The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Employee Well-being: A Narrative Synthesis

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of the construct of Transformational leadership, there is little consensus and understanding on the socio-psychological process that facilitates the relationship between Transformational leadership and employee well-being. To address this gap in the literature a systematic analysis of 30 empirical research studies was conducted, guided by the primary review question, “how does Transformational leadership influence employee well-being?” The synthesis revealed that Transformational leadership predicts employee well-being through several socio-psychological mechanisms. Notably, meaningful work, perceived procedural justice, psychological empowerment, self and team efficacy, empowerment, psychological resources, trust, perception of work-life conflict and role clarity were identified as mediating the said relationship, and power distance, employee ambition and organisation commitment were identified as moderators. It is believed that introducing leadership training in the identified socio-psychological sources would result in a productive occupational health intervention, thus instigating a collaborative and healthy organisational culture built on employee well-being