title: Psychosocial resources and the relationship between transformational leadership and employees' psychological strain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leadership behavior may both serve as a supportive resource or as a source of psychological distress in the workplace.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Transformational leadership (TL), a behavior of superiors that fosters motivation, empowerment and a sense of teamness, has been associated with employee well-being, but the mechanisms that underlie these effects are unclear. We therefore explored the relationship between TL and stress by examining potential mediating roles for established organizational and personal resources.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used cross-sectional data on TL, psychosocial resources and employee strain from a company wide survey. Linear regression and structural equation modeling assessed potential mediation following the method outlined by Baron and Kenny.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a convenience sample consisting of mostly white-collar employees (n=320, 42.6% male), we observed a relationship between TL and employees' perceived work-related stress that was fully mediated by protective psychosocial resources (ß =-0.33, p< 0.01). Additionally, we found that TL positively affected these resources (ß=0.61; p< 0.01) and that absence of resources led to more psychological strain (ß=-0.54, p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Transformational leadership seems to be associated with lower stress among employees and a perception of more available psychosocial resources. These findings indicate that TL might serve as a valuable focus for tailored interventions to improve employee health.
authors.affiliation: Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loerbroks
authors.affiliation: Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herr
authors.affiliation: Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Litaker
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kastner
authors.affiliation: Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011584:Psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Stress; leadership; mediation; workplace