To read this content please select one of the options below:

Effects of health-promoting leadership, employee health on employee engagement: employability as moderating variable

Liping Liu (School of Economics and Management, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China) (International College, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand)
Chunyu Zhang (School of Economics and Management, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China)
Chih-Cheng Fang (International College, National Institute of Development Administration, Bangkok, Thailand)

International Journal of Workplace Health Management

ISSN: 1753-8351

Article publication date: 31 August 2021

Issue publication date: 18 January 2022

988

Abstract

Purpose

Employee health is a major challenge for enterprises. Fostering a healthy work environment and promoting employee engagement are key to addressing this challenge. Health-promoting leadership and employee health are the driving forces of corporate development; at the same time, employability is the core element of employee relations. Based on self-determination theory, this study aims to explore the effects of health-promoting leadership and employee health on employee engagement in light of employee employability.

Design/methodology/approach

The data of this study encompass 723 valid questionnaires from employees of MSME in China. This study focuses on health-promoting leadership and employee health, engagement relationship and the above relationship moderating by employability.

Findings

Health-promoting leadership plays a key role in the workplace, results show that health-promoting leadership has a positive impact on employee health and employee engagement, while employee health did not have a positive effect on employee engagement. Employability negatively moderated the relationship between employee health and employee engagement.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on cross-sectional survey data collected at the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic rapidly and continuously changed the organizational responses to employee health. Future studies could utilize longitudinal methods or focus on measurement instruments of the culture of health, to create additional insights about health promoting.

Originality/value

This study adds important knowledge regarding health-promoting leadership and employee health in Chinese MSMEs, an area for which limited research exists. The findings provide insights and knowledge about health-promoting leadership how to affect employee health and to improve engagement outcomes. The findings also identify the moderating role of employability.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This work was supported by the [Guangxi Normal University Doctoral Research Startup Fund Project] under Grant [DC2100001038].

Citation

Liu, L., Zhang, C. and Fang, C.-C. (2022), "Effects of health-promoting leadership, employee health on employee engagement: employability as moderating variable", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-07-2020-0122

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles