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Journal of Business Ethics
Published in: Journal of Business Ethics 1/2014

01-04-2014

Leader Apologies and Employee and Leader Well-Being

Authors: Alyson Byrne, Julian Barling, Kathryne E. Dupré

Published in: Journal of Business Ethics | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Regardless of leaders’ efforts to do the right thing and meet performance expectations, they make mistakes, with possible ramifications for followers’ and leaders’ well-being. Some leaders will apologize following transgressions, which may have positive implications for their followers’ and their own well-being, contingent upon the nature and severity of the transgressions. We examine these relationships in two separate studies. In Study 1, leader apologies had a positive relationship with followers’ psychological well-being and emotional health, and these relationships were moderated by the severity of the transgression. In Study 2, leader apologies had a positive relationship with their own psychological well-being, positive emotional health and authentic pride. In addition, the nature of transgressions moderated the relationship between leader apologies and leaders’ positive emotions and authentic pride, while the severity of transgressions moderated the relationship between leader apologies and their positive emotions, psychological health, and authentic pride. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
previous article Meaningful Work: Connecting Business Ethics and Organization Studies
next article Corporate Psychopaths, Conflict, Employee Affective Well-Being and Counterproductive Work Behaviour

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Metadata
Title
Leader Apologies and Employee and Leader Well-Being
Authors
Alyson Byrne
Julian Barling
Kathryne E. Dupré
Publication date
01-04-2014
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Business Ethics / Issue 1/2014
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Electronic ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1685-3

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