Humble leadership and work–family enrichment: promotion focused and thriving

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing upon work-home resources model, this study aims to investigate how and when humble leadership influences followers’ work–family enrichment. Specifically, this study focuses on the mediating role of thriving at work and moderating role of promotion focus.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 292 employees of science and technology enterprises in China through a three-wave questionnaire survey. Hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping approach were employed to test hypotheses.

Findings

This study found that thriving at work significantly mediated the relationship between humble leadership and work–family enrichment. Promotion focus strengthened the positive relationship between humble leadership and thriving at work and the indirect effect of humble leadership on work–family enrichment through thriving at work.

Practical implications

The findings of this study offer guidance for managers to enhance thriving at work and improve employees’ work–family experiences.

Originality/value

First, this study explores the work-to family spillover effects of humble leadership by examining the family outcomes of humble leadership. Second, this study further uncovers the underlying mechanism between humble leadership and work–family enrichment by demonstrating the mediating role of thriving at work. Third, by exploring the moderating role of promotion focus, this study provides insight into the boundary conditions of the impact of humble leadership.

Citation

Huang, Y., Zhang, Y., Cui, M. and Peng, X. (2024), "Humble leadership and work–family enrichment: promotion focused and thriving", Management Decision, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-04-2023-0612