Disentangling the relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement: Employee empowerment as a mediator and work experience and gender as moderators

Abstract

The present study investigates the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) and work engagement (WE). After the devastating effects of the recently hit global pandemic, organizations attempted to employ resilient strategies as turnaround strategies to gain the lost businesses. This study was conducted against the backdrop of the new normal wherein transformational leaders played a significant role in encouraging employee empowerment that enhances WE. In a developing nation (India) context, a conceptual model was developed and tested using the data collected from 256 employees working in the information technology (IT) sector in the southern part of India. After checking the psychometric properties using the structural equation modelling (Lisrel package), the data were analyzed using Hayes’s PROCESS macros. The findings support (i) a positive association of TL with WE and employee empowerment, (ii) employee empowerment is a significant predictor of WE, and (iii) employee engagement mediated the relationship between TL and WE. Results also suggest that (i) work experience moderated the relationship between TL and WE, and (ii) gender moderates the relationship between TL and employee empowerment. The implications for leadership theory and practice are discussed.