Effective Leadership: How Does Job Stress Moderate the Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Employee Performance?
Cristian Gomez
Department of Psychology
Faculty Supervisor: Chris Wright
Our field recognizes how focusing on one dimension cannot explain effective leadership, which is why modern leadership theories, such as transformational and transactional forms of leadership, consider the rapidly changing and technological innovations of the modern world (Benmira & Agboola, 2021). Today, the focus of leadership can be seen as the combined interactions between leaders, their followers, the environment, and more (Benmira & Agboola, 2021). This study aims to assess how different leadership styles (transformational, laissez-faire, and authoritarian) influence perceived employee job performance, with job stress as a mediating factor. Using the job demands-resources theory and the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory, it is hypothesized that low job stress strengthens the positive relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance, while high job stress strengthens the negative relationship between laissez-faire and authoritarian leadership styles and employee performance. This research aims to emphasize how effective leadership can reduce job demands, increase employee motivation, and enhance organizational effectiveness.