Leadership and employee mental health: a job demands–resources perspective on health-promoting and health-impairing leadership

Abstract Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model, we examine how leadership shapes employee mental health via underlying psychological mechanisms. Using data from 201 employees, we differentiate health-promoting leadership (HPL)–comprising transformational, transactional (contingent reward), democratic leadership, and leader-member exchange–from health-impairing leadership (HIL), including abusive supervision, laissez-faire, and authoritarian styles. HPL was positively associated with job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and lower stress and turnover intentions, whereas HIL was associated with adverse outcomes. Parallel mediation analyses revealed perceived control, organizational commitment, and behavioral disaffection as potential explanatory mechanisms. Additionally, psychological reactance and organizational cynicism mediated the detrimental effects of HIL. Findings support a dual-pathway conceptualization of leadership as either a higher-order job resource or demand. The results contribute to JD–R theory and offer some promising points for interventions that protect and enhance employee mental health.