The Individual Health Outcomes of Servant Leadership
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Date
2021-05
Department
University of Baltimore. Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences
Program
University of Baltimore. Master of Science in Applied Psychology
Citation of Original Publication
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Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by the University of Baltimore for non-commercial research and educational purposes.
This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by the University of Baltimore for non-commercial research and educational purposes.
Abstract
This study explores the personal occupational health implications of servant
leadership behavior for individual leaders adopting this style of leadership. The study
sample included 156 working professionals from both the United States Department of
Defense (including military service members) and the private sector serving in a
leadership position. Respondents completed a survey that asked respondents about their
leadership styles, as well as their behaviors associated with absenteeism and
presenteeism, and psychological well-being associated with engagement and emotional
exhaustion. Incorporating self-determination theory and conservation of resources theory,
this study examined the extent to which servant leadership behavior would relate with
leaders’ behaviors and well-being. In particular, it was expected that self-reported servant
leadership style would negatively correlate with absenteeism and positively correlate with
presenteeism. Additionally, it was expected that servant leadership would positively
correlate with work engagement and negatively correlate with emotional exhaustion.
Although the data do not support a relationship between servant leadership and either
absenteeism or presenteeism, they do reveal a strong correlation in the hypothesized
directions between servant leadership and both work engagement and emotional
exhaustion. These findings provide unique insight into the psychological benefits of the
servant leadership style as it pertains to the leader. The study also serves as an important
integration of established theoretical bases for the domains of individual motivation and
occupational health and stress.