Transformational leadership and chronic pain at work: Psychological pathways to reduced pain interference

Abstract Drawing on the Thriving through Relationships model, we examine transformational leadership as a relational job resource that may help employees with chronic pain manage pain‐related work interference by fostering positive psychological well‐being. We conceptualize chronic pain as a persistent adversity and examine pain intensity as a boundary condition that may constrain the benefits of leadership‐supported psychological resources. Using three‐wave longitudinal data from 195 employees with chronic pain, we found that transformational leadership was indirectly associated with lower subsequent pain interference through positive psychological well‐being. This indirect effect was significant at low and moderate levels of pain intensity, but non‐significant at high levels. These findings suggest that transformational leadership may support employees' capacity to manage pain interference by fostering positive psychological well‐being, but that this pathway is attenuated when pain intensity is high. More broadly, the study identifies adversity load as a condition that may shape when relational job resources translate into improved functioning.