How Leader–Member Exchange Relates to Subjective Well-Being in Grassroots Officials: The Mediating Roles of Job Insecurity and Job Burnout

Abstract

Abstract This research explores the significance of leader–member exchange for the subjective well-being of grassroots officials in Shandong Province, China, with both job insecurity and job burnout as the mediating factors across gender groups. Our data were gathered from the Chinese Civil Servants’ Quality of Life Survey 2019, by means of distributing questionnaires among 2046 full-time grassroots officials from 106 towns or subdistricts in Shandong. Our findings indicate that leader–member exchange plays a positive role in shaping subjective well-being among grassroots officials in China. The results also provide evidence for the mediating role of both job insecurity and job burnout in the relationship between leader–member exchange and subjective well-being across gender groups. We conclude that to increase subjective well-being among grassroots officials, greater attention should be paid to developing a more supportive pattern of leader–member exchange for both male and female public employees. In addition, both job insecurity and burnout could be reduced by utilizing job-related resources generated during a high-quality leader–member exchange process.