Comparing effects of toxic leadership and team social support on job insecurity, role ambiguity, work engagement, and job performance: A multilevel mediational perspective

Abstract

While job demands have been known to reduce work engagement and job performance, the literature has not investigated uncertainty-based job demands such as job insecurity and role ambiguity. Acknowledging that leadership and team members are critical for reducing an employee's job demands and increasing an employee's job performance, the current study, drawing on social information processing theory, probes the roles of toxic leadership and team social support in shaping employee job demands (i.e., job insecurity & role ambiguity) and, subsequently, work engagement and job performance. A sample of 265 employees (50.9% males) in 48 teams from various private organizations in Malaysia participated in the study. The results showed that toxic leadership was positively related to job demands and negatively related to job performance, while team social support was negatively related to job demands and positively related to work engagement. Furthermore, work engagement mediated the relationship between job demands and job performance. Role ambiguity only mediated the relationship between toxic leadership and work engagement, while job insecurity only mediated the relationship between team social support and work engagement. The current study highlights the distinctive roles of toxic leadership and team social support in the relationships with employee job demands, work engagement, and job performance.