethics create misfit: Combined effects of despotic leadership and Islamic work ethic on job performance, job satisfaction, and psychological well‐being. International Journal of Psychology, 55(3), 332-341. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12606
Raza, M. A., Imran, M., & Hadi, N. U. (2023). Impact of despotic leadership on workplace incivility: serial mediation of stress and emotional exhaustion. NUST Business Review, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.37435/nbr.v5i2.68
Raza, M. A., Imran, M., Mughal, F., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2024). Assessing the spillover effect of despotic leadership on an employee’s personal life in the form of family incivility: serial mediation of psychological distress and emotional exhaustion. Public Organization Review, 24(4), 1171-1192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-024-00775-z
Samad, A., Memon, S. B., & Ali, I. (2021). Despotic leadership and job satisfaction among nurses: role of emotional exhaustion. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 12(1), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.14807/ijmp.v12i1.1344
Shahzad, K., Naz, F., Iqbal, R., & Chaudhary, R. (2024). When despotic leadership is more detrimental for employee job outcomes? Role of individual-level power distance orientation. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 12(3), 519-536. https://doi.org/10.1108/joepp-12-2023-0547
Sohail, A., Ullah, S., & Irfan, K. U. (2023). Influence of Transformational and Despotic Leadership on Employee Engagement and Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Physiological Distress. 3(1), https://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/LOBJ/PDF/6_V3_No_1_23.pdf
Song, X., Khosa, M., Ahmed, Z., Faqera, A. F. O., Nguyen, N. T., Rehman, S. U., & He, Y. (2022). Linking transformational and despotic leadership to employee engagement: unfolding the role of psychological distress as a mediator. Sustainability, 14(14), 8851. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148851
Zafar, H. (2021). Despotic Leadership and Job Satisfaction: Mediating role of Emotional Exhaustion.
Zhou, X., Rasool, S. F., Yang, J., & Asghar, M. Z. (2021). Exploring the relationship between despotic leadership and job satisfaction: the role of self efficacy and leader–member exchange. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(10), 5307. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105307
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
